While no building permit could be located for 2250 Downing Street, the house was likely constructed around 1890. Denver assessor records show Sallie Dingle as the first owner of lots 1 through 4 in block 33 of Schinner’s Addition. Sallie and her husband, William, lived at 2256 Downing Street, just north of 2250 Downing. While assessor records show that Dingle purchased the property in 1894, city directories show that the Dingles lived at 2256 Downing as early as 1889, and at 2250 Downing as early as 1892. Both houses are on lots 1 through 4; 2256 is on lots 1 through the north half of lot 3, while 2250 is on the south half of lot 3 and lot 4.
William Dingle was born in England c.1843, and immigrated to the United States in the early 1870s. A druggist by trade, Dingle operated his pharmacy out of a number of locations in downtown Denver as early as 1874. He was a member of Denver’s first chamber of commerce in 1884, and president of the Occidental Property & Mining Company in 1883. In 1894, the Dingles sold both properties to the Colorado Mortgage & Investment Company. 2250 Downing Street is located directly across the street from two Denver landmarks, the Gebhard-Smith House (2253 Downing) and the McBird House (2225 Downing).
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A newspaper account from 20 July 1894 lists 2250 Downing as the home of Dr Finnis Yoakum (Rocky Mountain News, page 9). Dr Yoakum was teaching at Gross Medical College. On 18 July Yoakum was seriously injured in an accident. He eventually recovered, moved to Los Angeles, and lived out his days as a faith healer helping indigents and alcoholics. His Pisgah Movement was widely known but collapsed when he died in 1920.