The Player

I'm a movie guy (just look at my blog and podcast listed over in the sidebar). So, when I hear the words "The Player" I think of the 1992 Robert Altman film. However, when you're in the LoDo area of downtown Denver, The Player is the name of the sculpture that sits outside of Coors Field.

Though the statue is of no player in particular, it does serve as a bit of a tribute to one of baseball's most important figures, Branch Rickey. A quote of his is featured on the statue's base. 

The statue was erected by the Rotary Club of Denver in June of 2005, 10 years after the opening of Coors Field. It was created by artist George Lundeen.

The player stands in front of the home plate entrance of Coors Field, at the intersection of 20th and Blake. Coors Field is at 2001 Blake St in Denver.

Historic Englewood Post Office and Mural

Probably most folks wouldn't consider a post office to be a destination when visiting a place. However, if you are someone interested in history, you might want to stop by for a quick look at the historic post office in Englewood. It's not like going to an amusement park or something...but there are a few interesting things to see.

The post office was built in 1938 as a New Deal construction project. Up until then, Englewood's mail came through Denver, but the suburb was growing rapidly and in need of its own services. It was the first federal building constructed in Englewood. A big groundbreaking event took place in 1937, complete with speeches and a performance by the Englewood High School Marching Band.

Beyond the classic architecture of the building itself, the most unique feature of the post office is the mural in the lobby. Once upon a time, many post offices had murals but they are tough to find now. Very few still exist, and even fewer exist in their original locations. 

The mural was created by Boardman Robinson, who is considered by many to be the founder of the American mural movement. This is his only post office mural and one of only three of his murals that still reside in their original locations. The mural is called Colorado Stock Sale. It was completed in 1940 and is actually based on the artist's second idea for the piece. The sketches submitted for the first were deemed too "frivolous."

The US Postal Service decided to close the Englewood post office in 2010, but the outcry from the community caused a quick change of plans. Eventually, the building ended up on the National Registry of Historic places.

This historic structure, and its historic mural, are located at 3330 S Broadway in downtown Englewood.

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.

Sports Art

Aurora is a big place! The only cities with more people in the state are Denver and Colorado Springs. With so many people, there's always a lot of activity going on in Aurora, and for many families that means sports. With so many different sports going on each weekend, Aurora decided to create a huge park devoted to providing space for all these activities. It's called Aurora Sports Park, go figure! However, in a cool stroke of genius, the city of Aurora chose to bring together both the sports and arts communities, as there are several unique sports-themed art installations on the grounds. 

First, just a little ways inside of the main entrance to the park, is a piece called Trophy. It was created in 2002 by artist Rafe Ropek. Made of painted steel, it includes abstract versions of various types of balls. If you look close you'll find a baseball, soccer ball, and a football.

Next, we have a piece called Ball Caddy. It was created by artist Don Mitchell in 2002. It's made of painted steel and aluminum and depicts a child pulling a cart full of soccer balls.

Finally, nestled among the baseball fields we have Glove Two. This concrete sculpture was created by Rik Sargent. I'm sure many teams have used this feature for team photos.

Aurora Sports Park is located at 18601 E Sports Park Drive in Aurora. The main entrance, though is off of Colfax at Dunkirk...about half a mile east of Tower Rd.

Evergreen Lake Trail

It's a beautiful holiday weekend in Colorado! Yesterday, we took the opportunity to head up to the mountain town of Evergreen to take our dog for a stroll around the Evergreen Lake Trail. The lake is located in Dedisse Park which is just west of downtown Evergreen.

The lake can be a busy place, with paddle boating in the warmer months and ice skating in the colder months. Parking places were a bit hard to come by yesterday. The short walk around the lake was a lot of fun, though. We even got a small rain shower to help cool things off a bit.

The east side of the lake is marked by Evergreen Dam. Built between 1925 and 26, the dam sees a constant flow of water cascading over it and continuing down Bear Creek as it twists its way through the front range toward Morrison.

There are a number of pieces of art which can be found near Evergreen Dam, and several more which can be found on the other side of the lake, near the Lake House. One of the pieces depicts Olympic figure skater Peggy Fleming, who trained, as many Olympians do, in Colorado Springs, and who remains a resident of Colorado. The sculpture was just dedicated in 2020.

Whether you're into nature or art, the Evergreen Lake Trail is a wonderful spot to spend some time away from the city.  It is located just off of Bear Creek Rd. on the west side of Evergreen.

Title Unknown

Kelle III by Tom Ware

Ann Louise by David Wright

Mountain Man by Frederic Remington

Bear Chair by Julie Jones Denkers

Peggy Fleming Tribute by Harold Linke

The three wood carvings above can all be found near the dam.

This small memorial is also found near the dam. 

The Dream Tree

I've traveled to many places around our country, both large and small. There are some small towns where Walmart seems to be the hub of activity. I mean, when you don't have much in the way of museums, theaters, etc...I guess Walmart is the place to be. One thing I haven't seen at many Walmarts, though, is an art installation. The Wal-Mart in downtown Englewood, however, happens to be adjacent to the Museum of Outdoor Arts. So, ladies and gentlemen, I give you what may be the only Wal-Mart that is part of a museum.

The display called The Dream Tree is on the west side of the store. It was created by a local artist named Todd Siler. The artist says the piece is "a mosaic of motivational thought that inspires action." It certainly isn't what you'd find at the average Walmart, I'll give you that.

The piece is located a block or so away from the other displays the make up the Englewood campus of the Museum of Outdoor Arts. Next time you're checking out that museum, be sure to venture over and see it. Or, pop over to view it before you step inside to stock up on cat food or peruse the bin of six-dollar blu-rays. It's located at 601 Englewood Parkway in downtown Englewood.

Ghost Trolley

I grew up in the Chicago area, where trains are a big part of life. My father took the train into the city every day, and such was the case for many of my friends' parents, as well. When I came to Denver in the early 90's, however, trains were not a part of the public transportation system. That was soon to change, though, as the Light Rail came to town shortly after I did, and has been growing ever since. Denver does have a history with train transport, though, that goes back way before the 90's. Back in the late 1800's, trolleys took travelers across the city and surrounding area. That history is celebrated with a sculpture called Ghost Trolley.

The very slender sculpture sits in a unique location; in a median strip on Colfax in Aurora. Colfax is, of course, Denver's most notable thoroughfare, linking the city with Lakewood to the west and Aurora to the east. Trolleys were a regular fixture along Colfax until Denver's trolley system was taken out of service in the mid 1950's. This "ghost trolley" certainly lives up to its name.  When lit at night it does give off a bit of an eerie vibe.

The sculpture has been on display since 2007. You probably don't want to try and get too close to it. The median strip where it sits is not meant for pedestrians and cars zoom pretty fast down Colfax. You can view the piece safely from the sidewalk in front of Aurora's Martin Luther King Jr Library. 

Virere

Nobody likes weeds. Pulling them is my least favorite aspect of lawn care. Keeping a healthy-looking green lawn is challenging enough in Colorado's climate without having to worry about weeds. What drives me nuts, even more, are those annoying weeds that pop up in the cracks of the sidewalk, or in the median strips of our neighborhood streets. So, it's a bit strange that we have a piece of art in Englewood which seems to depict greenery growing in a spot where it shouldn't.

Virere is a piece by Lawrence Argent that sits in the median strip just south of the intersection of Broadway and Yale. Argent is best known here in the Denver area as the creator of the piece at the Colorado Convention Center called I See What You Mean, also known by locals as the "Big Blue Bear." This piece marks the northern border of Englewood. Once you've passed the big blades of grass, you're in Denver. The name of the piece means green in Latin.

I may not like grass that grows in the cracks of the road, but I can appreciate this unusual piece of art. It's a fun landmark to designate where you are along South Broadway. You can visit this piece yourself at the intersection of Broadway and Yale in Englewood. Just be careful crossing the street if you plan on getting close. The traffic moves fast on Broadway.