According to its building permit, 1717 E. Colfax Avenue (originally addressed as 1715 E. Colfax) was constructed in 1908 for owner W.E. Veeder. No architect or builder was listed on the permit. William E. Veeder was born in Nebraska c.1875, and owned an employment agency in Denver. Denver city directories show that Veeder lived in the city from approximately 1900 until 1908 before moving to California. During his time in Denver Veeder built several apartment buildings, including the subject property, originally known as the Neva Apartments, and 1642 Ogden Street. An early photograph shows that this building was originally constructed with front-facing balconies for each of the six units, and a shaped parapet with corbelling.
