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.

Sakura Square

Denver, like any other city, is made up of many diverse peoples from all over the world. Each of these people bring a little something to help make the city what it is today. If you head up Larimer Street in downtown Denver, you will find a small area that celebrates Denver's Japanese community known as Sakura Square.

Before 1940, Denver's Japanese community was quite small. This would change, though, during World War II. At a time when Japanese Americans on the west coast were being taken to internment camps, including Amache near Granada, Colorado, Governor Ralph Carr opposed the internment of American citizens. This stance may have cost Carr his political career, yet thousands of Japanese Americans came to Denver. A statue of Carr now stands in Sakura Square, recognizing his stand against injustice during the war years.

The square also features statues of two important Japanese Americans who made an impact on the Denver Community. The first is of attorney Minoru Yasui. Yasui fought against the discrimination of the war years and spent his later years in Denver. The second statue is of the Reverend Yoshitaka Tamai. He was a native of Japan who came to Denver in 1930 and served the Buddhist community of Colorado and the surrounding states for the next 53 years. Sakura Square is adjacent to the Denver Buddhist Temple, which dates back to 1916.

The square also features a small shopping center featuring a few shops and Japanese eating options. The square also hosts an annual Cherry Blossom Festival each summer. There is talk of some improvements being made to the Sakura Square site in the coming years. For now it's a quaint little spot that celebrates the history of one of Denver's many unique communities.

Museum of Outdoor Arts - Down Englewood Parkway

A few posts back we took a look at some of the pieces that adorn the courtyard at Englewood City Center as a part of the Museum of Outdoor Arts. Well, there's actually much more to see if you head east down Englewood Parkway from the courtyard. Let's take a look.

Marzocco Lions

Three Gossips by Harry Marinsky

Stargazer by Madeline Wiener

Marble on my Mind by Madelin Wiener

Porcellino
Note: A duplicate of this statue can be found in front of one of the office buildings at the museum's display in Greenwood Village.

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.