Cheesman Park

My last post was about a recent visit to a cemetery, and so is this one...sort of. On another one of those warmer days that came between snowstorms, I managed to spend a little time at Denver's Cheesman Park. Nestled in the heart of the city, it is definitely a favorite place for locals to spend a sunny day.

One of the iconic features of the park is the Cheesman Memorial Pavilion, which was constructed in 1908. The pavilion was built in the neoclassical style from Colorado Yule marble. It features a few reflecting ponds on the west side, which aren't reflecting anything right now. It is winter, after all. The pavilion once hosted open-air performances of operas and Broadway musicals. The structure was funded by the family of Denver pioneer Walter Cheesman, and so the park bears his name, as well.

Though the park is considered one of the city's best spots to spend a peaceful afternoon, it also has a more sinister side. Cheesman Park is considered to be one of Denver's most haunted locations. You see, once upon a time, Cheesman Park was Prospect Hill Cemetery.  When the decision was made to change the land to a park, families were given 90 days to arrange for their loved ones to be relocated. While many bodies were moved, after several years more than 5,000 remained. An undertaker named E.P. McGovern was contracted to remove the bodies that remained and transfer them to Riverside Cemetery. He was paid $1.90 per body and let's just say he wasn't terribly ethical about how he went about doing the job. It is said that he took to using child-sized caskets, and thus turned one body into several, resulting in more ka-ching for him. So, supposedly, the previous residents of the park are not terribly happy.

As if all of this wasn't enough, when McGovern's plan was discovered, the remaining bodies were never moved. It is estimated that roughly 2,000 corpses still rest beneath the surface of the park. It is not at all uncommon for human remains to be uncovered by workmen in the area. As recently as 2010, four skeletons were discovered by crews doing irrigation work in the park.

So, Cheesman Park ends up being a nice place for a picnic on a warm day, and a creepy place to visit for a ghost tour. Cheesman Park is located, roughly, at 8th and Franklin St. in Denver.