The grand staircase.

The staircase came with the building East opened in 1925 on the City Park Esplanade, three years after construction began in 1922. The school was designed by George Hebard Williamson, an East graduate, and built as a crown jewel of Mayor Robert Speer’s “City Beautiful” plan for Denver.

East’s interiors were built to the same standard as its facade: stone, marble, carved arches, and heavy wooden doors, meant to carry a full school of students between floors for a century. They have, and the first-floor staircase has become one of the building’s most photographed features — it appears on the Foundation’s own greeting cards. The school at Colfax and Detroit is an official Denver Historic Landmark.

Preservation today

Gifts to Historic Preservation and Buildings & Grounds fund the documentation and protection of interior features like this one. The Foundation\u2019s Historic Preservation Review works alongside the Buildings & Grounds Committee, East\u2019s administration, and Denver Public Schools to keep the building\u2019s original craftsmanship intact.

Timeline

• 1874Denver’s first high school opens as Arapahoe School.
• 1881“Old East” is built on Welton and Stout Streets.
• 1925The Esplanade building opens, staircase and interiors included.

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.