Denver Fisher House

Built in 1992, the Denver Fisher House housed veteran families suffering from illness as part of The Fisher House Foundation started by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher. The old Denver Fisher House remains but is not functional, the new Fisher House moved to the opposite side of Anschutz Medical Campus and is managed by the Denver Veterans Administration Center.  The new Denver Fisher House changed its name to Rocky Mountain Fisher House Denver and is located at 1700 N. Wheeling St. Aurora, CO 80045, but continues to support military families.

The Fisher House program started in 1990 by Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher to aid and shelter families of hospitalized military personnel at no cost. The Fisher House program built the Denver Fisher House in 1993 at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center by architect David A. Haines to reflect Fitzsimons’ Mission Revival style.  

Fisher House Foundation  

The history of the Fisher House Foundation begins with Zachary Fisher, an immigrant bricklayer who became a prominent developer in New York City. Fisher married Elizabeth and both became advocates for the U.S. military and their families. Elizabeth Fisher performed with the USO and visited wounded soldiers, while Zachary transformed the aircraft carrier Intrepid into an air and space museum. However, the foundations most important role came in 1989 when there was an unmet need for housing for families of military personnel hospitalized for a prolonged period. Working with the surgeons general and the Department of Veterans Affairs, Fisher House Foundation determines where Fisher Houses are most needed, and in 1993 it was the Denver Fisher House at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center.  

Rocky Mountain Fisher House Denver  

The Denver Fisher House foundation changed its name to Rocky Mountain Fisher House in 2016 and constructed a new house next to the VA hospital on Wheeling Street. The new house has sixteen suites with private bedrooms and baths, but families share a kitchen, laundry, dinning, and living rooms. The new house maintains the same values and cost free stay for military families and reflects the modernity and transition of Fitzsimons Army Medical Center into Anschutz Medical Campus.  

1. “Denver Fisher House is a home away from home for veterans facing illness.” The Denver Post. May 4, 2016. 
2. Happ, Leslie. Fisher House at 25. (Maryland: Fisher House Foundation, 2015).