After her husband Carl Dowerman died five years earlier, Lena Dowerman became the new manager of an apartment building at 30 Bayaud Ave.
Lena Dowerman, 71
Courtesy Denver Police Department
The 71-year-old woman, who did not have children, was born in 1899 and lived alone. She knew how dangerous her neighborhood could be.
Ten years before her husband’s death in 1965 he was assaulted by two teens not far from their doorstep.
The first teen approached him on the corner of Broadway and Bayaud just after he had walked out of his front door and asked him for a nickel. He began to walk away and another teen asked him for matches. Both teens then shoved him to the ground, beat him, rifled through his pockets and stole three quarters.
They ran away.