Love midcentury modern (MCM) architecture? Then tour the bumper crop of mid-mods in the west metro Applewood subdivisions.

Located between 38^th and Colfax Avenues north to south and from Kipling Street on the east up the slopes of South Table Mountain to the west, Applewood is for the prolific orchard founded by Myron Bunger. Because his acreage was impervious to the plow, Bunger, an early land holder, dynamited his stubborn fields to plant his apple seedlings. Not only did the explosion render the land plowable, it also supplied nitrogen from the gun powder, causing the infant trees to flourish into a productive orchard.

When Bunger retired, he recruited his engineer brothers to build an idyllic community they called Applewood Mesa. Established in 1956, this early Applewood subdivision offered 600, half-acre homesites west of Youngfield Street. Homes were valued between $25,000 and $85,000, which was pricey at the time, but offered easy access to both the mountains, Jeffco schools and downtown Denver. (Drive Foothill Road in Golden for views of some of the more spectacular examples of MCM architecture.)

In ensuing years, Applewood sprouted eight more developments including Applewood Hills, Applewood View, Applewood Valley, Applewood Glen, Applewood Grove, Applewood Estates, Applewood Heights and Applewood Knolls—neighborhoods that also would come to house golf courses, swimming pools, shopping centers, a smattering of parks and other amenities.

Today, Applewood continues to attract families who want the close-in living, community vibe and sprawling footprints of the area’s housing stock. Dog walkers, families and birders populate the trails at nearby Crown Hill Park and Wildlife Sanctuary. Neighbors crowd Abrusci’s Fire and Vine, a long-time Italian-food favorite. Dog lovers find the best canine cookies and cakes ever at Cosmo’s Dog Bakery on 26^th and Kipling.

Applewood’s housing stock runs the gamut of MCM home design. Dominated by ranch houses with basements, Applewood home varieties include other mid-mod architectural tropes such as split-levels, tri-levels, colonial and Cape Cod revivals with the occasional canted-roof modern or new-built tucked in. Older homes are getting new kitchens and coats of paint as younger people refresh these Brady-Bunch-era residences.

Ready to plant a flamingo in the front yard of your own MCM? Applewood’s curving streets and cul-de-sacs might have the atomic ranchette of your dreams.

Applewood Highlights
Population: almost 8,000
Location: 15 minutes west of downtown, no traffic.
Rankings
Best Places to Retire in Colorado #19 of 147
Best Suburbs for Young Professionals in Colorado #20 of 71
Best Suburbs to Live in Colorado #31 of 71
Housing stock: Mixed Housing from the early 20^th through 21^st century. Single-family, condos and townhomes.
Public schools: Jeffco Public Schools
Public high school: Wheat Ridge High School
Nearest hospital: Lutheran Medical Center
Nearby park: Crown Hill
Fun fact: Youngfield Street was a rutted dirt road up until the 1950s