Gonzalez House - 1707 6th Avenue

 Print Listing Historical Name - Evans House
Style - Late Victorian
Built Year - 1900
State ID - 5WL.5858

Description - The east-facing, rectangular plan, 1½ story, Late Victorian home at 1707 6th Avenue features horizontal wood siding, a sandstone foundation, and a brick chimney. The cross-gabled roof is covered with asphalt composition shingles. Plain wood shingles cover the gable ends and decorative knee braces are seen on the north and east gables. The home has 1-over-1 or 1-by-1 aluminum windows as well as an oriel window on the north elevation. A full-width porch with an enclosed half wall and simple, squared posts is recessed under the façade; wooden steps lead to an off-set front door. The west (rear) elevation of the home has an enclosed, shed-roof porch.

Historical Background - The home at 1707 6th Avenue was first owned by A.L. Evans, a landscape gardener, and his wife, Clara, in 1901. The Evans lived in the home for six years; from 1908-1910, three different families lived in the home. From 1913-23, J.W. Neal, the proprietor of the Busy Bee Lunch Room, lived at the residence with his wife Aurilla and their three children. In 1926, Richard G. and Berdenia Dempsey and their children moved into the home. Mr. Dempsey worked at Colorado Teacher’s College as the superintendent of buildings and grounds. The Dempseys had moved by 1936. In 1940, Mayo E. Coon, an employee at the heating plant of the Colorado State College of Education, his wife Syrena, and their children moved into the home. The same year, one of their daughters, Hazel, graduated from Greeley High School. In May 1942, Hazel married Corporal Charles Daum; he was killed in action in Italy on December 30, 1943, during World War II. Hazel gave birth to their son, Charles May Daum, four days after the death of his father; a few days later, she was informed of the death of her husband by her family, who had withheld the news from her in fear that the shock would endanger her or her unborn child. Mrs. Daum and her son lived with Mr. and Mrs. Coon and their younger children at 1707 6th Avenue. In 1948, Mrs. Syrena Coon was listed as the owner of the home; Mr. Coon had a new address at 1703 10th Avenue. Over the years, Mrs. Coon worked at a bakery and as a housekeeper; Mrs. Daum worked as a stenographer at the National Farm Loan Association and then at Weld County Welfare. Mother and daughter owned and occupied the home until 1970. In 1972, Daniel A. and Mary K. Bradley purchased the house and moved in with their six children. However, in 1973, only Mrs. Bradley and the children lived in the home; she owned the home until 1980. By 1984, the property had become a rental house. It was purchased by the current occupants, the Gonzalez family, in 1995.