/ Neighborhood Guide
The city divides Greater Park Hill—a diverse neighborhood developed primarily in the early 1900s—into three sections, North, South (number 19), and Northeast. North Park Hill nabbed the highest ranking on our list largely due to its low crimes per capita, sub-$500,000 average home prices, and the stellar McAuliffe International School. The sizable, rectangular neighborhood is charmingly residential, defined by 1950s ranches on average-size lots. Bike lanes on three of its major thoroughfares (East 23rd and East 26th avenues and Martin Luther King Boulevard) make it easy to pedal west to City Park and downtown, or east toward burgeoning Stapleton.
How we got these numbers: We utilized the city’s official list of 78 neighborhoods (only 70 had enough data to be included), and ranked them using four variables: home prices, crime data, school rankings, and an X factor score that accounts for things like access to open space, proximity to public transportation, and restaurant and shopping options. For more on our methodology, return to the main page.
On the otherwise quiet East 28th Avenue, stumbling into Bistro Barbès feels like a (delectable) discovery. Chef/owner Jon Robbins serves a concise dinner menu inspired by the flavors of France, North Africa, and the Middle East; save room for the house-made desserts.
For more hunger-satiating options, head past the neighborhood’s eastern border to the East 29th Avenue Town Center. The Stapleton Farmers’ Market is held nearby, on Founders’ Green, every Sunday, from mid-June through mid-October.
Retail is limited in North Park Hill proper, but Denverites from across the city trek to the neighborhood to pick up goods from Spinelli’s Market. For more than two decades, the specialty market has been a go-to for house-made pasta sauces, ready-made and imported dry pastas, and all the ingredients for build-your-own pizzas, including fresh dough. Fill up on your favorite from the stacked menu of classic Italian sandwiches and then swing by Moss Pink Flora & Botanicals for a dazzling floral arrangement.
When Jon Hanover launched Roots Elementary, a charter school in Northeast Park Hill, in 2015, he hoped to create an innovative, high-performing community school by transforming the way elementary education is taught—all on a spot once devastated by gang violence. Two years later, has the school made the grade?
