Community Planning & Development

Alexandra Foster

Communications Program Manager

C: 303-653-2718

More than a year after it was initially reviewed for potential demolition, the Howard Berkeley Park Chapel at 4346 W. 46^th Avenue is now officially among Denver’s 349 protected local landmarks. City Council voted Monday evening to approve an application for designation submitted by Councilwoman Amanda P. Sandoval on behalf of the building’s owners, who support the designation.

“This outcome is the perfect example of how promoting community dialogue can lead to mutually beneficial solutions for property owners and neighbors eager to save places important to the community,” said Laura E. Aldrete, executive director of Community Planning and Development. “When we updated our demolition review process last year to provide more time for community discussion, this is exactly the kind of compromise we had in mind.”

Built in 1960, the Howard Berkeley Park Chapel is the work of architect J. Roger Musick and was home to Howard Mortuary, a cornerstone neighborhood business originally founded in 1917. The mortuary served thousands of Denver families and served the community as a site for farmers’ markets, architectural tours, and other neighborhood events.

Its designation caps an ongoing community dialogue that began in the spring of 2019 when the previous owners of the structure applied to demolish the building ahead of planned redevelopment of the site. As required by Denver’s preservation rules, city staff reviewed the application and found that the property had potential for landmark designation. A group of neighbors submitted an application for designation that paused the demolition process and led to a series of conversations about the future of the site. A compromise was eventually reached that made way for a sale of the property to its current owners, who pledged to preserve and adapt the building for re-use.

In September 2019, City Council approved a package of updates to Denver’s rules for landmark preservation that included changes to the demolition review process to extend the process to promote additional community dialogue. Although the ordinance change did not impact this property, the conversations between members of the community and the previous property owners of the chapel served as a model for additional community dialogue as a path toward preservation solutions that meet everyone’s needs.

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