About

The Cascade Park Apartments is a 6-unit, white stucco rectangular building that is two stories tall. It faces south, toward Mesa St. There are two hipped roof dormers on the south façade, with overhanging eaves and rafters. Two stories above ground and the terrace basement display rows of windows, with the top half divided by vertical mullions. A one-and-one-half-story front porch with stucco piers and balustrade is accessed from stairs to the east. Another doorway sits below the raised porch with stucco walls dividing the adjacent ground. There is an attached three-door, one-story garage at the southwest corner of the lot with a fenced patio area above. A stucco support wall separates a concrete apron from the adjoining grade.

The building sits on a 6,000-square-foot lot, part of Addition No. 5 to Colorado Springs. The footprint appears to be 2,390 square feet, which would result in apartments of about 1,200 square feet. 

The building was built as the Cascade Apartments by Dr. George B. Grinnell at an estimated cost of $20,000.

Apartment buildings began to grow in popularity in urban areas of the United States after the Civil War as cities faced a shortage of desirable building sites. Architects and developers proposed stacked housing, known in the early days as “flats” or “tenements.” The trend alarmed some residents of established neighborhoods, who worried about privacy and the appearance of apartments being similar in function to boarding houses. Apartments gained acceptance due to their affordability and convenience. Many of the early buildings, like this one, were designed to look like large houses, with the more expensive buildings resembling large mansions, while others took on the appearance of a row of interconnected houses. Some architects specialized in apartment house construction, and apartment house technology evolved to include such features as elevators and air conditioning, which made them even more livable.

By 1941, Henry C. Herschelman was listed as the manager of the building. Mr. Herschelman had a residence in the basement. Mr. Herschelman was also listed as the manager in the 1951 and 1960 city directories.

This building is representative of the apartment buildings erected in Colorado Springs during the early twentieth century. The apartment was designed to have a residential appearance which fit in with the substantial homes erected along this section of North Cascade. The building reflects the influence of the Craftsman style in its overhanging eaves with exposed rafters, multi-/single light double-hung sash windows, and front dormers.

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Timeline

• 1916

  On March 18, 1916, the Gazette Telegraph published an article about the Cascade Apartment building plans that read:

  Dr. G. B. Grinnell to Erect Apartment on North Cascade Ave

  Construction work on a $20,000 apartment house, to be erected at the northwest corner of Cascade avenue and Monument street, was started yesterday. The building is on the site formerly owned by the late F.F. Castello, and is to be erected for Dr. George B. Grinnell. It will be completed within the next five months.

  The structure will contain six modern apartments.

• 1917

  Although the El Paso County Assessor provides a 1925 date of construction for this building, the address appeared in the 1917 city directory. An estimated date of construction of 1916 is provided. The building was listed as the Cascade Apartments and had six units in 1917. No owner was given for the property.

• 1931

  In the 1931 city directory, Mrs. Cora M. Grimmell was indicated as the manager of this property, which continued to have six units.

• 1941

  By 1941, Henry C. Herschelman was listed as the manager of the building. Mr. Herschelman had a residence in the basement. Mr. Herschelman was also listed as the manager in the 1951 and 1960 city directories.

Additional Resources

• 702 N Cascade Ave Research – a collection of documents compiled during the Historic Uptown Neighborhood’s historic preservation efforts.
• Apartments Listing – apartments listing page