Denver assessor records list the date of construction for 1421 E. 14th Avenue as 1888. This property has also been addressed as 1407 Humboldt Street. The Humboldt Street address first appears in Denver city directories in 1894 as the residence of Oscar E. Lehow. While no building permit could be located for construction of the home, the April 14, an 1893 article in the Rocky Mountain News notes that a two-story stone dwelling was being constructed for Lehow on Hunt (the original name for Humboldt) between 14th Avenue and Colfax at a cost of $10,000. Newspaper articles and a brochure from a 1978 house tour suggest the house was designed by architect William Lang, who also designed the Molly Brown House, St. Mark’s Parish Church, and the A.M. Ghost building. No other documentation could be located to support Lang’s involvement in the design of the home.
Oscar E. Lehow was born in Pennsylvania c. 1830 and was a prominent miner and cattleman of Colorado. Lehow was a stockholder in the Auraria Town Company in 1858, one of the original signers of the Auraria Constitution, and is said to be the first man to take a water right from the Platte River. After discovering the Spanish Bar placer claims in 1859, he sold them for $4,000, paid in cattle and horses, which began his foray into cattle ranching on Cherry Creek, the Platte Canyon, and in the San Luis Valley. Lehow lived at 1407 Humboldt Street for just a brief period of time, passing away in 1894.
