At Eight Avenue and Grant Street, there lie the remains of the former mansion resided by the family of David H. Moffat. The building boasted over forty-two rooms, including a grand ballroom, a chandelier with 4,000 hand-cut crystals and the well-known Tiffany stained-glass window.
David Moffat acquired his fortune through the railroad business, by engineering the first tracks to cross over the continental divide. His railroads frequently transported people and goods from Colorado to California. However, Moffat aspired to create more efficient routes by creating a way through the mountain, instead of around it. After his death, this vision was realized through the Moffat Tunnel.
Unfortunately, the Moffat Mansion was demolished in 1972, to make way for a new office building. The onset of modernization in Denver during the sixties saw many historical buildings destroyed. However, these tragedies brought awareness to historic preservation to the city of Denver. Historic Denver Inc., which was created two years earlier to save the house of Molly Brown from a similar fate, received much support from citizens who vowed to preserve the city’s history. To this day, the vow is kept through programs such as Denver Story Trek.
