City Park: Denver's Favorite Green Space

City Park and the neighborhood that surrounds are set in east-central Denver. The majority of this area is taken up by the park itself, which is a huge and valuable piece of open space in the city. It is one of the largest and most popular parks in Denver. The park is approximately a mile in length and about three quarters of a mile in width. The neighborhood that is known as City Park includes the park itself and the area two blocks deep that runs along the southern edge of the park.

In the southwestern corner of the City Park neighborhood is a smaller green area called City Park Esplanade. This is also the location of East High School. The eastern part of the City Park neighborhood is sometimes known as the Bluebird District, because this is the location of the Bluebird Theater on Colfax Avenue. Colfax is a thriving economic center, with an abundance of shops, restaurants and other businesses, including a branch of Denver's famous Tattered Cover Bookstores.

City Park is the home of Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, which is one of the city's most popular attractions. The park also has two lakes, called Duck Lake and Ferril Lake. Boating is permitted in the park. Paddle boats can be rented and there is a boathouse that can be hired for special events. The interactive fountain is one of the most popular features of the park during the summer months, when City Park also hosts a series of free concerts. The City Park Golf Course lies just to the north of City Park.

City Park was established to ensure that residents of Denver would have plenty of open space for recreation as the city expanded rapidly during the late 19th century. The initial layout of City Park was designed to combine the styles of a traditional English pastoral garden and the casual, flowing look of New York City's Central Park. The original designer was Henry Meryweather, who worked on the park in 1882. During 1893, further work was done on the park after the World's Fair of that year started the City Beautiful movement, which reformed a lot of the design in American cities at this time.

Much of the current park was already in place by the end of the 19th century, including Denver Zoo and Ferril Lake. The beautiful boat pavilion had also been completed by this time. Its Spanish style architecture was designed by William Fisher and John Humphreys.

Formal gardens were planted in the park by Reinhard Schuetze, who was then the head landscape designer for the city of Denver. Schuetze was also responsible for the East High School Esplanade and the elegant carriageways that were laid out through the park.

The Denver Museum of Nature and Science was built in 1908. Its situation on the high ground at the eastern edge of the park provided the museum with some of the best views of downtown Denver and the distant mountains that lie beyond it.

Another famous landmark in the park is the Shakespeare Elm, which is marked by a plaque. This tree was planted in 1916. The seed came from a tree that grew in Stratford on Avon, England, at Shakespeare's grave.

When it was first opened, City Park lay a mile away from Denver and visitors traveled to it on trolley buses. The neighborhood gradually developed around the park, with squatters and farmers making use of the surrounding land and the water from the ditch that was used to irrigate City Park. As the transport system was improved and the city of Denver continued to grow, the area around City Park became more developed and many new houses were constructed. Many of the historic red brick buildings, including traditional Denver squares, are still standing in the neighborhood today. A number of new residential and commercial developments have been constructed in the neighborhood in recent years.