According to Denver assessor records, 1816 Race Street was constructed in 1908. It appears that the home replaced three prior structures while under the ownership of Hary Harp, widow of William Ransom Harp, president of the Union Coal and Coke Company. William died in 1902, leaving his estate to Mary and their three daughters, Olive, Anna, and Maud. The house appears to have served primarily as an investment property for Harp, though in city directories she appears at the 1816 Race address in 1906 and 1913.
In 1928, 1816 Race was purchased by the Hosek family, who would own the property for the next forty years. Denver assessor records list Arthur and Anton Hosek (sometimes spelled “Arthure” and “Anthon,” respectively) as the owners of 1816 Race Street. Anton, born in 1869 in New York, was a carpenter and resided there with his wife Mary, sons Arthur, Henry, Rudolph, and Howard, and daughters Elsie and Helen.
The Hosek family owned and operated Hosek Manufacturing Company. Although son Henry started the company in 1918 by making “plaster Indian heads and novelties,” Hosek Manufacturing soon expanded and produced ornamentation, such as plasterwork and bronze pieces, for many of Denver’s theaters, civic buildings, churches, and upscale homes. Some of their work included the casting of two bronze mountain lion sculptures that flank the entrance at the Colorado State Office Building at 201 East Colfax Avenue and the design and casting of ornamental plaster decorations and lighting fixtures for the interior of the Oriental Theater at 4329-39 West 44th Avenue. The home stayed in the Hosek family until 1974.
