Mapleton Hill embraced as historic district

BOULDER — Claire Walter was looking for a home to match her antique furniture and found the perfect place in Boulder’s Mapleton Hill neighborhood.

Walter, who moved to the area in 1998 and is a member of the Mapleton Hill Neighborhood Association, lives in a home built in the mid-1890s. Because most of the neighborhood was built before World War I, Walter said it isn’t easy to find history of the area.

While some records of the Mapleton Hill district are held in Boulder’s Carnegie Historical Library, she said many documents were lost when Boulder County’s courthouse burned in the 1930s.

Originally from New England, Walter said the Mapleton Hill area with its large trees and flagstone sidewalks often reminds her of where she grew up. Built on a city-block grid, Mapleton Hill ranges from Spruce Street north to Maxwell Avenue and is bordered on the west side at 4th Street and the east side at Broadway, Walter said.

Most of the neighborhood sits in a historic district created 20 yeas ago.

Catherine Schweiger, chairwoman of the Mapleton Hill Neighborhood Association, said the “Mapleton Hill Mob” worked hard in the 1970s to get city council’s approval of the historic designation. Neighbors have worked with the Landmarks Board to design historic signage for the area.

When the neighborhood began, bankers and other middle-class tycoons lived in Mapleton Hill, Walter said. They walked from their homes to the business district on Pearl Street, the grocery at 6th Street and Maxwell Avenue and the train station on Canyon Boulevard.

Walter said one thing she loves about the area is it remains pedestrian friendly.

“It’s easy to walk to the post office if you need a stamp or walk to the bank,” she said. Mapleton Hill sits a few blocks from Mount Sanitas hiking trails, not far from Boulder Canyon and near the Boulder Creek path.

Walter said she also enjoys the proximity to the library and Boulder Theater.

Over the years prices in the neighborhood have skyrocketed.

Walter estimates that homes in Mapleton Hill sell for between $600,000 and $2 million. She describes the neighborhood as “eclectic” and said many different types of Boulderites call the area home including retirees, university employees and wealthy residents who own four or five homes.

The neighborhood also includes some mansions that were converted to multifamily apartments in the 1960s and 1970s.

The number of children living in Mapleton Hill has dropped off, Walter said. Last year, school district budget cuts lead to the closure of the local elementary school. Both Walter and Schweiger said the school closure has been a big loss for the neighborhood. They hope the activist nature of the residents will help revive Mapleton Elementary someday.

Residents of Mapleton Hill always have been activists, Walter said. In the 1960s, residents started a recycling campaign by driving the city in an old bus to pick up newspapers.

“The neighborhood has been on the forefront of the really positive quality of life issues that Boulder is know for,” Walter said.

Mapleton Hill Neighborhood Association

Catherine Schweiger, chairwoman

Claire Walter, liaison

(303) 442-7709

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