1439 Court Pl
Denver, CO, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Curry-Chucovich House

Statement of Significant:

The Curry-Chucovich house is significant because it is the oldest known example of 1880's domestic architecture remaining in downtown Denver, and because it possesses a unique combination of architectural details. It is also significant because two of its owners, James M. Curry, the proprietor of the Douglas County Lava Quarries, and Vasco L. Chucovich, a renowned gambler and associate of Denver's Mayor Speer, were important figures in the history of the city.

In 1887 Mr. James M. Curry purchased the land at 1439 Court Place from Samuel Morgan and hired architect Fred A. Hale to design his new home. Mr. Curry, a well-known Denver citizen, was the proprietor of the Douglas County Lava Quarries. These quarries made a significant contribution to the architectural heritage of Denver because the stone was used in many well-known buildings such as the 01d Union Railroad Depot, Saint Elizabeth's Church in Auraria (National Register and Denver Landmark - 1969), Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church (National Register 1970 and Denver Landmark - 1968), the Kittredge Building (National Register nomination pending), the Ghost Building (National Register nomination pending), the Tabor Grand Opera House trim (demolished), Wolfe Hall (demolished), South Broadway Christian Church, and many residences of prominent Denver citizens which include those of Charles B. Kountz, Otto Mears and Joseph Creswell; it was also used in the foundation and trim for the Charles Boettcher residence and the foundation and coping and front steps of Mr. Curry's own house and seven large mansions in Capitol Hill on Pennsylvania Street between 8th and 13th Avenues where the stone was used extensively for foundations, window sills, door arches, and garden walls.

Mr. Hale, the architect, was born in Rochester, New York, on Christmas of 1855 and moved with his parents to the Central City - Blackhawk mining area in Colorado in 1860. In 1875 he returned to Rochester to school and received a scholarship to Cornell University where he studied architecture. He returned to Colorado in 1880 and started his own practice in 1883. In the early 1890's he moved to Salt Lake City to design and superintend the construction of a modern commercial building. To date there is no record that he ever returned to Denver.

Mr. Curry's house was completed late in 1888. An account in the Western Architect and Building News briefly describes the house as "a genuine two-story brownstone front" with the interior finished in richly carved wood and windows screened with Venetian blinds of oak. The walls and ceilings were treated in "a chaste and happy style, fresco and lincrusta-walton relief work. The staircase was approached through an archway of intricate arabesque fretwork in oak". To have received such an account indicated that the house was of architectural importance at the time it was constructed. In 1892 Mr. Curry died and left the house to his widow Alice who lost it through debts to Miss Sarah Hunt who in turn died in 1902 and willed it to Vasco L. Chucovich. Mr. Chucovich moved to the house on Court Place from the Oxford Hotel, where he was living at the time. He was born in Risan, Yugoslavia, in 1858 and at the age of 19,

in 1877, he immigrated to the United States and traveled to the gold fields of California, Nevada and Colorado, accumulating wealth and gambling skills as he went. Chucovich arrived in Denver in 1895 and quickly became an associate of Edward Chase, czar of Denver's saloons and gambling halls and close friend of Robert Speer, who later became Mayor of Denver.

One of Chase's chief holdings and finest gambling halls in Denver was the Arcade Restaurant at 1611-13 Larimer Street which was ultimately owned by Vasco Chucovich. It had a 30-foot solid mahogany bar, French plate glass mirrors, 600 chandeliers, and was reputedly frequented by Bat Masterson and Dead-Eye Dick, according to one newspaper account.

Vasco Chucovich invested in real estate and became involved in local politics. He was supportive of Robert Speer in the 1904 and 1916 campaigns for mayor. Because of his connections in the political and social element of Denver's society, he was able to foretell all administrative policies and decisions where gambling was concerned. Among his intimate friends were Mayor Speer, Henry L. Hoherty, Michael Pupin (Nobel Prize winner and scientist and boyhood friend), David H. Moffat, and William G. Evans. He was considered one of Denver's most powerful behind-the-scenes political figures.

Periodically Mayor Speer prevailed upon Chase and Chucovich to donate substantial sums to his programs for the needy and to Judge Ben Lindsey's Juvenile Improvement Association. In return Chase and Chucovich's violations of the liquor and gambling ordinances were overlooked. However, in 1907 a new state law required the closing of all gambling establishments, so Chucovich closed the gambling hall of the Arcade Restaurant, but continued to operate the saloon and restaurant. Chucovich also gave financial support to Benjamin J. Stapelton in his 1923 campaign for Mayor.

Through his real estate holdings Chucovich became a wealthy man, and when he died in 1933, he left an estate of over one million dollars. One hundred thousand of this was to be used for a memorial to Mayor Speer; but instead, the money was used to build the children's wing at Denver General Hospital. There was also a substantial sum left over to build a hospital in Chucovich's home town in Yugoslavia.

Today the house at 1439 Court Place is used for law offices by William E. Myrich and Norton Fichey. It will remain as offices as well as a delightful and charming reminder of the residential neighborhood that was once in the downtown section of Denver.