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Aug 24, 2023

Denver civil rights attorney home named city landmark

City Government Reporter Irving P. Andrews nameplate on his office door at 2243 York Street in east Denver. The civil rights leader worked on landmark court cases in the 1960s and 70s, like Brown v.

City Government Reporter

Irving P. Andrews nameplate on his office door at 2243 York Street in east Denver. The civil rights leader worked on landmark court cases in the 1960s and 70s, like Brown v. Board of Education, in his home/office. The home and office building earned landmark status from the Denver City Council Monday.

One of Denver's most influential civil rights leader's home near City Park earned landmark status this week.

The Denver City Council voted Monday to designate Irving P. Andrews' home/office at 2241-43 York Street in east Denver. It became the 361st city building to be labeled as a “structure for preservation.”

The home is located in City Park West across from Denver's largest park.

The Irving P. Andrews home at 2241-43 York Street in east Denver. The civil rights leader worked on many court cases in the 70s within his home (left door) and office (right door). The home/office was designated a landmark by the Denver City Council Monday.

Andrews was known as one of Denver’s most notable Black attorneys during the civil rights movement. He served in the U.S. Navy before becoming the first Black graduate of both Colorado College and the University of Denver Law School, leading to a career spanning four decades, according to Historic Denver.

The civil rights leader helped organize protests, was NAACP president for Colorado and Wyoming, and marched in protests with Martin Luther King Jr.

Andrews worked on many cases in the City and County of Denver City and served on the Brown v. Board of Education legal team, according to Historic Denver.

“Despite his reputation as an exceptional attorney," according to Historic Denver, "most office buildings still do not rent space to him in downtown Denver.”

So Irving purchased 2241 York Street in the 1970s, using the downstairs as his residence and upstairs as his law office, Historic Denver archives show.

Denver’s 1967 Landmark Preservation ordinance allows for the designation of certain landmarks for preservation, according to Senior City Planner Becca Dierschow. Since the ordinance’s inception, she said 360 historical landmarks are designated within Denver's city limits, including 59 historical districts of 7,200 landmark buildings.

There are about 160,000 buildings in all of Denver, the city planner said.

Historic Denver chose the Andrews house for its next designation effort as part of its “50 actions for 50 places” campaign.

“We instituted it to celebrate Historic Denver’s 50th anniversary,” Preservation Action Director Michael Flowers told council members. “We as a community will help identify 50 places that we would help develop a preservation action for.

“A major goal of this program is also to share stories that help tell Denver’s diverse history, and Andrews house topped that list. He was certainly a champion for civil rights and equity. We hope that this landmark can help educate those.”

Out of Denver’s landmark designations, 87% focus on the history of white males, while 13% are “historically excluded communities,” Dierschow said.

“The City of Denver, city council, the residents of Denver, and our many preservation partners are all committed to increasing the diversity of our landmarks… Andrews was a prominent African American attorney in Denver. Considered by many contemporaries to be one of the most talented trial attorney’s in Colorado.”

The Andrews family came to Monday’s public hearing. Councilmembers voted across the board for their house to be designated for preservation. Over a dozen family members arrived in the council room, including Irving Andrews' three daughters Leah, Liz and Lynn.

“It was a reason to gather, to remember and celebrate,” Lynn Andrews told the Denver Gazette on the steps of her new landmark-designated home. “It really felt like a simulation because this is something that is really important to us. We think he’s a big deal, and we have always thought it is a big deal.”

Liz Andrews referenced Brown v. Board of Education, saying it was a starting point to the civil rights movement in 1964, and that her father played a big role during it.

The Andrews family said they first submitted their preservation application in April 2021.

“It was also very symbolic because (Monday) was the direct anniversary of the march on Washington,” Leah Andrews said, adding it is about “remembering history, holding on to it, and making more history. While celebrating others in history who are a part of that.”

As a nearby resident familiar with the Andrews home, Councilmember Darrell Watson said “the power of this now being a landmark and for it to be in City Park West right across the largest park in the city, I think it’s important.”

“The pain of segregation, the pain of racial hatred, the pain of gentrification, those roots run deep… This moment is not just simply one landmark, but this is an opportunity for us, not just on the east side but across Denver, to be aware of our past, to remember the struggles of our people.”

Irving P. Andrews home/office lies in Councilman Chris Hinds District 10.

“I just want to thank you so much for going through the process of putting your family out there,” he told the Andrews family, referencing a quote from Irving Andrews: “I don’t just fight for my own self, I fight for all communities.”

“While I am not a part of your community, we’re all a part of the same community. I want to fight for you just as I fight for my own communities,” Hinds said.

Denver City Council Monday approved a $7 million contract to provide 200 homeless shelter pallets within the city.

City Government Reporter