Mary Rae. Denver Realtor. RIP.

I think I first met Mary Rae in 1975 or so. She was the go-to Realtor for any buyer looking for a home in the Capitol Hill area of Denver. She was a strikingly good looking woman with such poise and charm. Little did I know that earlier in life she was a nun. Maybe that is why she was always seemed so interested in what others had to say.

The above photo and Mary Rae's obituary appeared in the August 2, 2019 Denver Post. CLICK HERE to read.

I will keep my story as short as possible (a task for me). We looked at many places over a couple of years including the Croke Patterson Campbell Mansion (photo above) at the corner of 11th and Washington. I wrote about that property in one of my first blogs. It was such a stunning building. It had been converted into several delightful apartments plus it had a two story carriage house plus a ghost. I could have bought it somewhere around $90,000 back in the mid-1970s. I couldn't come up with the down payment. I must have made that poor lady show me twenty or thirty properties. She never gave up on me, and I never gave up on her.

A year or so later I purchased a very nice home at the corner of 9th Avenue and Clarkson Street which I owned for about five and one-half years. I sold it to a pharmacist in 1982 who in turn sold it to Mary Rae several years later. She told me when I bought the house it was one of her favorites. I guess it was. I took a photo of the 900 Clarkson Street when I was in Denver in 2015. See below.

As returning veterans from World War II moved to the Denver suburbs, many of the old homes in the Capitol Hill area near downtown were converted into apartments. While the area was not blighted, it could have gone that way were it not for Mary's passion to save the old houses of Capitol Hill. Her passion became contagious. Baby boomers returned to that area, bought up the houses, renovated them, and prevented the potential destruction of many beautiful homes. 

Mary Rae and some partners rescued a large house located at the corner of East 8th Avenue at Pearl Street and moved it four blocks to the north where it was totally renovated. It was moved right past my house. This was quite the sight for most the day as three large component parts of the house were relocated to the corner of East 10th Avenue at Emerson. Thanks to Google images you can see the houses at they look today - forty plus years later at 875 East 10th Avenue in Denver.

Mary Rae was an inspirational person. She saw the good in people and the value in preserving our past. She left a legacy of beautiful homes to the people of Denver. I am so thankful I met her and that she was a part of my life.

1026 Von Phister Street, Key West - Casa Marina Area - Just Listed

Just Listed 1026 Von Phister Street, Key West is described by the listing Realtor this way:

"Stunning one of kind luxury residence with guest cottage on large corner lot in the prestigious Casa Marina neighborhood. Complete renovation in 2016 combined privacy with open spaces to create a truly captivating island experience. Beautiful features include marble-finish porcelain tile and brushed-oak flooring, high-hat LED custom lighting, and a chef's kitchen with top of the line appliances, stone counter-tops and custom-built cabinetry. Windows and doors are all hurricane-proof glass, many with remote roll-up shades. There is an enormous master suite featuring a luxuriously appointed Jacuzzi tub and private sitting-room/den. All three bedrooms and cottage open to private patios. The enchanting exterior is highlighted with lush tropical foliage and large pool with sunning platform. The over-sized lot offers off-street parking for two covered cars plus two uncovered."

This house sits on a large corner lot hidden from view behind tall stands of swaying palm trees and a six foot privacy fence. While the Old Town Area of Key West is noted for its historic small cigar maker cottages which often sit on postage stamp size lots, most of the homes in the Casa Marina Area were built after World War II, were originally larger in size, and located on lots sized at 5,000 sq ft and larger.

I have lived the Casa Marina Area since 1995 and have watched the area transform as once virgin lots got developed. mid-century homes were either taken down and new houses built, or like this property, totally redone. At the outset of the renovation process the owners id 1026 Von Phister Street called upon landscape architect Craig Reynolds to design the exterior so that the completed gardens would seamlessly integrate the hardscape and softscape, making them look as if they were always there. Craig designed everything from the 'doors out' including overall planting design, including the pool, spa, trellis and arbors, patios and decks, fountains and landscape lighting all of which is set within a framework of native plants and indigenous materials to complete the experience.

The main living areas, the master suite, and guest cottage all open out to the seductive pool. Whether at night or during the daytime, that pool is just magical. Visualize yourself taking a skinny dip just before retiring for the evening or doing a few laps before heading out to the boat.  Or the beach.  Higgs Beach is just four blocks to the south. Louie's Backyard is four blocks west. Or stay home. This is the place so many people dream of owing some day.

CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet plus listing photographs of 1026 Von Phister Street, Key West, offered for sale at $3,295,000.  Then please call me, Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing of this home. I am a buyers agent at Preferred Properties Key West. I am also the neighbor across the street. I can show this area and give you real first hand knowledge about the home and the area. It is not my listing but it is my chance to welcome the new owner into my neighborhood.

The Almost Stairway to Heaven

This is a true story. The above photo shows a cast iron staircase similar to the one discussed in today's blog but it is not the actual one.


Twenty-six years ago I owned a group of four historic Victorian buildings in the Capitol Hill area of Denver which included a massive two story carriage house. The prior owner attached a two story cast iron staircase to the front side of the carriage house. Our German Shepard Gertie would regularly sit on the second floor rear landing observing what was going on in the world outside of her yard. While the gate kept her inside the yard, she knew her job was to sit as sentry.

Every spring we would fill wood boxes with trailing flowers which would cascade over the rails. Each morning before going to work I would drag the garden hose up the stairs to water the flowers and the water the other bushes and flowers. Gertie would spend her day on the second floor and occasionally go the garden to patrol - that's what German Shepard's do.

A light was affixed atop the iron newel post at the bottom of the stairs. The rails, balusters and steps were either rescued or purloined from the Brown Palace Hotel when the hotel lobby was renovated. The prior owner of the my properties had been a bellman at the hotel during the renovation. Multiple sections were removed. It is hard to imagine they could have been stolen, but one never knows.

I noticed that Gertie would always jump from or to the second or third step each time she went up or came down the stairs. I thought is was some game she invented to amuse herself. I remember the one day I was heading up the stairs after watering the flowers while me feet were still wet. I think I hit the second step when I felt an electric shock and leaped up to the next step. I called my partner who came out and then we both tested the stairs. Yep - they were electrified.

I called an electrician who came over and fixed the problem. The lamp at the top of the newel post had developed a slight shock which then electrified the cast iron staircase. Had the current been higher both Gertie and me may have taken our last steps on the stairway to heaven.

The Law of the Pact

There were three very important parts of my life as a young boy in the 1950s: my school, my church, and the Cub Scouts. Not in that order. But I don't know which was of more importance all these years later. 
 
Scout Oath
On my honor I will do my best to do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; to help other people at all times; to keep myself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight.

Scout Law
The Scout Law has 12 points. Each is a goal for every Scout. A Scout tries to live up to the Law every day. It is not always easy to do, but a Scout always tries.
A Scout is:
TRUSTWORTHY. Tell the truth and keep promises. People can depend on you.
LOYAL. Show that you care about your family, friends, Scout leaders, school, and country.
HELPFUL. Volunteer to help others without expecting a reward.
FRIENDLY. Be a friend to everyone, even people who are very different from you.
COURTEOUS. Be polite to everyone and always use good manners.
KIND. Treat others as you want to be treated . Never harm or kill any living thing without good reason.
OBEDIENT. Follow the rules of your family, school, and pack. Obey the laws of your community and country.
CHEERFUL. Look for the bright side of life. Cheerfully do tasks that come your way. Try to help others be happy.
THRIFTY. Work to pay your own way. Try not to be wasteful. Use time, food, supplies, and natural resources wisely.
BRAVE. Face difficult situations even when you feel afraid. Do what you think is right despite what others might be doing or saying.
CLEAN. Keep your body and mind fit . Help keep your home and community clean.
REVERENT. Be reverent toward God. Be faithful in your religious duties. Respect the beliefs of others.

I read my Scout manual. I believed it. I lived it. As best as I could. I really did. I lived the life of a good little middle class kid in the western suburb of Denver after World War II. America was prospering and we were all living the good life, even if we were not rich, we were prospering as America was reborn.

We went to our weekly den meetings first at Bruce Small's house where his mother, Shirley, was den mother. Later we went to Kenneth Davidson's house where his mother, Lucille, was our den mother. Both were kind women who truly loved all of us. I cannot imagine a better life than to have lived as I did back then with these two kind women helped raise us little rascals. We weren't bad. We were boys. Joyous boys.

We wore our little blue shirts with yellow kerchiefs, raised our right hands with index and middle finger outstretched and swore the Scout Oath. It meant something. It was, as it is written, The Law of the Pact. They were good instructive words to live by.

How many adults today - even leaders - can live up to the Law of the Pact?

624 White Street, Key West - Touched by History

The former home of Pulitzer Prize poet Elizabeth Bishop located at 624 White Street in Old Town Key West is now offered for sale for the first time since it was purchased from Ms. Bishop in 1946.  According to the listing Realtor, not me, the house has been kept it basically the same condition since it was purchased.

“It is very nice here; I wish so much that you and your mother could come here sometime, I am so sure you would like it. The sea is so beautiful– all spotted and striped, from dark black-blue to what my aunt calls ‘lettuce’ green.”

Elizabeth Bishop discovered Key West in the 1930s while on a fishing trip. She purchased the eyebrow house at 624 White Street which she owned until 1946 when she moved to Brazil. The house was built in 1889 at the eastern edge of Old Town. Her home faced the Army Barracks and the Battleship Maine cemetery. The Armory was located about 150 feet or so to the north. I dug into my old shoebox and found an aerial photo of the area from 1940 to which I added an arrow to show her home.

 Elizabeth Bishop’s home in Key West, Florida was designated a Literary Landmark in 1993. The ceremony was conducted at the 11th Annual Key West Literary Seminar. The plaque was unveiled by Pulitzer prize-winning poet, and close friend of Bishop, James Merrill.

In his book The Houses of Key West  Alex Cammerer wrote about his first visit to Key West which turned into a love affair with the architecture of Old Town. He referred to eyebrow houses simply stating "with their front porch roofs extending demurely over the second-story windows, hence the term eyebrows. I have discovered that they are unique to Key West and are not found anywhere else in the country." I have blogged about many of the eyebrow homes in Key West. I have learned that no two are the same design and construction.  According to the Monroe County Property Appraiser this home has 1336 sq ft of interior living space plus porches. The home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The interiors feature Dade County Pine wood walls, ceiling, and floors.

The "modern" kitchen is located in an addition at the rear of the house and was added subsequent to Bishop's departure. 

I am always amazed at house new renovations treat the second floor bedrooms to create function sleeping spaces and add or update existing bathrooms. The roof lines must be preserved to maintain the architectural integrity of the original home.

The 6,030 square foot lot measures 67' X 90'. There is more than adequate room in the rear for a large pool plus updating of the rear porch into interior living space and perhaps the addition of a new porch or deck at the rear.

 CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on 624 White Street, Key West offered for sale at $1,200,000. Then please call me Gary Thomas, 305-766-2642, to schedule a private showing.  I am a buyers agent and a full time Realtor at Preferred Properties Key West. This is exactly the kind of property buyers interested in renovation project are interested in.  It will probably go under contract in a matter of days.

Cry Me a River!

I was searching the Internet yesterday and found a story about a local crazy lady who lost her home in foreclosure. Before readers call out "misogyny" understand that I am going to tell you about an equally crazy man. In fact I am going to tell you three short tales about how people who lost their homes through foreclosure casting themselves as victims of the foreclosing party.

Case Number One - Madam X.  Madam X owned a very well located Conch House on a good block in the Heart of Old Town Key West. She owned the house for many years and made numerous changes to it without obtaining building permits. I wrote about this house a couple of times when it was listed for sale but did not disclose all that I knew about the things the madam had done including creating two additional living units which she illegally rented on a transient basis. She had created a separate living space for herself at the rear of the house which she shared with pets. Lots of pets. It reeked of pets.

Madam X listed her home for sale with a couple of very good agents over the years. One of the agents is among the five top producers in Key West. I had a buyer who made several offers to buy the house at full asking price, waived all inspections, agreed to pay all title fees, and close on a date convenient to the madam so as to ease her removal from the house. The madam refused that offer.  The real estate agent told me others had made similar offers to no avail. Madam X an answer to the foreclosure lawsuit which dragged the proceeding out for several years.
during the interim, interest continued to accrue, the lender paid the real property taxes and put force-place insurance on the house so as to protect lender's investment. 

The Clerk of the Court finally auctioned off the house a couple of years ago. Some people cried out blaming the liberals for gentrifying Key West and making the cost of living too high for older locals like Madam X, Some complained about all of the houses that have become vacation rentals that create wealth for absentee owners. (I guess those folks were unaware the madam, herself, rented her house on a weekly basis and benefited from all the income but who did not pay her bills.)  Nobody blamed the madam.  My buyer offered a million cash for the house. I think the Clerk of Court sold it somewhere in the $600,000 range.

Case Number Two - Dowager Queen. Longtime readers may recall that I used to be a lawyer and for a few years worked the special assets departments for a couple of banks in Denver. I was a worker bee at one and the manager at the other.  A woman I will call The Dowager Queen was the widow of one of Denver's most respected members of society in the 1950s to 1970s.  I went to law school with one of his sons. The queen had money but for some reason refused to pay the mortgage on her home. I started foreclosure. She called up and said something like Do you know who I am?  I said I did. She said I needed to stop and warned me that if I didn't, she would go to the newspapers and TV stations and cry about what I was doing to her. I told her to go ahead. Instead, she called the president of my bank who called me into his office to question what was going on. I explained and he said to carry on. A few days later my former law school classmate called me and asked if we could work out a deal. He said his mother was nuts and said he would pay off the loan. I gave him time and he did.

Case Number Three - Mr. Green. Mr. Green was a paraplegic Viet Nam veteran confined to a wheelchair.  He borrowed money from our bank to renovate a house for his special needs. Then he refused to repay the loan even though he had income and resources to do so. I talked to him on the phone. He told me he would tell the world about how awful I was. I told him I sympathized with his life situation  but said he had to repay his loan. I continued the foreclosure and ended up taking possession of the house a few months later. I vaguely remember meeting a locksmith at the property to gain access.

It was surprised to see how much damage a man in a wheelchair could do. He removed all the kitchen cabinets and appliances, light fixtures, light switches and plugs, as well as all bathroom fixtures except the toilets which were filled with s***.

Each of these people created a world in which they were the victims of a bank that loaned them money and then which demanded it be repaid.  I have a load of similar stories of borrowers who blamed the bank for their woes including a former Denver police detective who claimed a bank loan officer got him drunk and made him borrow money.

723 Catherine Street, Key West - Just Sold

Just SOLD, but not by me, 723 Catherine Street, Key West. I wrote about this property a couple of times over the past few years and showed it to several prospective buyers. Let me share a bit of what I previously wrote.

723 Catherine Street in 1965

From a bottling plant to a contemporary gem, this former cola bottling plant was converted in 1995 into a spacious, open, modern home and is a recipient of the prestigious Ceramic Star for Architectural Preservation Excellence. Lush gardens surround a beautiful pool with a waterfall, an outdoor shower and a large poolside loggia that is great for dining and entertaining. High privacy walls insure peace and quiet. There are three large bedrooms and two and a half baths equipped with elegant modern fixtures. Inside the ceilings soar in the first floor living areas. The gourmet kitchen opens over a breakfast bar to the great room. This property is in the low-flood-hazard x zone.

 This home has 2356 sq ft of living space and sits on a 3939 sq ft lot. The property definitely has a New York loft type of feel to me. The building is concrete and the floors are decorative concrete. Even though the walls and floors and glass are hard surfaces, the house does not give off what I'll call hard vibes. The simple lines, warm colors, high ceilings, and spacious rooms make this home inviting, not harsh. The open courtyards and pool off the living areas remind you right away that you are not on the Isle of Manhattan but the Island of Key West instead.

I dug down into my old shoebox and found the black and white aerial photo taken of St Mary's Star  of the Sea church and convent in the 1950s. The convent burned down a few years later. I added a check to mark the location of 723 Catherine Street.  If you are familiar with this part of town you will appreciate all of the new construction and historic preservation that has taken place over the past six decades. One of the challenges in selling this property was its location across the street from the Suburban Propane tank farm. It's time for that thing to be relocated to another island. It has had a negative influence on many other sales over the years. The thing that changed the dynamics was the acquisition of a transient rental license. The owner had successfully rented the property as a monthly vacation rental. But a transient license makes that property (and any other property in close proximity of Duval Street) a money making prospect.

The property was sold in 1994 for $132,500. The recent owner/seller purchased it in 1998 for $490,000. It CLOSED yesterday for $1,842,500.  I am not good at math and I know someone who is will correct me. But I think that is a 386.2% gain or an annual gain of 18.3%.  Plus the owner/seller had the use and or income of the property for the past 21 years. It kind of beats owing a CD. CLICK HERE to view the Key West MLS datasheet on this property. Congrats to the listing and selling agents.

Are You a Spic?

I am a big fan of using images to help me replay images in my mind from when I was a child.

One of the defining moments of my life occurred at the North Drive-in Theater in Denver, Colorado  sometime when I was around seven or eight years old.  My parents and I went to the North Drive-in Thereat located in Thornton, a new northern suburb of an ever-expanding Denver

The time would have been around 1954 or so. I am not exactly sure about the year, but I remember what happened with absolute clarity.

There was a children's playground located just below the big screen.  My parents were sitting in our green 1952 Studebaker car. I went to the playground to play on the teeter-totter or merry-go-round until what-ever movie started.

I started to play with a kid my age. He was a Mexican. I figured that out. He was brown skinned. We were having fun until I asked him "Are you a Spic?"

He immediately left me. I was puzzled.  What had I said?

I grew up in a family of Rednecks from Missouri.  Baptists!  I heard the most vile words about other people out of my Mother's mouth.  My Dad didn't say those hateful words - mostly.

The current President of the United States is saying hateful things about others.  I did not know any better when I was a child. He and I are basically the same age now. Okay, he is a year older. He is supposed to be smarter. I figured out that I really hurt that little boy. I have never forgotten what I said or the impact it had on him.

Key West Border Patrol Incident

This is a true story.

Sometime during the spring of 2007 the US Border Patrol started to aggressively round-up illegal aliens in the Key West area. I remember one episode that made the front page of our local paper, The Key West Citizen.  It involved the raid on a hotel next to the Home Depot which was being renovated. The contractor had many illegals working on the site. This raid got a lot of locals riled up because of how aggressive it was. And it made illegals very cautious.

That same week I had workers making some repairs at my house. The workers included a man from South Africa, a carpenter from England, two day laborers from Nicaragua (who did not speak English),  an electrician from Ireland, a painter from Poland, and a tile setter also from Poland.

It was around lunchtime a few days after the Border Patrol raid.  The workers were sitting under the palm trees outside by my pool eating lunch. Like many of the homes in the Casa Marina Area where I live, my house has a large privacy fence.  Someone opened the gate without ringing the bell.  All of the workers eyes looked to the north end of the pool and saw male wearing a uniform enter the yard. Everybody but me scrambled and ran out the gate on the south side of the pool where we were congregated.

It took me a minute to figure out that the workers had confused the Orkin Man with a Border Patrol agent. The workers finally made it back to work, but checked over their shoulder for days to come.