Giant Mushrooms

I love finding strange and unusual things around the city of Denver. Strange and unusual definitely describes the giant mushrooms that can be found in Englewood's Romans Park. The park was named for E.P. "Packy" Romans, who served as Englewood's director of parks and recreation from 1948 to 1966. It contains playground equipment and tennis courts...you know, the sort of things you find in many parks. What you don't find in many parks is huge fake mushrooms!

The six mushrooms appear to be just creative park benches. They were painted solid concrete gray until just a few years ago when they were painted with several unique themes. In fact, one of the images on Google Street View appears to show one of the mushrooms being prepped for its makeover. Now the mushrooms sport images of flying saucers, sea creatures, and one is even made to look like a giant turtle.

Of course, the mushrooms aren't the only thing to see in the park. The playground featuring giant leaves and bugs that the kids can climb on was refurbished in recent years, as well.

Romans Park is located at 1849 E Floyd Ave in Englewood, just a few blocks west of University.

Aurora Akimbo

Part of what this blog is all about is celebrating things we pass by all the time and don't really think much about. You know, they're the things that maybe once upon a time we looked and thought, "oh, that's kind of weird and interesting," but now it's just an everyday thing. As if three giant letter A's doing flips could ever be an everyday thing! Which brings us to this unique piece of art in Aurora.

Located at the north end of Aurora's Expo Park, this piece called Aurora Akimbo is quite the landmark for drivers heading down Alameda Ave.  Though they don't look quite the way you're first grade teacher would've wanted you to draw write them, these three giants are supposed to be A's doing cartwheels. Not only does the A stand for Aurora, but also Aspirations, and Achievements. The piece was created by artist David Griggs in 2007 and it's made of cast fiberglass.

You can't miss this unique piece as you zoom down Alameda, but if you want to get a close up look, you're going to need to park at the south end of the park, off of Exposition Ave. It's a short hike up the park trails to the north end where the sculpture sits. The address of the park is 10955 Exposition Ave in Aurora.

War Memorial Rose Garden

I do not have a green thumb. To be completely honest, it is hard to make things grow in Colorado, even if you're an expert in that sort of stuff. Needless to say, I need to step outside of my own yard if I want to admire flowers. Luckily, there are all sorts of spots around the metro area to do just that. One is located just east of downtown Littleton at the War Memorial Rose Garden.

The land purchased by the city of Littleton in 1964 was once known as Knob Hill. The park is now dedicated to veterans who served in any US war. Today it features over 1800 roses of all types.

At the south end of the garden there is a sundial that was purchased by the city of Littleton in 1969 for $4,000. There is also a gazebo just north of the sundial.

In the center of the rose garden is the Orian Sterne Fountain. Orian was the daughter of WC "Billy "Sterne, one of early influential residents of Littleton. Sterne Parkway and Sterne Park (right across the street from the Rose Garden) are named for him. Orian Sterne passed away at the age of 19, on December 31st 1923. A few months later, on what would've been her 20th birthday, the family erected a memorial fountain in front of the Carnegie Library, which is now the Melting Pot restaurant at the west end of Main Street in downtown Littleton. The fountain went into storage at the Littleton Historical Museum when the intersection of Santa Fe and Bowles needed to be expanded. It was moved to the rose garden in 1988.

The War Memorial Rose Garden is located at 5804 S Bemis St in Littleton. 

Rickenbaugh Park - Children's Hospital Sculpture Garden

The area around the intersection of Colfax and Interstate 225 in Aurora is a bit of a medical hub. Actually, that's an understatement. It's a HUGE medical hub. Several hospitals and medical training facilities are located in the space of just a few blocks. One of the largest facilities in the area is Children's Hospital. Since it's no fun being in the hospital, and it's even less fun having a kid in the hospital, Children's has a very welcoming feel. Among the features is a sculpture garden in the front of the facility known as Rickenbaugh Park. It is worth a visit even when you don't have a loved one spending time at the hospital.

Let's take a look at some of the pieces you'll find.

Harlequin by Craig Ponzio
This piece is visible from Colfax as you drive by the hospital

La Dolce by James Vilona

Eclipse by Jesus Moroles

Star Catcher by John King

Bench by Jesus Moroles

Name and artist unknown

The Classics by George Lundeen

Tres Osos by Dan Ostermiller

Fat Happy by Barrett DeBusk

The adjacent hospital parking structure also features some unique artwork that appears to have been created by some of Aurora's youngest citizens.

Children's Hospital is located at 13123 E 16th Ave in Aurora. That address can be a bit misleading, though. Think of it this way, it's one block west of I-225 off Colfax. 

Chamberlain Observatory

Typically, it is best to get away from the city to get a really good look at the stars in the night sky. That's why observatories tend to be located in more remote areas. However, there's also something to be said for having such facilities available to college students. That's why just a few blocks away from the University of Denver you will find Observatory Park. The park has open spaces, tennis courts and playgrounds...you know, typical park stuff. In its center, however, you will find the feature that gives the park its name...Chamberlain Observatory.

The observatory is owned and operated by the University of Denver and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Built in 1890, it was named for Humphrey B Chamberlain, a Denver real estate magnate who pledged $50,000 to build and equip the facility. The Romanesque structure was designed by Denver architect Robert S Roeschlaub and built from rusticated red sandstone blocks.

The Denver Astronomical Society hosts regular events at the observatory. When my kids were younger, we took in a few of these events where we got to look through the telescope in the rotunda, as well as other telescopes that were set up in outside of the building. Even if you don't get to actually do any stargazing, the building itself is a unique sight to see. The Chamberlain Observatory is found inside Observatory Park, 2930 East Warren Avenue in Denver.

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.

Littleton World War II Memorial

Littleton's Ketring Park is a quaint spot not far from downtown Littleton. It features a small lake and a nice little path that goes around it. The park is also home to the Littleton Museum. Just to the north of the museum parking lot, you will find a large memorial, dedicated to those who served during World War II.

The memorial grew out of a special gathering for World War II vets and their families in 1995, the 50th anniversary of the end of the war. It was dedicated on November 11, 2000. The memorial features several monoliths representing the various theaters of the war. The text on each was written by the history departments at various Littleton high schools, and Arapahoe Community College.

You can visit the memorial at Ketring Park, 6000 S Gallup St in Littleton.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial - City Park

I admit, It probably would've been more appropriate for me to time this post with the Martin Luther King Jr holiday last week. Hey, better late than never, and besides, it's not like celebrating Dr. King is only allowed one day a year. When that mood strikes you to recognize the man, Denver's City Park has an impressive memorial perfect for times of reflection.

The bronze statue by artist Ed Dwight was installed in 2002, replacing another King monument that moved south to Pueblo. The statue of King stands on a tiered pedestal. Statues of four other individuals surround him. These include Frederick Douglas, Rosa Parks, Mohandas Gandhi, and Sojourner Truth.

Surrounding the pedestal on four sides are a series of tablets that detail the struggle of African Americans, key events in King's lights, and several of King's quotes.

The memorial is located in the southern part of the park, just a short jog northeast of the State of Colorado Fountain I detailed in a previous post. City Park is located at 2001 Colorado Blvd in Denver.