Fitzroy Place (also known as the Warren-Iliff Mansion or Iliff Mansion) is a historic residence located at 2160 South Cook Street in the University Park neighborhood of Denver, Colorado. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 and designated a Denver Historic Landmark in 2008.
Description
Fitzroy Place is a 2½-story, L-shaped mansion built of red Arizona sandstone in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. The structure features a complex roof, irregular floor plan, round-headed Romanesque arches, two massive bay towers flanking the entrance, and a porte cochere. The interior includes golden oak woodwork in the foyer, wainscoting and paneling throughout, a library with built-in shelving, a sitting room, and a dining room refinished in mahogany after a fire in 1910. The house contains 12 fireplaces decorated with carved ceramic tile and hand-carved woodwork. The property also includes a 1½-story carriage house.
History
Construction on the mansion began in 1891 and was completed in 1893 at a total cost of approximately $62,250. The building was designed by the Albany, New York architectural firm Fuller and Wheeler. It was commissioned by Elizabeth Iliff Warren (1844–1920), the widow of John Wesley Iliff, a prominent Colorado and Wyoming cattle baron and Denver philanthropist. Elizabeth later married Bishop Henry White Warren of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
The mansion was named "Fitzroy Place" after Elizabeth Iliff Warren's birthplace in Ontario, Canada.
For many years, the architect was mistakenly believed to be Frank E. Edbrooke, a prolific Denver architect. This error was corrected in 1974 when Marybelle Lyde Iliff researched the building for its National Register nomination.
Current Use
As of available records, the building is owned by Accelerated Schools, an educational institution, and serves as their campus.
Significance
Fitzroy Place is recognized for its architectural significance as an example of Richardsonian Romanesque design in Denver, as well as its associations with education, religion, and social history. It is one of the few surviving large-scale late 19th-century mansions in the area, built at the end of Colorado's silver boom.
