Warshauer Mansion

Antonito's show home, designed by a Denver architect and built by Denver contractor Samuel A. McDonald, is a Craftsman house which replaced an 1890 Queen Anne dwelling destroyed by fire in 1912. It rises two stories over a full basement on a modified H plan, with walls of beige pressed brick set in stretcher bond. Gable ends under the flared red tile roof are stuccoed above a dentiled frieze and set off by bargeboards. The five chimneys are symmetrically placed.

Wooden trim milled in Iowa enhances the interior with its fancy paneled walls and ceilings. The house included central vacuum cleaning, internal communication, and fire control systems as well as steam heat, all unusual luxuries for the place and the period. Jens Eriksen of Denver, who had been trained in Copenhagen, painted the interior murals, and William Ernst of Denver originally landscaped the full-block site.

Frederick B. Warshauer, a Polish Jewish immigrant who became a successful sheep rancher, lumberman, and banker, committed suicide at the zenith of his career in 1913. Subsequently the house has been used as a convent, a restaurant, and a private residence. Other large old homes in the neighborhood include the Jordan House (1917), at the southwest corner of River Street and 4th Avenue, and the McGregor House (c. 1900), at the northwest corner of 6th Avenue and River Street.