Faces of Denver

Denver Colorado is a city full of diversity, from its architecture, to its peoples and communities. This blog will look at the many sides of the mile high city.

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Skyline Park

Denver Christkindl Market

A Christmas time festival that has been bringing a pinch of German culture for 14 years now, the Christkindl Market in Denver is a piece of Europe in downtown Denver. The market sports German style crafts and food, and of course the beverages. 

Tucked away in Skyline Park, many still do not even know of this yearly Christmas event. However, each year it seems to gain more and more notoriety.

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Civic Center Park

Cinco De Mayo "Celebrate Culture" Festival 

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Federal and Bayaud Ave.

Phone Smart Mural

Apologies for the inactivity, been going through some stuff. 

Hoping to have more stuff to show soon. 

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19th and Dahlia St.

Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church

To commemorate Martin Luther King Day I decided to visit the church in which he spoke at back January 24th, 1964. King spent 3 days in the metro area speaking out against racial injustice and for equality. On the 24th he spoke at Montview to a crowd of 3000 people. And interesting fact about that speech is that moments prior to the speech, King got stuck in his dressing room and had to be rescued with a ladder.

King’s visit is certainly a highlight in the history of Montview, but the history of the church is full of great individuals. Maybe they don’t have the recognition that Martin Luther King Jr. has but that doesn’t take away from the numerous hours of community service the church has done in it’s 112 years.

The Montview Presbyterian congregation formed in 1902 with roughly 130 members. Though, membership would grow, as the years went on the church went through 2 expansions. What is unique about that though is that with each expansion a new sanctuary was built right next to the old. All 3 of it’s original sanctuaries have been today combined into one building. The original church built in 1910 today acts as a library, whereas the 2nd expansion appears to be an event hall. The current and largest sanctuary was built in 1954 and is where worship takes place today. the north wall of the 1954 church is visible from the lobby that is part of the whole church today.   

The Montview complex (as I like to call it) is much more than a church. It also contains a daycare and is a hub for many community programs like T'ai Chi and Organ lessons and features lectures from local university professors and has even hosted the Colorado Symphony.

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National Western Complex/Denver Coliseum

National Western Stock Show

The history of the National Western Stock Show begins way back at the very beginning of the 20th century. The hustling and bustling city of Denver was growing everyday and was looking for new ventures.  

Denver has had for a while before, and even today a reputation as being a “cow town”. Many states along the Rockies saw large booms in cattle populations over the years and Denver was no different. But, at this point in time there had been no real marketplace for stock and meat packing east of states like Illinois and Kansas. Groups in Denver however wanted to change that. Many of Colorado’s ranchers and even politicians began organizing a large scale stock show in the hopes of making it a yearly event. In 1906 the city of Denver did just about everything in its power to ensure that this stock show would be a hit. It went as far as essentially shutting down the city for “Denver Day at the Stock Show” and heavily publicized to all Denverites that it was free to attend. With all schools and private businesses closed thousands poured into the Denver stock yards to experience the show. Needless to say, Denver’s plan had worked. It worked so well that within the first two years the National Western Complex (then known as the National Amphitheater) was built to handle the large crowds,and ranchers out east were heading to Denver to buy “hardier” western cattle.

Starting the second year (1907), the stock show also began to add to the experience by bringing in spectacle. Horse shows were incredibly popular and managed to attract a different group of people to the mainly blue collar exhibition. Denver’s high society would flock to these horse shows which only added to the stock show’s growth. Rodeos too were added in the 1930’s.

The National Western Stock Show has been with Denver for 108 years now and is still going strong. Still held yearly in the same spot as it did back in 1906, talks of changing venue from the original Denver stockyard have always ended with tradition coming out on top. For many today the stock show is a celebration of wild western culture. Vendors selling cowboy clothing and western artwork fill the complex nowadays and the various rodeos, tractor races and animal shows bring in large crowds. Though, it’s original purpose as a marketplace for livestock still lives on. Livestock auctions are still very popular and the stock yard, still filled with many of the original wooden pens from when it opened in 1898, are where the buying and selling of all matters of livestock still occurs.  

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14th & Bannock St. 

Denver City & County Building Holiday Lights

A yearly tradition steaming all the way back to 1935, the building that by day see's numerous court cases for the county of Denver is transformed into an illuminated wonder at night for the Holidays. 

Beginning at 6:00pm during the holiday season over 600,000 lights light up the great neoclassical building that is at the heart of the Mile High City. 

The beautiful spectacle isn't without its controversy though. The nativity scene on the steps of a government build has caused many groups in the past to speak out against what they consider "a clear showing of the government supporting a religion.". Though tradition has prevailed for now as the scene is still present today. 

To end this post I'd like to wish all who see this a very happy holiday and a wonderful new year. 

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Yo, a question to you if you're still around. Where do you get the blurbs to accompany your photos? Do you do all your own research, or do you have one of those various history of Denver books they sell in all the Walgreens around here, or...?

Good question! 

I do have a few books of my own, but none are those Walgreens books you’ve mentioned (I know the ones you’re talking about). 

You’ll notice that in some of my “blurbs” I have links contained within or at the very end of them. Those always happen to be online articles. I usually cross reference at least three different articles to make sure what I have is in fact the most accurate information I can possibly get without spending hours at a library. 

Other information such as my articles on like West High School mostly comes from prior knowledge. 

With regards to say The Central Presbyterian Church, I actually had a tour of the place by a prominent church member and took notes that I then used for the piece. There’s a few other places where I’ve received the information I needed from the place itself. 

Lastly, here are the book that I personally own. 

One contains some historical information of many prominent places in Denver and the other is the history of all Catholic Churches in the state of Colorado, which is handy as churches tend to have pretty interesting histories (religion as a subject fascinates me).

Thank you for the question!

Also, just a personal note, I’m sorry for the lack of recent updates. I have a new job that leaves me with little free time which unfortunately means less updating. 

I do apologize for this and will still continue to try my best to show the many faces of my city. 

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24th and Ogden

Zion Baptist Church

The history of Zion Baptist Church starts just after the end of the American Civil War. The United States was whole again but years of war had left many wounds, particularly in the south. Newly freed african americans faced rampant racism in the south and sought refuge out west. To many, the frontier town of Denver was a convenient stop and eventual home to many on their journey.

The first black baptist church was built on 20th and Arapahoe St. by ex slaves in 1867. The congregation in actuality formed 2 years prior in 1865 making it the oldest African American church in Colorado.  The 1867 church was originally made of wood but received a brick makeover in the early 1880’s.

Growth of the Church continued as the Five Points neighborhood began to form around it. in the 1900’s the Church sought to move closer to it’s primary demographic and purchased a larger church from the Calvary Baptist Church in 1911. This has been the home of the congregation ever since.

For over 150 years the Zion Baptist Church has been a center of community, charity, and brotherhood for African Americans in east Denver.

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Denver West High School

Jane (1916-1952) and Ethel (1916-1993) Magafan.

I remember being in my junior year in high school when I first discovered these murals. I mean I did see them everyday but I never really paid any attention to them. One day in American History however my teacher took the class to take a closer look the paintings no one bothered to notice. The teacher relented that these were done during the depression to give artists work. But that’s where the information ended. There was no telling of who painted these murals, so years later I decided to look into the matter myself.

Jane and Ethel were born in 1916 in Chicago Illinois to a Greek American family. A short time later the Magafan family moved to Colorado Springs. From a very young age the artistic abilities of the twins were realized as both Jane and Ethel won various school and regional awards for their talents. Not even the death of their father in 1932 and lack of support for their artistic “hobby” could cull the natural talents the twins possessed. While attending East High School local artist/muralist Frank Mechau discovered the twins and invited them to study at his studio. With the assistance of Mechau the twins attended Broadmoor Art Academy (now the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center)to fully master their craft.

After their time at Broadmoor the country was still in the midst of the Depression. President FDR however created something called the New Deal Works Progress Administration (WPA), which was established to create employment and support artists and the arts. Through the WPA the sisters were given opportunities to work in many states like Oklahoma, Texas, Massachusetts, The nations capitol in Washington DC, and of course Colorado.  

The Murals done at West High were done by three different WPA artists. Ethel’s work isn't present at the school as it was Jane and her husband Edward Chavez along with a third artist (whom I’ve yet to discover the identity of) that worked on the schools murals. Jane’s work includes the first two murals listed and her husband’s the second two. With many of the WPA’s commissioned projects, they were to depict scenes of Western America and the Pioneer spirit.

Jane unexpectedly died in 1952 due to a brain hemorrhage.

It’s no surprise that her sister Ethel took the death very hard, but it never stopped her from continuing to paint. From 1962 to 1993 Ethel Magafan had a phenomenal 19 solo gallery shows.

For more information on the Magafan sisters I suggest reading this.

*I don't know the artist behind the last two murals but I've decided to include them anyway.*

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Civic Center Park

Allen Tupper True (1881-1955)

More murals from artist Allen True. 

What I particularly like about these two is their resemblance of ancient Greek pottery portraits. I love the combination of classical and western art. 

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Allen Tupper True (1881-1955)

Allen True was born in Colorado Springs in 1881. Though, Allen spent a majority of his Childhood in Texas. True's parents had a lot of ties with Texas. True's father fought in the war of Texan Succession and his mother operated a kindergarten school there. Though it was Denver that would wind up being their final home. 

True attended the University of Denver and later the Corcoran College of Art and design. Growing up in the tumultuous period he did in Texas, most of True's art were depictions of western iconography. Out of College, True found work doing illustrations for magazines, but he really became most know for his mural works. 

Above you can see examples of his work from the Mountain Bell Telephone Building (first 8) and from Civic Center Park (last 2). True's work however isn't just endemic to these two locations as his work can also be seen in locations such as the Brown Palace, the Colorado National Bank, South High School, and the state capital. 

Allen True died in 1955, but his works still remain to inspire others. 

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I have 3 days off this week

and I've been meaning to do something I haven't done before on here. 

I'd like to shift focus from buildings and festivals to certain individuals. 

I'm not going to turn this blog into a collection of historical biographies, but there are 3 artists I'd like to highlight (mainly cause I want to show off their work). 

So, I hereby dub this to be "Mural Week"!

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Nice picture of an animal's butt for your background! :-P (Couldn't resist commenting on that)

Ha thanks! I really liked the new theme, the butt was the unfortunate side effect however. But it also went along with my sense of humor ;)

Also, I like your icon photo! 

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Alleyway between 6th and Santa Fe/Inca St. 

Mictecacihuatl Mural

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Downtown Denver

Civic Center Park

 Civic Center Park was the brainchild of infamous Denver Mayor Robert Speer. During the early 1900’s a movement was started called the “City Beautiful Movement”. The goal behind the movement was to cull the industrial feel many cities had at the time for a more visually appealing look. Beautification projects were started and city “monuments” were planned. Civic Center Park was an amalgamation of these ideas.

Speer’s project however wasn’t cheap as the area contained a few buildings and his plans required a lot of work. His proposal for redevelopment was once voted down and he lost his reelection in 1912 thus further stalling his plans. Though, in 1917 Speer was again re-elected and took up the fight for beautification once more. This time he gained the approval needed and in 1919 the park was completed.

The park was designed by famed urban designer/architect Daniel Burnham. It features neoclassical colonnades on the north and south ends as well as a large Greek amphitheater.

Robert Speer is credited with creating many of the parks throughout Denver. He never did see his great park finished however as he succumbed to the great influenza outbreak of the teens. He died 1 year before its completion.

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10th and York St.

Denver Botanic Gardens

Built on top of an old cemetery in the early 1950’s-60’s, the Denver Botanic Gardens sought out to educate the public about the diversity of plant life through displaying its natural beauty.

It is home to more than 30,000 plants. It is also one of the largest gardens in the country and the largest in the Rocky Mountain region. In the summertime, the garden also host numerous concerts in it’s sunken amphitheater and is also a popular wedding venue.

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15th and Champa

Denver Gas and Electric Building

Literally on the same block of the Mountain Bell Telephone Building is the Denver Gas and Electric Building. A relic of a time when the everyday convenience of electricity was a fascinating and strange subject, the building was designed to advertise the idea in grand fashion. Built in 1910 during a period known as "the era of lights", 13,000 lightbulbs were used cover the 10 story building head to toe and light up the sky every night at sunset.

The company behind the building were know to be enshrouded in scandal during the early half of the 20th century. With power of course comes corruption. DG&E eventually moved out of the building and became known as the “Insurance Exchange”. The lights stayed off for over a decade until in 1983 the owners of the property decided to once again light up the cityscape.

Today it is still the brightest building in Denver.