Alles Acres Walking Tour
Tour Directions:
2 miles
1. Start near the corner of 17th Avenue and Alles Acres Drive or in the Bethel Baptist Church parking lot. Walk north on 17th Avenue to Reservoir Road.
2. Starting on the southwest corner of 17th Avenue and Reservoir Road, look towards the west and notice all the huge old cottonwood trees. Alles Acres itself has no sidewalks. When the city decided to lay a straight walking path along the south side of Reservoir Road, the plan included cutting down all the cottonwood trees. Citizens of Greeley went up in arms. The city backed down, and that is why the sidewalk you are following is so curvy! As more and more people came to enjoy this walkway, the residents living along Reservoir Road installed privacy walls and fences on their property, so we can’t peek at the houses anymore. Proceed west on Reservoir Road to 21st Avenue.
3. At Reservoir Road, turn south (left) into the dead-end cul-de-sac. On your right is the first rammed earth home (2319) built by David and Lydia Alles Miller when Alles Acres was first subdivided. Swing around the cul-de-sac back onto Reservoir Road, walking west.
4. At the corner of Reservoir and 23rd Avenue, you will see Morgan’s Floral Shop and 3B Coffee Shop located on either side of a needlepoint store. The floral shop and the coffee shop are both still owned and run by daughters of Cliff Morgan who started Morgan Nursery. Sharon and Susie would love to chat with you about growing up in Alles Acres. Kitty-corner from Morgan’s Floral is a brand-new Fire station, replacing the original Station #2.
5. Turn south (left), traveling along 23rd Avenue for a block. Then turn east (left) onto 24th Street. This is a typical winding Alles Acres road, with no sidewalks and with dead-end cul-de-sacs branching off from the road. The first thing you see is the back of Morgan’s, which was once full of trees. Cliff Morgan also kept trees in huge pots across Reservoir Road where St. Mary playground is now located.
6. Turn onto 24th Street Road, going downhill. This used to be Stanton’s concrete dump and was the last of Alles Acres to be developed. At 25th Street you will see Jackson Elementary School across the street (named for Greeley co-founder C.N. Jackson). This school wasn’t built until 1958, so the first generation of Alles Acres children did not go to school here.
7. Turn east (left) onto 25th Street and walk one block before turning north (left) onto 19th Avenue. Walking up the hill, you can see the home which was once underground before the new owners popped its top. Notice the wall of stone that remains on the side.
8. Continuing up the hill, you will see a flat-roofed blue building on the right behind a locked double farm gate. This was once the Skyview Flower Ranch and then the Waldorf School. It is now private property (51). You will pass three cul-de-sacs before you get to the top of the hill. The old yellow house on your right was the original Alles farmhouse where Adam and Mary Alles raised their children. Their farm covered the whole area that is now Alles Acres, Hillside and the Greeley Mall.
9. Turn east (right) onto Levis Road going down the hill and you will come to cozy Meadowlark Lane, well worth a walk down and back.
10. Just past the lane is a log home built by one of the Alles’ daughters and her husband. Along here is a good view of the irrigation ditches that wind through Alles Acres with their elaborate system of gates. The land just south of the log house belongs to the University.
11. At the end of Levis Road, turn north (left) for a short way and then turn into Alles Drive. This is a one-way road for cars, but walkers can proceed through the barriers and are welcome to go the wrong way. You can clearly see the UNC athletic fields with the ‘Denver Broncos’ lights and the famous 17th Avenue sledding hill.
12. As you start onto Alles Drive, you will be walking through the grounds of the Bethel Baptist Church. As the road curves around the corner from the church, you will spot the Morrison home. Gaylord Morrison, a professor at UNC, built this house. During the summer months, Dr. Morrison raised a huge garden full of gladiolas. His garden is still productive, now full of vegetables. You can see the garden best from across the street as you stand in front of a new home that replaced a small bungalow after the lot was scraped. A few houses to the north, you will see a large brick house that recently replaced one of the original Alles Acres single story homes.
13. Just north of the Morrison house is a lovely home with red horse barn and a vineyard. Along this side of the street you can again examine the ditch system used to irrigate all the large Alles Acres yards and gardens.
14. As you round the corner of Alles Drive there are two more examples of rammed earth homes. One of these is tucked back in behind a lot of vegetation, and the other has been remodeled into a Spanish hacienda.
15. You will emerge from Alles Drive onto 17th Avenue across from Nottingham Field. If you wish to continue your walk, cross 17th Avenue and visit UNC’s Xeric Demonstration Garden just north of the stadium. Located in the garden are sections of the columns originally part of Cranford Hall. This is a lovely example of a garden that needs very little water in order to flourish, just the opposite of the irrigated gardens of Alles Acres. It is well worth a walk about.