Athmar Park is a residential neighborhood in southwest Denver, Colorado. It consists mostly of all-brick ranches and bungalow-style homes built in the 1940s and 1950s.
Geography
Athmar Park is bordered by Alameda Avenue on the north, Mississippi Avenue on the south, Federal Boulevard on the west and the South Platte River on the east. Four Denver parks, Aspgren, Huston Lake, Vanderbilt Park and Habitat Park are within the boundaries of Athmar Park. The eastern half of the neighborhood is lower in elevation than the west, with a sharp rise above the river beginning near Pecos Street and continuing the gradual climb in elevation toward the southwest. In contrast to the older grid-type streets found in many neighborhoods, Athmar Park has some streets that have long, flowing curves.
One of Colorado's busiest driver's license offices is located in the neighborhood at 1865-C West Mississippi Avenue.
Demographics
In 2000, the racial breakdown of Athmar Park was 29.52% White, 0.84% African American, 0.43% Native American, 3.15% Asian, and 65.21% Hispanic or Latino.
The publication of the 2010 United States Census, with a total population of 8,898, showed small changes in race and ethnicity with the population at 63% White or Hispanic/Latino, with 73% of that number claiming Hispanic ethnicity and 27% listing non-Hispanic ethnicity. Residents with Asian (3.5%), American Native (2.1%) and African American ethnicity (1.4%) make the remainder of the non-Hispanic population with 30% of them considering themselves "other" or "mixed".
Parks
Huston Lake Park
Huston Lake Park is located in the center of the Athmar Park neighborhood between the streets of South Clay and South Vallejo, and the avenues of West Ohio and West Kentucky. With a variety of amenities including a bike and walking path, soccer and softball fields, tennis and basketball courts, and a children's play area, Huston Lake park provides many recreational resources for the local community. Named after one of the original land owners in the area, Nathaniel K. Huston, the park was originally the site of a patch of swampland called "Frenchie's Lake" which was used by early residents as a location to ice skate in the winter and swim in the summer.
Clifford Aspgren Park
Located at the eastern edge of the residential areas of Athmar Park, Clifford Aspgren park was named after a resident who served in the Colorado House of Representatives.
Vanderbilt Lake Park
Vanderbilt Lake Park contains both Habitat Park and Boy Scout Park and is part of the larger South Platte River Greenway. It contains a sports fields complex and is part of a series of parks connected by the South Platte River biking and walking trail system. Until 2011, Habitat Park was the location of the Denver Municipal Animal shelter, which moved to a site in the Valverde neighborhood to the north of Athmar Park.
History
Historically, Athmar Park was annexed incrementally by the City of Denver. In 1902, the eastern edge of Athmar Park was annexed, along with the town of Valverde, from Zuni to the South Platte River border. In 1943, the area west of Zuni was annexed by the City of Denver. Known as Mountain View Park, it totaled 240 acres and was the first large scale annexation the city had made since 1902. The area west of the town of Valverde, that had originally been in the hands of three different owners, was auctioned and purchased by Thomas and John R. McCusker in 1946. In 1949 and 1950, developer Raymond Erb completed three subdivision plats he named "Athmar Park". According to urban legend, the name "Athmar" originated from the combination of the names of the developers' two wives, Athena and Mary. While subsequent oral histories undertaken with the descendants of Raymond Erb and other local developers of the time confirm a connection to Margaret Erb (Raymond's wife), which lends support to the "mar" part of the name, no connection could be confirmed with any other name that could corroborate the "ath" portion of the name. The developer did name a street for himself. Erb Place is located between South Osage and South Lipan streets, just north of West Kentucky Avenue.
In 1900, the northeast area of the neighborhood was rural and contained celery farms and wheat fields. Several of the original brick country homes still exist on W. Nevada Place, dating from the late 1880s to the early 1900s. 1395 W. Nevada Place dates to the late 1880s, and 1597 W. Nevada Place dates to 1912.