Denver assessor records list the year of construction for 1163 Washington Street as 1904. A 1904 building permit, listing W. H. Taylor as both the owner and architect, supports this date. The first owner of record in assessor records is Rosa L. Gray, who purchased this parcel and the one adjoining it at 1161 Washington, in 1904. The buildings at 1161 and 1163 Washington are nearly identical.
Rosa Diehl was born in Russia in 1863 and immigrated to the United States in 1876. Her family was part of a group of Volga Germans that settled in Rush County, Kansas, and founded the town of Liebenthal there. The 1880 Federal census shows Rosa living on a farm with her mother Anna, step-father Peter Depperschmidt, and six siblings. Rosa married Thomas Gray shortly thereafter. The 1900 census shows Rosa running a boardinghouse at 1371 Broadway in Denver. While she is shown as being married, no husband is listed with her.
Rosa Gray lived at 1163 Washington from 1904 until her death in 1921.
