CENTRAL DENVER · YORK STREET TO COLORADO BOULEVARD, COLFAX TO 23RD AVENUE
City Park
Denver’s largest park, the Zoo and the Museum of Nature & Science, with a strip of older homes and condos between 17th Avenue and Colfax. The typical home is worth about $703K.
Location: Central Denver, from York Street to Colorado Boulevard, between Colfax and 23rd Avenue | Vibe: Mostly park, with a two-block strip of homes | Known for: The Denver Zoo, the Museum of Nature & Science, Ferril Lake, East High
Denver’s City Park neighborhood is mostly the park itself. It runs from York Street to Colorado Boulevard, between Colfax Avenue and 23rd Avenue. The park takes up 330 acres of that, a mile long and three-quarters of a mile wide, with the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science inside it.
The homes are on a strip about two blocks deep between 17th Avenue and Colfax. East High School and the City Park Esplanade take up the southwest corner, and the east end along Colfax is known as the Bluebird District, after the Bluebird Theater, which opened in 1914 and has been a music venue since 1994.
Henry Meryweather laid out the park in 1882, and work started in 1886. Ferril Lake was added in 1896 and 1897. The zoo started in 1896 with a black bear named Billy Bryan, and the museum opened to the public on July 1, 1908. East High’s building, with its 162-foot clock tower, opened in 1925 and became a Denver landmark in 1991.
What the housing looks like
You’ll find Denver squares, brick bungalows and older apartment buildings, plus some townhomes and newer builds. Along 17th Avenue, single-family homes and a few condo towers face the park. Because the residential area is so small, this neighborhood has only a few homes for sale at any time.
The tradeoff is that the park side and the Colfax side are different markets. Homes facing the park on 17th sell for much more than similar homes a block from Colfax, which carries buses, bars and right now the East Colfax bus project construction.
City Park at a glance
Residents
About 3,700 people in the 2020 Census. Most of the neighborhood is park, so nearly all of them live on the strip between 17th Avenue and Colfax.
Getting around
There’s no rail station in the neighborhood. The closest is 40th & Colorado on the A Line to the airport, north up Colorado Boulevard. Buses 15 and 15L run on Colfax, 20 and 32 stop by the museum, and 40 runs on Colorado Boulevard, which also leads north to I-70.
Public schools
Split by address. Listings on the east blocks show Teller Elementary and Morey Middle, and blocks near York Street show Cole Arts and Science Academy and Whittier ECE-8. East High is the high school. Check the DPS school finder for a specific address.
Rules to know
East 17th Avenue and the City Park Esplanade are designated Denver parkways, so houses facing them have a building line set back from the property line. Check it with the city before planning a front addition, wall or other permanent structure.
“City Park is where I send buyers who want the Zoo, the museum and a mile of lawn across 17th Avenue, and who don’t mind Colfax a block or two behind them.”
Central Denver
Discover City Park
Local spots worth knowing
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Boats on Ferril Lake
In summer you can rent pedal boats and canoes at the dock by the pavilion. The pavilion was designed by Denver architects William Fisher and John Humphreys.
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Denver Museum of Nature & Science
Open to the public since July 1, 1908, on the east side of the park, with dinosaur and space halls, a planetarium and a giant-screen theater. A $20 million update of its theater, lobby and plaza started in 2025.
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I Have a Dream monument
Sculptor Ed Dwight’s memorial, installed in 2002, shows Martin Luther King Jr. with Frederick Douglass, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth.
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City Park Jazz
Free Sunday concerts in the park from June to August. The 2026 season was the 40th, played on a temporary stage after the 1929 bandstand burned in March.
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The park itself
Laid out in 1882, with the Shakespeare Elm planted in 1916. City Park Golf Course is just north across 23rd Avenue. It was rebuilt to hold stormwater and reopened in 2019.
New in City Park
The 1929 bandstand was destroyed in an arson fire on March 26, 2026. What’s left comes down this fall, and the rebuild, paid for by donations, is planned to be ready for the 2027 City Park Jazz season.
Center-running bus lanes with level-boarding stations are going in along Colfax on the south edge of the neighborhood. RTD expects the Broadway to Colorado Boulevard segments to finish in fall 2026, with full service on the line in 2028.
Opened June 20, 2025, with heated saltwater pools and a 16-foot underwater viewing window.
City Park real estate
City Park values are up 3.1% over the past year, while many Denver neighborhoods were flat or down. The number covers houses and condos on a small strip, so it swings with whatever happened to sell. For a specific home I compare sales on the same side of 17th Avenue, because park-front homes and homes near Colfax price very differently.
Source: Zillow Home Value Index for City Park, Denver, as of August 31, 2026. All home types, including condos and townhomes.
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Who buys in City Park
City Park buyers want the park as their front yard and are fine with a small yard of their own.
Families
Parents who would use the Zoo, the museum and the playgrounds every week.
Condo buyers
People who want park and mountain views from a condo on 17th Avenue without keeping up a house.
Transit riders
Buyers who want the new Colfax bus lanes to downtown a short walk away.
City Park questions I get asked
Does it matter which side of 17th Avenue a home is on?
Yes. Almost every home in this neighborhood is between 17th Avenue and Colfax. Homes that face the park on 17th sell for much more than similar homes closer to Colfax, so I only compare a house to sales in the same few blocks.
How busy is it on Zoo and event days?
The Zoo and the museum draw visitors all year, City Park Jazz brings crowds on summer Sundays, and East High’s drop-off and pickup fill the Esplanade on school days. Street parking near 17th fills up on busy days. I’d visit a house on a summer weekend and a school-day afternoon before you buy.
What will the Colfax bus project change?
RTD is building center-running bus lanes with stations along Colfax. During construction, expect lane closures and detours. When it’s done, buses to downtown should be faster, and homes right on Colfax will be next to more bus traffic.
Nearby neighborhoods
Congress Park is south across Colfax, with the Botanic Gardens and more houses. City Park West is west across York, with older homes and apartments closer to downtown.
Buying in City Park? My Denver home buyer’s guide walks through the whole process in 10 steps.
Thinking about City Park?
Let’s talk about which side of 17th fits your budget, how close to Colfax you want to be, and what homes on the same blocks have actually sold for.
Or call or text 720.454.5432