Where Mid-Mod Never Stopped Being Cool: Denver’s Krisana Park

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Photo: Denver Design Week, Krisana Park home
A mid-century modern home in the Denver subdivision Krisana Park.

Maybe it's the lingering influence of the popular AMC television series "Mad Men." Mid-century modern design remains all the rage. And there's a lot of it in southeast Denver. Krisana Park has close to 200 mid-mod homes and it will be featured during the inaugural Denver Design Week on Sunday.

Build in the 1950s with architecture inspired by California developer Joseph Eichler, Krisana Park could become Denver's first official mid-century modern conservation overlay district.

Kate Adams has lived in Krisana Park for more than 40 years. She helped rally her neighbors around the designation. She says she loves the design and character of her mid-mod home, as well as "all the thought that was put into developing this whole area."

Her home has survived almost 70 years, Adams says. "And people still love (the style). It just works."

But it comes at a cost. Adams says her house requires a lot of maintenance and the single-pane windows are not the most energy efficient.

Historic Denver executive director Annie Levinsky will lead a walking tour through Krisana Park on Sunday morning as part of Denver Design Week. Levinsky met Colorado Matters host Ryan Warner on the lawn of a home on Edison Way. They spoke about the distinct architectural characteristics of Krisana Park and why there's an effort to preserve that.

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