Central in Denver in Denver County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
Henry Lee Building
1907
Lower Downtown Walking Tour
Photographed by Christopher Light, December 24, 2007
1. Lower Downtown Walking Tour - Henry Lee Building Marker
Inscription.
Henry Lee Building. The pattern of ownership of 1545 Wazee Street symbolizes the development of Denver's rail age boom as an industrial and supply city requiring large scale warehousing. Its first owner and occupant, Henry Lee, was an agriculturist, pioneer gardener and fruit grower. In 1864, he successfully experimented with the culture of the eastern onion in Colorado, and brought the first chilled-steel plow to the state. These events marked the beginning of Lee's Farm Implement Business, and in 1870 he constructed this large-frame warehouse here to store his inventory. Lee was also known as the father of Denver's Park System, working tirelessly to acquire land for City Park, assisting in its landscaping, and later serving as a member of the Denver Parks Commission and the State legislature. In 1907 Chester Stephen Morey, having constructed the new Morey Mercantile Building across the Alley, acquired the Lee Building and incorporated it into his thriving business. Gove and Walsh Architects completed renovations to the Lee Building in 1907, and Morey put it to use as a home for, among other things, roasting, grinding and packaging his Solitaire coffee.
The pattern of ownership of 1545 Wazee Street symbolizes the development of Denver's rail age boom as an industrial and supply city requiring large scale warehousing. Its first owner and occupant, Henry Lee, was an agriculturist, pioneer gardener and fruit grower. In 1864, he successfully experimented with the culture of the eastern onion in Colorado, and brought the first chilled-steel plow to the state. These events marked the beginning of Lee's Farm Implement Business, and in 1870 he constructed this large-frame warehouse here to store his inventory. Lee was also known as the father of Denver's Park System, working tirelessly to acquire land for City Park, assisting in its landscaping, and later serving as a member of the Denver Parks Commission and the State legislature. In 1907 Chester Stephen Morey, having constructed the new Morey Mercantile Building across the Alley, acquired the Lee Building and incorporated it into his thriving business. Gove & Walsh Architects completed renovations to the Lee Building in 1907, and Morey put it to use as a home for, among other things, roasting, grinding and packaging his Solitaire coffee.
39° 45.075′ N, 105° 0.015′ W. Marker is in Denver, Colorado, in Denver County. It is in Central. It is at the intersection of 16th Street Mall and Wazee Street, on the left when traveling east on 16th Street Mall. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Denver CO 80202, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s Front Range. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.
Photographed by Christopher Light, December 24, 2007
2. Henry Lee Building
Photographed by Christopher Light, December 24, 2007
3. Henry Lee Building
Photographed by Christopher Light, December 24, 2007
4. Closeup of historic front
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on March 27, 2008, by Christopher Light of Valparaiso, Indiana. This page has been viewed 3,014 times since then and 26 times this year. Last updated on February 7, 2010, by Bruce Quackenbush of Denver, Colorado. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on March 27, 2008, by Christopher Light of Valparaiso, Indiana. • Kevin W. was the editor who published this page.
