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BROMWELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL (214)
2500 East
Fourth Avenue,
80206-4214
(Columbine Street at East Fourth Avenue)

Telephone:
(303) 388-5969
Fax: (720) 424-9355
E-mail: Bromwell@dpsk12.org

Mr. Jonathan Wolfer, Principal

Chuck Woehl's Scrapbook

This group of photos are from the first page
of Chuck's scrapbook. The central caption reads:

Memories
Remember when -
Gas and lights cost 90 cents per month? The streetcar
line ran from downtown denver to Third and Detroit?
Gypsies roamed the area? Ice wagons and ash haulers
dotted the street? A new car cost $5.00? The Cherry Creek
area was known as Harman?

The photo across the top of the scrapbook is of
Hoffman's Drugstore, also known as the
Detroit Pharmacy and then the Bonita Pharmacy,
at Third Avenue and Detroit Street.

Clockwise from the upper left corner, the smaller pictures show...

Lee Young's grocery story on the southeast
corner of Second Avenue and Milwaukee Street

Stobies Dry Goods Store, southeast
corner of 3rd and Detroit

One of the three Martin houses across from
Zimmie's on the southeast corner of 2nd and Clayton

Vera (Woehl) Smith, Chuck's sister, standing in front
of a Model T Ford. Chuck writes, "Car is a Model T
that I bought from Henry Cram for $5.00. It still
had original upholstery. I later sold it for $10.00."
This picture was taken on the north side of 260
Clayton Street, with Spark's Shoe Shop (and home)
and Stobies Dry Goods in the background.

And, finally, the Denver Clowns baseball team.




Here's a photo of Chuck taken in 1924, when he
was still a child. Goat carts were quite popular in
the neighborhood in those days.



As Chuck's caption relates, this is a photo taken before 1918 of
the Old Pioneer, the store later known as Zimmie's. It was on the
southwest corner of 2nd and Clayton Street. The presence of two
cowboys in this picture shows that habits of the Old West were
still a part of the life of the neighborhood.




A later photograph of Zimmie's.



The blacksmith shop at 2829 East Third Avenue. As times and modes
of transportation changes, it later became Vest Auto and Repair Shop.




A hay truck making the rounds in the Harman neighborhood.



Here's another photograph that shows just how much our
neighborhood has changed. The horse cart is heading west
along Third Avenue just past the intersection with Clayton Street.
The Bromwell schoolhouse rise in the background. Chuck writes,
"Note tracks" -- these are tracks, along Third, of the streetcar line.




Here's a photo of one of the old streetcars,
on Bellaire Street at Second Avenue, facing south.




A very nice photo of Stobies Dry Goods
at the southeast corner of 3rd and Detroit.




Students from Saint John's Parish school, in the early 1930's. This
school evolved into the current Good Shepherd Catholic School at
6th and Elizabeth. While the school was seen by some as a rival to
Bromwell, the first masses in the neighborhood actually were offered
in the Old Harman School in the 1890's. Chuck had several friends
at Saint John's school.




Chuck and family with Siem's Grocery
Store and the drugstore in the distance.




Here's photo of Chuck and his closest friends back in their heyday.
Back row, left to right: Ed Kresser, Pat Owens, Leo Garcia, Bud Woehl, Chuck Woehl.
Front row: Lloyd Jolotz, Mart Kresser, Joe Hanley, Tessy Burhenn.
There is a sad note at the bottom of this caption,
where Chuck writes: "I am the only one still alive."



The Gay Way Inn at 3rd and Detroit was
previously a dry goods store owned by Chuck's
mother in the early 1900's. Chuck's brother
Willie was born there on April 16th, 1912.




Hoffman's Drug, later Bonita's Pharmacy
during a massive snowstorm in the 1930's.




A newspaper clipping published when the Bonita
Pharmacy closed. The caption reads: "George, left,
and Gerald Moore stand behind the soda fountain
of Bonita Pharmacy, which closed its doors for the
last time Monday after 48 years of continuous service."




The Bonita Pharmacy at night. Chuck notes that it was
founded in 1921 and closed in 1969, and that Gerald
Moore and Dr. Alfred Moore were the proprietors.




A newspaper clipping about the Denver Clowns.
Chuck played for this local baseball club. He often
attributed his longevity to his athletic lifestyle.




A photo of the Denver Clowns baseball team.




Vest Garage also sponsored a neighborhood
baseball team, shown above with several young fans.




Chuck was very proud of his cars. From left to right:
his Model T Ford (bought for $5.00), a "junker" used for
parts, and his 1928 Model A Ford (bought for $10.00).




A newspaper clipping from the Catholic
Register detailing the history of the neighborhood.




A small model of the 4th Avenue Community
Church, a forerunner of our neighborhood's
current Sixth Avenue Community Church.




This building is still Bromwell's next-door neighbor:
2622 East Fourth Avenue. It was Mr. Graves' residence
for many years. It was previously a grocery store, and
also the site of the Sixth Avenue Community Church in 1889.




Here's one of the few color photographs of the
old Bromwell school building, built in 1906. This
photo of the south side was taken by Chuck just
before the building was demolished in the 1970's.




Another color photo by Chuck, showing the demolition
on May 8th, 1976. Some of the old building still stands
near the crane in the center of the picture, while the
new building can be seen in the background.




In 1938, Chuck carved his name into the stone
of the drugstore wall. His name can still be seen
if you look carefully on the north side of Third
Avenue, west of Detroit Street. There are many
other names there, too.