1600 Ogden St
Denver, CO, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Bailey House (See Also:Swallow Hill Historic District)

Statement of Significant:

The Bailey house is of historical value and worthy of preservation because of its significance in two areas primarily: architecture and economics.

The house was designed by William Lang, one of the most prominent and prolific architects of the prosperous period in Denver between about 1887 and 1893. His architecture mirrored the ebullient mood of the city in the period during which he was popular. The Bailey house is the largest of the houses designed by Lang to have survived.

The house was commissioned and first occupied by George W. Bailey, a man who, as a real estate agent and investor, was able to share in the prosperity of those years of growth and optimism in Denver, but who, like William Lang, suffered badly from the silver panic of 1893 and never fully recovered financially afterwards.

William Lang came to Denver from Chicago, Illinois. The first record of his career was in the 1886 Denver Directory in which he placed an advertisement for his services as an architect. He was a charter member of the Colorado Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The most complete record concering William Lang, however, is in the buildings he designed. He was responsible for many residences in the Capitol Hill area. In 1890 the Western Architect and Building News listed 43 houses designed by Lang and Marshall Pugh, his partner. Lang designed a 6-story downtown office building, the Ghost Block and St. Mark's Church on Lincoln, but he was best known for his designs of residences both single homes like the Bailey house and row houses, some examples of which stand on Washington Street between 17th and 18th Avenues.
Lang and Pugh had available to them in periodicals many models of architectural styles from all over the country. They used elements from these many styles to produce designs which were usually skillfully-executed studies in architectural complexity and diversity. This style of architecture is called the eclectic style, and William Lang is considered to have been one of the best eclectic architects in the United States.

Denver began to experience a construction boom in late 1887. The city was prosperous and growing quickly, and Lang's designs were well-received in Denver by the new upper middle class. His architecture was lively; it reflected the spirit of the time; and he used the finest materials, displayed in an obvious manner, a practice which suited well the prosperous owners of his homes.

The original owner of the Bailey house, George W. Bailey, like William Lang, came to Denver from Illinois. He had fought in the Civil War from 1861 to 1865, attended Illinois College, and became a faculty member there after his graduation. He was an instructor at Illinois College for 13 years, until his move to Denver in 1882. In 1883 he and James R. Hicks formed a partnership. Their real estate firm was agent for the Highland Park Co. of Colorado Springs, which had large Denver and vicinity real estate holdings. Hicks and Bailey became involved in the development of Short's electric railway on 15th Street. The development of this railway contributed to 15th Street eventually becoming the main thoroughfare of the business district. They also were part of a syndicate to build and operate the University Park railway, which led to the increased growth of Denver's south side.

Lang built Bailey's home at 1600 Ogden in 1889-1890. The building permit was taken out on September 11, 1889. An October 1889 issue of the Western Architect and Building News described the house. Bailey probably moved into it sometime in 1890. Hicks and Bailey continued as a successful business until 1893. "Then came the silver panic, bringing widespread disaster to banks and all business concerns... Foreclosures of real estate became a daily feature of the business at the courthouse, rendering any but forced purchases practically impossible. " George Bailey remained in the real estate business, but the indication is that after the panic he was never again as successful. He "... continued in a quiet and unassuming way to serve such friends and clients as they came to him." The Master Property Book for the Park Avenue area shows Laura R. Struby as the owner of 1600 Ogden in 1895, so it appears that at that time Bailey found it necessary to sell his home.

The panic of 1893 was brought about by the decline of the price of silver and by the many related factors which caused this decline; "over-expansion and over- investment in the nation's railroads; a continuing agricultural depression; the collapse of British investments in the United States."

Mines and smelters in Colorado were shut down and thousands of workers from these places drifted into Denver. The resulting fear and unrest they created compounded the decline in morale which had come about as a direct result of the silver crash. The widespread loss of optimism in Denver which was the result of the silver panic also brought about a gradual shift from the expansive, exuberant architectural styles popular here, to the more conservative buildings which make up the bulk of the residential areas built in Denver after that time.

With the decline in the popularity of eclectic architecture came the decline in William Lang's fortunes. Lang suffered much psychologically from the failure of his business. He returned to Illinois in hopes that the change would improve his health, but in August, 1897, he was struck by a train in Marseilles, Illinois, and killed. This had followed a 2-week period when he had dropped out of sight after leaving his brother's home in Englewood, Illinois. The August 22, 1897, edition of the Rocky Mountain News, which carried the story of his death, attributed his death to nervous prostration" and mental failure, brought about by the ruin of his business.

The Bailey house has had a number of owners and occupants in the years since George Bailey lived there. During the late 1930's it was a doctors' clinic. After that it was converted into a restaurant, the Tiffin Dining Room. Today it is occupied by Intra Search, a geological research firm.