JS Parker Cemetery

Though Parker is another Denver area community that has seen a lot of growth, it still has a bit of a small-town feel. The history of the town is tied to it being the spot where the Smokey Hill Trail and the famous Cherokee Trail met. There, travelers would find a stop known as 20 Mile House. The rest stop had various owners over the years, one of which was James S Parker, who the town would be named for. On a hill north of where the house stood sits the JS Parker Cemetery.

The land where the cemetery sits is the location where Parker buried his young sons, Charlie and Bela. Later, around 1884, he donated the land to be the town cemetery. Parker himself would join the rest of his family there when he died in 1910. Their graves are easy to locate in the southwest corner of the cemetery.

Though the history of the cemetery goes back over 130 years, it doesn't feel as old as you would think. Doing an unscientific survey of the markers shows that the majority of them date back to the 1950's to the 1980's. However, there are some interesting older headstones. One of the most unique is the grave of another Parker pioneer, Jonathan Tallman. The inscription reads, "Jonathan Tallman, Aged 25 Years, Killed by Indians, May 8, 1870." Tallman's grave is located just a few feet away from the Parkers in the southwest corner of the cemetery.

Another notable resident of Parker Cemetery is Linda Boreman, who once upon a time was known as adult film star Linda Lovelace. I can remember the news reports of her death as result of a car accident on C-470 in April of 2002. Her final resting place is unmarked.

The small cemetery is still welcoming new residents to this day. Upon walking up the trail on my visit, one of the first headstones to catch my eye was placed earlier this year. I noticed that several of the markers have unique items that have been added by the families of the departed. I find these items give the cemetery a bit of character. The grounds also host a veterans memorial that sits just to the left of the entry gate, looking out over busy Parker Road.

You can visit this historic cemetery at 10375 S Parker Road.

Pumpkins in Downtown Littleton

I'd always intended this blog to cover some of the goings-on in the Denver area. But, 2020 being what it is, there haven't been any goings-on. Well, at least one tradition has still managed to happen this year...the pumpkin displays in downtown Littleton. Each year, many of the local businesses put together themed pumpkin displays on several of the downtown corners. It looks like this year many of the displays had a theme of famous movies or TV shows. 

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown.

Superheroes. 

Little Shop of Horrors.

Finding Nemo.

I'm not sure what this one is...but it involved pigs.

You can check out these displays yourself along Littleton Boulevard, but hurry as the pumpkins do start to rot as the days press on.

Reinke Brothers

Halloween is just a few weeks away! At this time of year, there's no better place to visit than Reinke Brothers, right in the heart of downtown Littleton. To say this is the ultimate stop for ghoulish gear in the Denver area is a big understatement.

The history of Reinke Brothers spans over 50 years. It begins with the store's namesakes creating their own makeshift haunted houses and charging neighborhood kids pennies to ride through in a shopping cart they caught while fishing. The first official Reinke Brothers haunted house took up residence at Englewood's Cinderella City mall in 1984. However, as long as I've been in Colorado, the brothers' have been a fixture of downtown Littleton, in a store with a haunted house facade.

If you think the outside of the building is wild, wait until you see the inside. There are thousands of costumes for sale, from floor to ceiling. The store also features a wide variety of horror props, and supplies for performers such as jugglers, magicians and clowns.

The store also continues to celebrate where it all began. A portion of the store contains the Reinke Brothers Haunted Mansion, which seeks to terrify Denver area residents each fall. Even when it's not Halloween season, the store features many large and scary figures, some of which may even start to talk to you when you aren't expecting it.

Even if you find the building too scary to enter, you can still enjoy the outside of the store, which features a few slightly macabre murals...and one of John Lennon. Go figure.

You can find Reinke Brothers at 5663 S Prince Street in downtown Littleton. As their sign says "It's not just a store, it's an adventure."

Art at Plaza Tower One

Plaza Tower One is one of the tallest buildings in the Denver Tech Center. I remember marveling at how huge the thing was when it was going up in the late 90's. Like many of the other business centers that surround it, Plaza Tower One also hosts a few exhibits that are part of the Museum of Outdoor Arts.

Let's begin with the unique water feature that resides near the entrance of building. It kind of resembles the pages of a book opening up. I also appreciate the reflective qualities of the piece.

A few feet away sits a marble sculpture of a bear that is, oddly enough, simply called, Bear. It was created by Beniamino Bufano around 1980. Given the fact that bears do occasionally wander into the Denver metro area from the high country, this is the way I much prefer encountering these fantastic creatures.

You can take a look at these works of art, as well as the impressive building, at 6400 S Fiddler's Green Circle in Greenwood Village.

The Giant Leaf in Lone Tree

The city of Lone Tree is a Denver suburb that has seen a lot of growth in recent years. Not all that long ago, it was just a cluster of houses nestled near Interstate 25 on the south side of the metro area. However, in recent years, a large complex of business properties, shopping, entertainment venues, and, of course, more homes, have sprung up. A large complex for Charles Schwab and the massive Sky Ridge Medical Center are two of the most prominent features of the town. With so much more infrastructure springing up, the city decided it wise to create a pedestrian bridge spanning the very busy Lincoln Avenue. The bridge opened to pedestrians and cyclists in 2018.

This section of Lincoln Avenue has been a part of my daily commute for several years now, so I got to see this bridge go up gradually. During its construction, some odd-shaped bits of metal showed up by the side of the road. Eventually, these items were put into place on the south side of the bridge. Soon it became clear that these were, in fact, the pieces of a large metal sculpture of a leaf.

The leaf is humongous, to say the least, and certainly makes an impression on travelers exiting I-25 and heading west into Lone Tree's business district. It towers over everything else on the block. In fact, I often see a hawk who likes to perch on the top of the sculpture, as I'm sure it provides a nice view when trying to spot breakfast scurrying around in the nearby fields.

The north side of the bridge also has a unique feature. There you will find an impressive ramp structure that seems to have been designed specifically with cyclists in mind. The bridge does provide access to the trail system that winds through Lone Tree and is a favorite for both hikers and cyclists.

The Lone Tree Pedestrian Bridge was awarded a 2019 American Architecture Award. You'll find the bridge spanning Lincoln Avenue, just east of Yosemite Street.

Under the Bridge

On a recent visit to downtown Castle Rock, south of Denver, I happened upon some slightly hidden bits of artwork. In Festival Park, you will find a trail that takes you underneath Perry St. There on the underside of the bridge, you will find some silhouettes depicting various outdoor activities. 

The opposite side features a number of tiles painted with various images and messages from the children of Castle Rock. Of course, those kiddos are twentysomethings now, as many of the tiles seem to have been dated in the year 2000.

Both of these displays could stand to have someone give them a bit of a cleaning, but it's still fun to find these hidden bits of artistic expression. Festival Park is located at 300 2nd Street in downtown Castle Rock, Colorado.

Littleton Municipal Courthouse

I love to see our communities here in Colorado grow and develop new features as the community changes. However, I also have a great appreciation for the historic buildings that still grace the landscape. A wonderful example can be found sitting on a hill overlooking downtown Littleton; the Littleton Municipal Courthouse.

The building was originally built as the Arapahoe County Courthouse in 1907. Previously, Denver had been the county seat of Arapahoe County, but in 1902 an amendment to the state constitution was passed, creating the City and County of Denver. So a bit of a competition started between Littleton and their neighbor to the north, Englewood, to see who would become the county seat of the new version of Arapahoe County. Littleton won out and construction began on this impressive building.

In 1948, a new wing was added to the west side of the building. It's no longer there, and I say "good." It was definitely a case where progress had a negative effect on the look of a historic building. In all truth, even the original building was in danger of being demolished after Arapahoe County moved out of the building in the late 80's. Luckily the city of Littleton stepped in to start using the historic structure as its municipal courthouse. Landmark status was awarded to the building in 1998.

You can find the Littleton Municipal Courthouse at 2069 W Littleton Blvd.

Mural - Family Star Montessori

Denver is a fantastic city for street art and murals. On one of my recent excursions, I came across this piece that graces the south side of Family Star Montessori, located at the corner of Federal Blvd and 22nd Ave in Denver.

This mural was painted by street artist Bimmer Torres with assistance from a group of youth from a local detention facility. The colors of this beautiful piece really pop in the Colorado sunlight. Find it at 2246 Federal Blvd in Denver.