Built in 1899, this Colonial Revival style mansion has been the property and home of the Capitol Hill United Neighborhoods organization (CHUN) since 2005. and the grounds include an additional 1500 S.F. building, called Hedlund Hall (or the Annex), which was built as an event center in the early 1980s. Railroad attorney Daniel W. Tears and his wife commissioned the construction of the house in 189
8. They lived in the house for more than 40 years. In 1937, the house was purchased by Ida and Frederick McFarlane. After Ida’s death, Frederick married Lillian Cushing, a dancer and actress, who gave dancing lessons in a studio in the basement. The Denver Post once proclaimed the home’s dining room as “one of the loveliest in the city” in 1962, the same year that Mr. Lillian stayed in the mansion until 1966. The house was owned by the McFarlane family until 1972 when it was sold to investors. It would later become the residence and offices of U.S. Senator Gary Hart. The house served as an office building until 1977 when it was purchased by the City and County of Denver for use as the Capitol Hill Community Center. It became the Greater Capitol Hill Events Center in 1977, and then the Center for the People of Capitol Hill. The house was then owned by a separate nonprofit corporation bearing the same name. When the Center for the People of Capitol Hill shutdown due to poor financial performance in the early 2000s, the entire property was transferred to CHUN. CHUN has owned and operated the property since then. While the Tears-McFarlane house is historically significant primarily for its architecture, it is also significant for its association with the development and settlement of the Capitol Hill and Cheesman Park communities in Denver. The revitalized Tears-McFarlane House is expected to include food and beverage components, special events space, and potential office space featuring a collaborative work environment for predominately non-profit service organizations. The project will seek to integrate various civic, commercial, and special event spaces with great public spaces.
