This house was built in 1910 in the architectural style of a 20th Century English Craftsman cottage by famous American etching artist, George Elbert Burr (1859-1939). Burr built this house as a combination art studio, salon and home. He designed much of the house working with the architectural firm Varian and Varian. He lived here with his wife until he sold it to the Denver Woman’s Press Club (DWPC) in 1924 for $9,000. In 1968, the house received Historic Landmark Designation.
DWPC is a membership organization for professional women writers in all genres. It was founded in 1898 by nineteen charter members, including organizer and first president Minnie J. Reynolds. Reynolds was an influential suffrage leader, serving as “Press Secretary” in the victorious 1893 Colorado campaign, and later as a national suffrage organizer. She was one of the first woman political writers for the Rocky Mountain News, and an early woman stump speaker and activist in the Populist Party. The club’s membership, throughout its history, has included numerous women leaders. Among them:
--Mary Elizabeth Bates, one of the first women doctors in Denver;
--Mary Florence Lathrop, one of Denver’s first women lawyers;
--Helen Ring Robinson, Colorado’s first woman state senator;
--Helen Marie Black, first woman business manager of a major symphony orchestra (she was instrumental in the founding of the Denver Symphony);
--Mary Coyle Chase, Pulitzer Prize winning author of the play “Harvey”
The house is open to the community for author events and other special events, such as Doors Open Denver. These events are posted on the club's website--www.dwpconline.org
