Speer - Denver, CO

The history of Speer is mixed into the history of the entire city. Once a rundown area, the character and cheaper housing options of Speer attracted young adults and professionals, who then attracted businesses. The area began a stage of revitalization that has boosted it to the status of surrounding neighborhoods, such as Baker and West Washington Park.

Speer does not contain much of an arts scene, but some of the surrounding neighborhoods do. The Curious Theater Company sits a few blocks north in Golden Triangle, while Tam O’Neill Fine Arts lies to the east in Cherry Creek. The Fox Art School and the Buntport Theater Company are located just northwest in Lincoln Park. The only museum within a one-mile radius of Speer’s boundaries is the Museo De Las Americas in the Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Speer hosts an independent music festival called Underground Music Showcase each year. Known for highlighting local musical talent, the fest features hundreds of musical acts with diverse and high-energy performances.

Speer offers a variety of restaurants, including Latin American, Mediterranean, Cajun, Thai, and American options. Nightlife in Speer consists of bars, lounges, and music venues that combine great sounds with drinks and food. The majority of restaurants sit along Broadway Street, which runs along the neighborhood's eastern boundary.

At Beatrice and Woodsley, the dim lighting creates a cozy ambiance. Enjoy your small plates and cocktails under the aspen trees, which scatter around the booths and create a forest theme within the restaurant. Dine on beignets and snails while you sip a monkey gland amid this mood-setting decor.

Gozo serves a healthy, Mediterranean-style cuisine with a selection of wine hard to beat. Dine on shaved Brussels salad, roasted beets and thin-crust pizza, while you sit by the open garage door. The restaurant rolls the garage doors open during the summer, turning it in into a popular seating section.

Lena serves a Latin American cuisine, where you can dine on bison, octopus ceviche and blood sausage. Enjoy happy hour specials during the week and street-style tacos for $2 each. For a great view of the main dining area, ask for a seat in the upper loft.

Speer has an assortment of nightlife options, allowing locals to have fun any night of the week. At the multisensory music venue Syntax Physic Opera, you can enjoy live performances, while you dine on stuffed dates, soups, salads and paninis, followed by your choice of dessert. The venue also has a daily happy hour.

Dubbed Denver's premier rock establishment, 3 Kings hosts a show or event nearly every night. Come in for the open mic happy hour to enjoy drink specials or to entertain the audience. If you want to feel like you're seeing your favorite band in your own living room, head to Hi-Dive. See an intimate show with a house party vibe, while sampling the wide variety of beers they have on tap. The Skylark Lounge has two floors of entertainment. The first floor features live music and dancing, while the second floor houses a poolroom that has been voted one of the best in America by Billiards Digest.

As Denver’s 17th most walkable neighborhood and with most dining, shopping and entertainment options located along one street, many errands can be easily accomplished on foot in Speer. Walking and bike riding are popular transportation options. With ample amounts of flat land and bike lanes running along main roads like East Speer Boulevard, Washington Street and Emerson Street, the neighborhood provides safe and easily accessible accommodations for bike riders.

Six bus lines pass through Speer, including routes 1 and 12. Other options include calling a cab, booking a ride through Uber or utilizing a car share from RelayRides. Speer offers little public parking, but there is a parking lot a few blocks up Broadway, which charges a daily rate of $25 and a monthly rate of $120.

Hungarian Freedom Park, the only park in the neighborhood, sits on Speer’s northeastern boundary. A good place to walk the dog or take a leisurely stroll, it features a green space with plaques and statutes that commemorate the 1956 Hungarian Uprising. Governor’s Park is located a few blocks to the north in Capitol Hill, and Washington Park lies a few blocks to the south in the neighborhood of West Washington Park.

The cost of living in Speer hovers at just under $60,000 a year, around $5,000 more than the city’s average. Even still, housing prices dip lower than the city’s average, at less than $1,300 a month for a one-bedroom apartment. This means that other expenses, such as utilities and groceries, run slightly higher.

Like almost everything else in Speer, the center of commerce lies along Broadway Street. The selection includes high-end and high-value specialty shops and boutiques.

At Decade, a boutique featuring unique vintage items, you can find a little bit of everything. From one-of-a-kind jewelry to old-fashioned furniture and household items, this shop carries the perfect gift for yourself or someone else.

Ironwood, an art museum and gallery located on Broadway, pairs plants with modern art. Here you can also buy trees, plant containers, and even lunar year calendars.

Enjoy industrial chic when you visit Ibraheems Rugs and Furnishings Boutique. Gleaming hardwood floors complement stunning hand-knotted rugs from across the world. Art pieces for your home come in the form of luxurious furnishings, including master-suite bedroom sets and sophisticated sitting room arrangements.

Crafty types enjoy stopping in at Fancy Tiger Crafts when filling their weekly to-do lists. This shop specializes in modern and sustainable crafting materials, and it also hosts instructional events and classes.

The few grocery options that dot the neighborhood include Nooch Vegan Market, which has everything you need to make your own vegan meals and lifestyle-promoting stickers and apparel. The Cherry Creek Farmers Market on East First Avenue opens on Wednesdays from morning to early afternoon.