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Annual Fundraiser September 20
The wellhouse at Starbuck Park in Idledale gets a new roof
WHEN:
Tuesday, September 20, 2016 from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM (MDT)
WHERE:
The Home of Barbara Stanton – 2419 Bitterroot Lane, Golden, CO 80401
RESERVE YOUR SPOT:
Sign up at Eventbrite to attend this great event and support your local mountain parks.
Shelter Reconstruction Underway
Several neglected historic shelters in the DMP system are getting upgrades, thanks to DMPF’s capital campaign, and more projects are planned. We’re happy to see these projects moving forward, thanks to all our donors!
New Bison Overlook at Stapleton Drive, Exit 253
Little-known Chief Hosa Shelter after cleanup, before restoration
The wellhouse at Starbuck Park in Idledale gets maintenance attention
Around the DMP System
We’re belatedly catching up on this year’s news around the Denver Mountain Parks system. Here are some of the developments since we last posted on this site:
- In February, we published a recap of news and events in 2015, including launch of our capital campaign for shelter restoration and our fundraiser in October. Read or download the PDF here.
- In June, Mayor Hancock announced the designation of 98 acres of land adjacent to Red Rocks (purchased in 2000) as official “parkland,” protected by City Charter. Denvergov.org press release | Via HistoricRedRocks.org
- CDOT is making progress on construction of its 2.4-mile trail from I-70’s Genesee exit (#254) to El Rancho (#252). Updates at CODOT.gov; read/download as PDF.
- Sally L. White, co-author of our “Magnificent Dream” book, has been profiling mountain parks weekly this summer for Evergreen’s community news website, JustAroundHere.com. Thanks go to editor Linda Kirkpatrick for requesting and hosting this series to help foothills residents get to know the parks. Browse the collection of profiles at JustAroundHere Parks and Recreation.
- Thanks to DMPF fundraising, design and/or construction progress is underway on some of the neglected shelters targeted in our capital campaign. Our 2016 fundraiser will be held in September.
Keep up with DMPF on Facebook for breaking news.
Red Rocks Park and CCC Camp New Landmark
The Mess Hall at Mount Morrison CCC Camp SP-13
This long process officially began in about 2004 at the suggestion of the Friends of Red Rocks, a nonprofit group formed in 1995 to advocate for the park. The work on the nomination has been carried out by staff and consultants of Denver Parks and Recreation and the regional office of the National Park Service (NPS), and the nomination itself has been through several revisions over the last five years; a “final” version was officially submitted to the NPS in Washington on May 1, 2014.
During the last stages of the process, many groups and individuals wrote letters of support for the designation, including Governor Hickenlooper, History Colorado, Jefferson County Commissioners, the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation, and Bonnie Raitt. Secretary of State Sally Jewell signed the completed nomination August 4th, bringing the effort to a successful conclusion.
Red Rocks designation, Denver Post, August 4, 2015
Red Rocks and CCC Camp up for designation, Denver Post, February 24, 2015
The outstanding architecture and landscape architecture of Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp illustrate the principles and practices of New Deal-era naturalistic park design and master planning in a metropolitan park as well as the use of Civilian Conservation Corps labor to develop such a park.
—National Park Service press release.
The Red Rocks Park District was named to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1990, along with several other Denver Mountain Parks. The National Register listing is a process for recognizing historic sites that are usually at least 50 years old, and are significant according to listing criteria, including things like their association with historic people, events, etc. Although nomination and listing on NRHP is a substantial process, the National Historic Landmark process is more rigorous and confers a more prestigious designation.
Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison CCC Camp joins 24 other National Historic Landmarks in Colorado, including the Denver Civic Center, designated in 2012. Colorado has more than 1400 sites, buildings, and districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In Honor of Pat Gallavan
Former Mountain Parks superintendent Pat Gallavan passed away Tuesday, March 3. To make a donation to the Foundation in his memory, use the “Donate” button to the left. You do not need a Paypal account; just click through to make a secure credit card payment via Paypal.
Contributions may also be mailed to Denver Mountain Parks Foundation PO Box 300446 Denver CO 80203.
Thank you!
“In lieu of flowers, just plant a few more this spring – that’s how Pat would have wanted it.”
Red Rocks Park on its way to National Landmark Status
Since 2006, the Intermountain Regional Office of the National Park Service has been working with Denver staff and other parties to nominate Red Rocks Park and amphitheatre, including the Mount Morrison CCC Camp and associated resources, as a National Historic Landmark. Following extensive review and revision of the nomination documents by NPS staff here and in Washington, D.C., the Landmarks Committee reviewed and approved the nomination of Red Rocks on February 11, 2015.
Mayor Hancock sent a letter on behalf of the City in support of this nomination, and City Council issued a proclamation. The DMP Foundation also sent a letter of support, as did many others. When approved by the Secretary of the Interior, Red Rocks will become Denver’s second National Historic Landmark.
Red Rocks Park, with its amphitheatre, designed landscapes, and preserved CCC camp, is a rare and outstanding example of this “New Deal” program and its work. The camp contains structures representing all aspects of camp life and workshops used to construct items for trails, roads, and the amphitheatre and is unusual for its close proximity to its work project, the Red Rocks Amphitheatre. The nomination highlights the national significance of Red Rocks Park in architecture, landscape architecture, and performing arts.
Colorado Book Award in History
We won! In case you missed it, on June 13th, we were awarded the Colorado Book Award for Denver Mountain Parks: 100 Years of the Magnificent Dream. Authors Wendy Rex-Atzet and Erika Walker traveled to Aspen with high hopes, and indeed, the trip proved to be a huge moment for the book, and for all of us involved in it.
Erika Walker, left, and Wendy Rex-Atzet accepted our award at the Hotel Jerome in Aspen June 13th.
With the award behind us, it suddenly feels as if we’re wrapping things up and I feel a little wistful. It has been an honor to work [on this project]… Producing our book has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, one I will always treasure.
—Erika Walker, co-author
We did have a marvelous team, and the product reflects everyone’s expert contributions! Couldn’t have done it without John Fielder and the production team he arranged, editor Jenna Brown and designer Rebecca Finkel, who made a huge difference in the result. Thank you to everyone for being part of the “magnificent” project.
2014 Colorado Book Awards went to writers in 16 categories!
If you don’t have a copy of our award-winning book, you should fix that right away! Please look for it at the Tattered Cover in Denver, the History Colorado Center, online at Amazon.com, or right here on our website, via Paypal (no Paypal account required).
The Colorado Center for the Book awarded authors in 16 categories. A list of all winners is here. Photos courtesy of Colorado Center for the Book.
Here’s a link to the Denver Post article on the 2014 awards.
