Virtual Walking Tour

H. S. Leach House

Local Landmark—2000

The H.S. Leach house, 2596 W. Alamo, c. July 1904. The girls are Merle Phillips, age 15 (later Mrs. Ernest Montgomery), and Thelma Phillips, age 12 (later Mrs. Myron Dietter).

he H.S. Leach House, located at 2596 W. Alamo Avenue, is a picturesque Victorian cottage constructed in 1889 by early Littleton resident, Hiram Leach. Hiram was a miller and stockbroker who worked at the Rough and Ready Flour Mill. An item in the Littleton Gazette, February 22, 1889, stated: Mr. H.S. Leach has his dwelling house on Malinda Street about ready to move into. The gentleman has shown good taste in the arrangement of the rooms which are all handsomely finished on the inside and there are many items that are necessary to the convenience of a model house.

The one-story Queen Ann house is a frame building with a central hipped roof and gable at the peak. A portion of the house projects forward and has a gabled roof. The gable is adorned with fish scale shingles, paneled molding and arched window brightly painted in the Victorian tradition. The overhanging eaves of the front gable have paneled verge boards. The porch has a spindled sunburst design over the entry. The walls are wood lap siding with narrow corner boards. The turned spindle supports for the porch and the stick balustrade finish off the overall look of the house. While other Queen Anne homes may have had more ornamentation, the Leach home represents the middle class interpretation of this style.

The Queen Anne cottage was typically a small house built without hallways and with a small vestibule. The halls were not necessary in the Leach House since central heating was available at the time, provided by a boiler in the basement with simple vents leading through the floors. Inside the house, the door hinges are made of brass with a scroll design. The attic was finished at a later date. A stone foundation provides stability to the house.

The Leach house, c. 2001

Hiram and Sarah Leach lived in their home for fifteen years. A noteworthy event took place in 1897 when the first meeting of the Littleton Women's Club occurred at the house. Hiram Leach was active in local politics, serving as one of Littleton's first trustees in 1890. He was also a longtime member of the Weston Masonic Lodge and served on a committee to form Littleton's first volunteer fire company.

Hiram Leach sold his home to William and Mamie Phillips in 1903. The Phillips family kept the house until 1957, when it was sold to Mary O. Pool, who rented out several of the rooms. Mary Pool sold the home in 1975 and since that time the house has been restored and adaptively re-used as office space by several owners.. Attorney Michael Bahr is the current owner and uses the house as office space. Over the years several changes were made to the home, including the addition of a garage, a sunroom and a bathroom. The Leach House has been designated a Littleton Historic Landmark for its significance to the history of Littleton and its unique Queen Anne style.

Bibliography

Littleton (Colo.) Independent. The Littleton Independent Publishers, 1888-

Littleton Historical Museum. Vertical File.

Front Range Research Associates, 1997 Inventory, Littleton Historic Buildings, Inventory Record for the Leach Residence, Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Inventory Form 5AH182.

Inventory Sources:
Arapahoe County Assessor Records
Littleton Historical Museum Photograph Files
Littleton Independent, March 4, 1976
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, 1893 ø 1949
Littleton City Directories, 1905 and 1932-1961
Carolyn Keller
Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Inventory Form, 5AH182, June 15, 1982
Littleton Historic Building Record Form, August 1975

Photographs courtesy of the Littleton Historical Museum, unless otherwise noted; to order copies, contact the Museum at 303-795-3950.

Compiled by Rebecca Dorward
Edited by Phyllis Larison and Lorena Donohue
Edited by Kris Christensen

Last revised December 2003