It is named after Alamo Placita Park which is located on the north side of Speer Boulevard between Ogden and Emerson Streets.

The history of the Alamo Placita Historic District tells the story of 1860s prairie land along Cherry Creek just three miles (5 km) southeast of the new town of Denver.

By 1887, Denver’s southern city limit was the northern border of Hallett’s claim (now East 6th Avenue).

Those connections included, first, the fact that Alamo Placita neighborhood was Speer’s first major real estate investment.

When Arlington Park Addition was created, it became the first client for Speer’s newly formed real estate company.

Second, Speer’s creation of an addition and then an amusement park provided him with experience as the central figure in pulling big plans together with powerful Denver men.

An extravagant theatrical production, “The Last Days of Pompeii,” was the main attraction, involving 300 actors and a 54-foothigh set of Mt.

Miss Sadie Boynton, recently of Paris, France, would thrill all by “shooting the chutes” on a bicycle.

Also, “Professor Barnes’ muchheralded herd of driving and diving elks” would march up a ramp and plunge, one at a time, off a 60-foot (18 m)-high platform into a tank of water.

With the building boom of the post-World War II years taking newer populations to the city fringe or new suburban communities, most of the Alamo Placita neighborhood continued to draw those who needed more affordable housing.

Neighborhood development continued with change occurring at a very slow pace, reacting to the ups and downs of the economy.

During the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the value of the neighborhood as a family-oriented environment close to the heart of the city was quietly rediscovered by young professionals and others.

Lawyers, doctors, teachers, and businesspeople were moving into Alamo Placita in greater numbers, joining trade craftsmen, clerks, salesmen, and others.

The first district residents expressed their aspirations for success in part through building their neighborhood in important architectural styles of the day.

Together they created an environment of lower-scale dwellings with streetscapes that respected visually pleasing setbacks accommodating gardens, lawns, and sidewalks.

The gentle intermingling of architectural styles, building materials, and individual decoration remains clearly apparent despite more recent setback violations where a few demolished original structures have been replaced.

In 2000, the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously recommended designation of the Alamo Placita Historic District based on the significance of its history, architecture, and geography.