Crown Hill Cemetery

It's time for some more hanging out in cemeteries. Hey it's September now! Closer to the Halloween season! So maybe it's not so weird to be hanging out among the deceased during this time of year. Today we journey west of Denver to Wheat Ridge's Crown Hill Cemetery.

The cemetery was opened in 1907 by George W. Olinger. You'll find his name on many of the cemeteries around Denver, and you'll find his own final resting place in Crown Hill's massive mausoleum, the Tower of Memories. This Denver area landmark was designed in 1926 by architect Charles A Smith. It stands 158 feet tall and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. 

The most famous resident of Crown Hill is Adolph Coors, the founder of the Coors Brewing Company. Coors came to the Denver area in 1872 and shortly thereafter purchased the abandoned Golden City Tannery and turned it into the Golden Brewery. The brewery he built, one of the world's largest, still bustles with activity in the heart of Golden. Coors' grave is without question the largest in the cemetery and is pretty easy to find. Just head towards the Tower of Memories and hang a right just before you get to the building. Look towards the trees to the east and you'll spot the tall obelisk that marks Coors' final resting place.

Crown Hill is located at 7777 W 29th Ave in Wheat Ridge. That address is a little confusing since 29th runs through the grounds. Basically, the entrance to the grounds is off of Wadsworth at 29th. It's huge, he can't miss it.

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.

Mile Hi Church

It can be dangerous driving around town looking for interesting things. Sometimes you see something interesting out of the corner of your eye and you immediately turn your attention away from the road and start staring at whatever it was you saw. Well, legend has it that back in the early 70's a local minister asked the architects designing his new church to create something that would cause those driving by to exclaim, "what the hell is that?" Drivers are still doing that today when they drive by Mile Hi Church in Lakewood.

Some say the building looks like a giant white octopus. It was formed by pouring concrete over sculpted mounds of dirt. Once the concrete dried, the dirt was removed. I don't claim to understand how it all works, all I know is it looks pretty cool.  I'm not the only one, either.  Shortly after it was built, it was featured along with several other futuristic Denver area buildings in Woody Allen's 1973 film Sleeper. It actually played the part of a McDonalds.

As I'm sure you can imagine, the sloping tentacles of the building's roof are more than a bit tempting to adventure seekers. Because people are dumb sometimes, you will find signs around stating the obvious...that roof access is prohibited. I wouldn't be surprised if the occasional visit by ambitious skateboarders prompted the installation of these signs.

So, if you plan to stop by, just look, don't climb. The church also has a few other unique buildings that are worth a look filling out its campus. You will find this unique structure at 9077 W Alameda Ave in Lakewood.

Aurora Global Fest 2022

Last weekend was a busy one in the Denver area. Not only were there Western Welcome Week festivities in Littleton, but over in Aurora the Global Fest was in full swing. Somehow, I managed to find the time to take in both.

The Aurora Global Fest was a celebration of the cultures and communities that make up the city of Aurora. The event featured performances, international food vendors, a fashion show, and a parade of nations. 

The highlight for me was seeing all the folks who dressed in clothing from their native lands. Plus, most of them were more than willing to pose for pictures. So, enjoy a few shots from this unique and diverse event!

Western Welcome Week Parade 2022

Wow, it feels like it was only a year ago that we posted about the Western Welcome Week parade in Littleton. That's probably because it was only a year ago. It's an annual event, after all. The truth of the matter is, this is an event that my family and I always try to hit. It's been a tradition for us for over twenty years, so of course, I'm going to do another post about it.

The Western Welcome Week parade is one of the biggest parades in the Denver area. As usual, there were tons of community organizations, floats, classic cars, equestrians, and marching bands making their way down Littleton Blvd. One of the things that makes this parade unique each year is the sheer number of marching bands that take part.

Usually, things get pretty toasty sitting out on the street watching a parade in the middle of August. However, this year we had an unseasonably cool morning for the parade, with high temperatures in the mid 70's. It was a very comfortable morning. Next year, I'm sure we'll be sweating buckets again.

Enjoy a few shots from this year's parade.

The Purple Seats at Coors Field

I still think of the Colorado Rockies as being a "new" Major League Baseball team. The truth, however, is that they have been around for almost 30 years. That big anniversary is next year! The team's home stadium, Coors Field, opened at the start of the 1995 season and was a big factor in revitalizing the city's LoDo neighborhood. It's a great park to visit and it has many unique features. One that often leaves out-of-town visitors scratching their heads is the fact that in the upper deck there is a single row of seats that are bright purple, while every other seat in the house is green. What's up with that?

As you probably know, Denver is called the "Mile High City." So, the row of purple seats is marking the spot where you are officially a mile above sea level at Coors Field. So, if you're from out of town and are already having trouble with the thin Colorado air, imagine what it's like when you're watching the ball game from the purple seats!

Now, I know what you're thinking. Over on the other side of downtown Denver is the Colorado State Capital Building where just a few feet from ground level is a step that marks the spot where you are a mile above sea level. How can that spot be ground level at the capital, but way up in the upper deck at the ballpark? Well, it can be cleared up when you think about the name of the neighborhood where Coors Field is. It's referred to as Lower Downtown, or LoDo. This is confusing if you look at a map because LoDo is in the upper west portion of downtown Denver. How is that "lower" downtown? Well, it has to do with elevation. It's Lower Downtown not because of its position on the map, but because the elevation is slightly lower there. So the mile marker can be at ground level at the capital, and be up in the purple seats a few blocks away. Makes perfect sense, don't it?