The clock tower.

The tower rises from the building East opened in 1925 on the City Park Esplanade. Construction had begun three years earlier, in 1922, as Denver outgrew “Old East” on Welton and Stout Streets — the classical building nicknamed the city’s “Greek Temple of Learning.” The new school was designed by George Hebard Williamson, an architect who had graduated from East himself.

The building was conceived as a crown jewel of Mayor Robert Speer’s “City Beautiful” plan, sited with the Esplanade and the Sullivan Gateway in front of it. The tower, with its clock faces and terra cotta detailing, was the element that made the school legible from blocks away, and it remains the image most Denver residents picture when they hear the name East High. The school at Colfax and Detroit is an official Denver Historic Landmark.

Preservation today

The Foundation\u2019s Historic Preservation Review documents and protects the building\u2019s historic and architectural features, and the Buildings & Grounds Committee works with East\u2019s administration and Denver Public Schools on the repairs that keep the tower and its clock in working order. The restored tower clock is one of the projects the Foundation names in that work.

Timeline

• 1922Construction begins on the City Park Esplanade site.
• 1925The new East High School opens, tower and clock included.
• TodayThe tower houses the Tower History Museum and Archives, curated by Foundation volunteers.

Compiled from the Foundation’s published school history and Flights of Angels: A History of Denver East High School. Additions and corrections from the History Committee are welcome.