Part 2-1

Located right next to the hill, address 1445 12^th st, is the iconic ‘Hill House’ known as the Barn.  Positioned almost directly on the corner of 12^th and college, the Barn embodies all of the elemnts of the Hill district.  Like much of its relatives, this Hill house is old, rickety, and well partied in.  While the Hill is a subjective term in and of itself, it nonetheless represents more than just 13^th st.  When students refer to the hill they are generally implying to the area surrounding the hill, which is about a four block radius. 

            From personal experience, living in one of these houses is often a blessing and a curse.  While being closely located to institutions such as the school, community centers such as the church, and local business scattered throughout the Hill, young often-inebriated adolescents also surround you.  If you take a close look at the surrounding houses, one will notice that each house contains several mailboxes.  Living in a Hill House one is forced to live in compliance with often-complete strangers, or with close neighbors whom they usually do not know.  An example of the Hill lifestyle can be seen through the abundant amount of fraternities and sororities surrounding ‘the Barn’.  A hill house is often subjected to the whim of others, and walking west one will see the streets lined with cars and ‘college houses’.  By the time one reaches 9^th street you have officially left the ‘Hill’ going west.  This ending of the Hill is marked by the graveyard, which occasionally you will find odd Boulderites hanging out in. 

            Moving east from ‘the Barn’ one will quickly pass through 13^th st, or the Hill, and be presented with the tunnel to campus.  Although the University and the town of Boulder are symbiotically intertwined, once one steps foot on campus they are technically no longer on the Hill.  Simply walking down college from west to east, one is capable of experiences the gradual changes in the hill; from a graveyard, to college party houses, to local shops, then eventually the University.  Moving south from 12^th st. one is approached by more iconic “Hill Houses” such as the ‘D House’, a house that is notorious for having extravagant parties students of the upper class. 

            Located at 12^th and Euclid, the D House marks the end of what is technically considered the Hill going south.  Embodying all that is ‘the Hill’ and what it stereotypically stands for, the D house serves as a quintessential Hill house as well.  Once one passes Euclid, you are slowly integrated into a much more residential area with upper and middle class working civilians.  Leaving ‘the Hill district’ is something one can feel out for themselves.  Simply walking the four block west of 13^th st, and 2 blocks up and down those encompassing streets, one will know clearly when they have left the area. 

In the Hood? On the Hill? PART II: 2-4

Western Edge:

9^th Street is the western soft edge of The Hill. While driving west on College Avenue towards 9^th Street, there were many run-down looking houses, all so close to each other. Not-so-luxurious cars were parked along the streets, packed bumper-to-bumper. The idea of space on The Hill seemed very limited in the sense that there were barely any backyards, front yards, or space for parking, and all the buildings seemed to be arm’s length apart. But past 9^th Street, things seemed different. The houses, for one, looked more suitable for families and not college students. The houses appeared to be fully loaded, armed with basketball hoops, pretty flowers, clean doormats, patio furniture, and spacious driveways. The streets seemed more lit on the eastern side of 9^th Street. This may be because there are more people who occupy that side of the street.

9th Street and College Avenue

A Densely Packed Street with Cars

9^th Street is a soft edge for several reasons. Even though there was a clear divide on College Avenue, when headed down south on 9^th Street, the houses along the western side of 9^th Street were obviously occupied by college students. The houses looked more presentable and cleaner but it was obvious college students lived there. When you went a little more west on 9^th street, the houses gradually became more luxurious, and it was obvious college kids were not living there. The Columbia Cemetery at 9^th Street also served as a soft edge. There was some debate over whether the cemetery would be a hard or soft edge but ultimately, we decided it to be a soft edge because it was only a couple blocks long; to the north and south of the cemetery, it seemed like characteristics of The Hill were still very visible. The changes of scenery from the eastern side of 9th Street to the western side were very subtle. There was a moment in time when you had to think to yourself, “Wait, are we still on The Hill?”

Residential Home at 7th Street and College Avenue

Residential Home at 6th Street and College Avenue

At a certain point while driving west on College Ave, after 9^th street, we hit a “No Outlet” sign and that was a clear sign that we hit a hard edge. The sign was dividing “The Hill,” even though it wasn’t really The Hill in the sense of the occupants surrounding the area, from the Flat Irons.

Columbia Cemetery

Jay Street and College Avenue

Southern Edge:

From the quintessential Hill house on 12^th Street and College Avenue, the group headed south on 12^th street. Like College Avenue, many things were very similar: the streets were heavily packed with parked cars and there seemed to be no space between buildings, but the presence of sororities fraternizes, and apartments were overwhelming. Slowly but surely, houses became more prominent on 12^th street once we hit Euclid Avenue. East of 12^th Street, on Euclid Avenue, there was a cute little museum and the Beach Park. Families, as well as students, visit this park often probably because of the lack of yards. After driving a couple more blocks, we realized there were nicer houses that families could occupy, but there was still a nice mix of college houses. Then it happened, we hit Baseline Road. 

Beach Park at 12th and Euclid Avenue

There was a drastic difference between the north side of Baseline and the south side of Baseline, whether you were on 9^th, 12^th or 15^th Street. The houses on the south end of Baseline were clearly worth at least a million dollars that occupied only families. Every house had a driveway with a car that showed the family had money, and each house seemed to be gated off from the rest of the world. One house in particular had a black metal gate that fenced off the whole house from everyone, and it looked magically. There wasn’t a house on The Hill where we thought, “Oh my god, can we live here? I want this to be our house, this is my dream house”. On the northern side of Baseline, there were some nice houses but also there were houses that were clearly occupied by college students. The paint was chipping off the doors, CU Boulder Flags were hung, and it literally looked like some of the houses were on the verge of falling apart. This hard edge was very obvious because of the clear divide between who lived where. The southern end of Baseline Road occupied wealthy families, who lived in the Chautauqua district, where as the northern end of Baseline had college students, with not-so-nice houses and driveways. There was it was apparent that south of Baseline, street park was non-existent.

Apartments on 12th Street

Mercedes G-Series south of Baseline Road

Even though The Hill becomes lower Chautauqua, then Chautauqua, the crossing into lower Chautauqua is hard to see because of the intermixing of families with actual residential housing and college students who are renting run down houses. The presence of fewer cars on the side of the streets was also another indication of entering into lower Chautauqua and the more expensive cars but then occasionally you would see a car that looked like it had been produced in the 50s.

Fewer Cars Present

Houses right next to each other: D House and Residential Home

In terms of The Hill, the different types of people occupying the housing and the actual housing itself are a clear indication of an edge. The clear divide between the millionaire dollar houses, and the run-down houses was an example of a hard edge. The subtle and gradual changes that occurred between the mixing of nice houses and run down houses are an example of a soft edge.

Beautiful Gated House south of Baseline Road

Landmark:

Lynch loosely defines that a landmark is an element within a city that is used as a point reference. He says that occupants of the city only observer and do not normally pass through these landmarks.

The Fox Theater on 13^th Street has been around since 1926, so anyone that has lived in Boulder knows where The Fox Theater is even if they have not physically been inside the theater. Stores around The Fox Theater have been replaced by different stores over time, but The Fox has stayed constant. Many Hill residents use The Fox as a reference point for directions to other destinations. The sign in front says “Fox” in black letters against a white headboard, very clearly visible for the public to see. 

The Fox Theater

The Hill on Wikipedia with The Fox Theater picture for main representation of The Hill

Assignment 2 - Part 1

Perry describes the ideal neighborhood in his essay “The Neighborhood Unit” which goes into detail about the primary institutions and principles that are necessary to comprise a neighborhood.  Some of the necessary features of a neighborhood, as described by Perry are: Size, Boundaries, Open Spaces, Institution Sites, Local Shops, and an Internal Street System.  The Boulder “Hill” community consists of many of the principles and features that Perry describes in his essay; however, there are some key differences that make the Hill unique to a typical city.  The Hill is a college residential area specifically; however, there are family housing units on the outskirts of the Hill, not far away from campus.  Some of the key features that do exist on the Hill that are mentioned as necessary by Perry would be the elementary and middle schools, the designated local shops area on 13^th street, open spaces such as parks, and most importantly the internal street system. 

Residential Housing:  The Hill is comprised mostly of residential housing that is typically occupied by students.  The houses on the Hill are usually split into units to maximize the amount of occupants that can live in the area.  The housing is compromised of many houses that have been split into duplexes and sometimes houses that can be split up into multiple units; therefore, housing a maximum number of college students.  There are also several apartment complexes throughout the Hill area that can house hundreds of college students. 

Open Spaces:  The Hill consists of a few open spaces such as parks throughout the area.  The college students and even the families that live on the outskirts of the Hill use these areas.  Many college students take their dogs to play in the parks while there are also families that will bring their children to play on the playground structures. 

Local Shops:  The Hill has a main shopping area on 13^th street where a majority of restaurants and shopping boutiques reside.  This area consists of a diverse grouping of restaurants where the college students can eat, get coffee, or get a quick snack on the go.  There is one building on the corner of 13^th and college that compromises of multiple different businesses such as restaurants, a bank, and other small businesses. 

Street System:  The Hill has a street system that bounds the Hill area.  The main streets that bound the Hill are Broadway, Baseline, Arapahoe, and 9^th street.  These streets do extend a bit farther out than the college based housing that comprises the Hill.  As one walks up 12^th street, for example, as soon as they would come to Aurora, it becomes evident that there is family housing and a mix of college student housing.  The graded street system on the Hill is mostly used by the residents who occupy the Hill, while the people passing by use the boundary streets. 

(taken from: http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/historic_us_cities.html)

Differences:  The hill is not the typical neighborhood unit that Perry describes in his essay as I have mentioned above.  For example, there are no community centers located on the hill.  The college students that occupy the Hill typically use the recreation center provided by the University or have to drive a distance to a recreation center located outside of the Hill area.  The Hill also does not consist of a large shopping area.  The 13^th street business area consists of small restaurants and stores that cannot support then entire community.  To get groceries and other goods the Hill residents typically have to drive to outside areas.  

Assignment 1-2

The homeless in Boulder are both unique and misunderstood.  Their values are skewed from the norms society has placed.  “According to Florida, there are two layers to the creative class,” none of which the homeless contribute towards. Florida makes it clear that he is not using the term class in a derogatory way, but it is rather a way to understand the emergent socio-economic class, that throughout history has led to progress.  While the homeless in Boulder do not fall under the “Super-Creative Core” or the “Creative Professions” layer, they are both a contradiction to the Creative Class and a representation of the inequity in todays Creative Class.  While the homeless certainly exhibit a form of individuality and diversity, both which are values of the creative class, their non-existent contribution to economic organizations puts them at the bottom of the meritocratic hierarchy.    Although everyone’s perspective on the homeless is subjective, they are nonetheless obvious evidence of the difficulties in obtaining meritocracy in today’s culture.  Due to the symbiotic relationship between culture, the creative class, and the landscape of cities, the homeless still contribute to society by creating volunteer work, homeless shelters, and help to reflect the openness of those in the Creative Class.  

[see picture in Assignment 1-3]