Our neighborhood is the heart of the original square mile for the City of Grand Junction. Seventh Street was intended to be a park-like residential area where prosperous residents, who were instrumental in the development of a young city out west, built their homes.

North Seventh Street was a two-lane street with parking for vehicles in the front of their homes. Some of the homes still have a walk across the grass to access to Seventh Street.

It has always been the showcase for all the city. Seventh Street was the route chosen for President Bush and his wife, Barbara, to travel from the airport to the courthouse for the Education 2000 tour in 1991.

In spite of the traffic now impacting the area, it remains a close-knit neighborhood where neighbors visit neighbors on their front porches. Daughters or sons still get married in the family home or have their wedding receptions there.

Over the years however, some homes on Seventh Street have fallen victim of “progress.”

The Grand Junction Town Company officers did more than develop lots and provide street names. They had greater expectations for Grand Junction. They set aside parks in each quarter of the town, and clearly thought that certain areas would be more likely to house the well-to-do. Main Street and Grand and Gunnison avenues were wider than other streets, and the lots facing those streets were deeper than most residential lots. Seventh Street was a fine boulevard, with landscaping in the center, and it was the only street with lots facing east-west rather than north-south. In harmony with the town officials’ plan the homes on Main, Grand Gunnison and especially Seventh Street were larger and more stately.

In 1923, C.F. Martin and C.D.Smith petitioned the Grand Junction City Council to have electric street lights installed on the parkway in the middle of Seventh Street. The city agreed. These lights were removed in 1965.

As a Bi-Centennial project Kathy Jordan petitioned the Grand Junction City council for help in having lights of the period re-installed in the parkway. Neighbors on Seventh Street and many business people in Grand Junction donated time, money and materials. In December of 1975 Kathy, along with city council members, flipped the switch to turn the lights back on.


C.D. Smith

In 1984 Kathy Jordan was instrument in getting the area placed on the National. Register of Historic Places with the U.S. Department of Interior. The goal was to preserve the vision of the founding fathers had for this neighborhood.

A cluster of the first homes on Seventh Street were constructed by members of the same family; starting with Cyrus “Doc” Shoes.
Shores built his home at 427 N. Seventh in 1893.

Franklin I. Lee built his home at 402 in 1903. His wife, Laura, was the daughter of M.M. (Marcus Morton) Shoes, the brother of “Doc” Shores.
Franklin’s father, W.H. Lee built the house at 406 in 1906.

418 was also built by Franklin, I. Lee in 1904. 428 was built by Monroe “Roe” Allison in 1900. Redie’s sister was the wife of Doc Shores.

520 N. Seventh was built by Mr. and Mrs. O.H. Ellison in 1924. Mrs. Ellison was the daughter of M.M. and Laura Shores.

The White house at 337 N. Seventh St., (it is the green house at the corner of Seventh and Grand) was built W.F. White who owned the White Mercantile Co., at Fifth and Main. Claims have been made that this home was built for George Crawford; however, Mesa County records show that the house was built in 1893, two years after Crawford’s death. Crawford's name is on record showing he owned the land, but his name is on most of the property deeds for the original square mile because he was the developer. George Crawford lived in the Hotel Brunswick, a hotel he built, or on his Rapid Creek Ranch when in Grand Junction. Crawford niece, Josephine Rich, did build a home in the 500 block of N. Seventh Street in 1892.

George Crawford                   

Ten homes were built from 1883 to 1899. Of those 10 structures only four remain.

From 1900 to 1909 showed the largest growth on Seventh Street with 19 homes constructed. Of those 19 homes 16 remain. From 1910 to 1919 four homes and one church were built, all are still standing.
1920 to 1970 six homes were built, one school, one duplex and one church, all remain. There are 36 structures in the District.

For more than 20 years several of the home owners and the churches open their doors for the public to tour.

Kathy Jordan wrote a book, “Heart of the City North Seventh Street Historic Residential District.” It is a history of the people who built the homes and others that have lived in them. The book is available in the gift shop at The Museum of the West, Fifth and Ute in Grand Junction.

Some pictures and material courtesy of the Museum of Western Colorado.