City and County of Denver, Parks and Recreation DepartmentHistoric Denver, Inc.

September 2018

CITY PARKDesign Guidelines

i

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction .....................................................................................1

Purpose of the Design Guidelines ...............................1

How to Use These Guidelines .......................................1

Study Area .................................................................... 2

Goals and Guiding Principles ........................................................3

Park Character ............................................................. 3

Goals ............................................................................. 3

Guiding Principles ........................................................ 3

Context ..........................................................................................4

Historic Context ............................................................ 4

Contributing Features .................................................. 8

Period of Significance ............................................... 10

Regional Context ....................................................... 11

Guidelines .....................................................................................12

Park Composition ....................................................... 12

Circulation and Connectivity ................................... 16

Vegetation and Ecology .......................................... 24

Water .......................................................................... 33

Buildings, Structures and Objects ............................ 35

Art ............................................................................... 44

Lighting ........................................................................ 45

Park Uses and Experiences ...................................... 47

Denver Zoo ................................................................. 49

Denver Museum of Nature & Science .................... 51

East 23rd Avenue ...................................................... 53

CITY PARKDesign Guidelines

(page intentionally left blank)

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTSCity and County of Denver Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Allegra “Happy” Haynes, Executive Director Gordon Robertson, Director Park Planning, Design & Construction Kelly Ream, Project Manager, East Denver Parks Planner Adam Smith, Superintendent Historic Denver, Inc. Annie Levinsky, Executive Director History Colorado - State Historical Fund Anne McCleave, Historic Preservation Specialist

Consultant Team Mundus Bishop Tina Bishop, PLA, ASLA, Principal Rachel Scarborough, PLA, Landscape Architect Josh Spinner, ASLA, Landscape Designer Shelby Scharen, Landscape Historian

Anderson Hallas Architects Nan Anderson, FAIA, Historical Architect Andy Duckett-Emke, AIA, Architect

Muller Engineering CorporationKarl Buchholz, PE, Transportation Engineer

Technical Review Team City and County of Denver

DPR Operations Joe Renteria, City Park Operations Supervisor Doug Woods, Parks Director

DPR Planning Design and Construction Kathleen LeVeque, Assistant Director of Parks Planning Cincere Eades, Natural Resource Planner Kent Sondgerath, Landscape Design & Construction Supervisor Adrienne Burton, District Planner

DPR Natural Resources Division Rob Davis, City Forester Mike Swanson, Forestry Superintendent Kelly Uhing, City Naturalist Vicki Vargas-Madrid, Wildlife Program Administrator

Public Works Scott Burton, Senior City Planner Dan Raine, Senior City Planner Community Planning and Development Caryn Champine, Director Jennifer Cappetto, Landmark Preservation Supervisor Stakeholder Working Group Patrick Brown, Kick In For A Cause (KIFAC) Karen Collier, Whittier Neighborhood Greg Davis, City Park Alliance Peggy Day, Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) Megan Deffner, Denver Zoo Mike Fernandez, City Park Alliance Georgia Garnsey, City Park Friends and Neighbors (CPFANS) Matthew Gullicksrud, Cole Neighborhood Libby Kaiser, Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee Emily Lapel, City Council District 9 Jacqui Lansing, City Park Friends and Neighbors (CPFANS) Brande Micheau, Parks & Recreation Advisory Board Paul Nihara, Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA) Liz Orr, City Park Master Plan Exploratory Committee Dawnisha Penny, Skyland Neighborhood George Pond, Denver Zoo Andrew Rowan, Denver Zoo Andy Sense, City Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee (CPNAC) Darrel Watson, Game Plan Task Force Jeff Williams, Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee Ellen Yu, City Park Racquet Club

The project was funded by Denver Parks and Recreation and a History Colorado–State Historical Fund grant, with contributions from Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Zoo, Historic Denver, Inc., City Park Alliance, City Park Friends & Neighbors and dozens of individual donors.

(page intentionally left blank)

1Introduction

Introduction

Purpose of the Design Guidelines

The Master Plan Update and Design Guidelines provide a vision and guidance for the preservation and improvement of City Park as ‘the People’s Park,’ ensuring a balance of evolving use with preservation of the historic park.

The goals, principles, and guidelines set forth in this document reflect the historical development of City Park and inform both documents. Together the documents provide a comprehensive planning and decision-making framework to guide the long-term physical improvement, use, and management of City Park.

These Design Guidelines provide criteria to evaluate proposed improvements or modifications and assist in managing change while supporting the special character of Denver’s most significant and largest public space. These Design Guidelines, prepared by the Department of Parks and Recreation in conjunction with public input and a stakeholder working group, will inform future projects and the on-going care and stewardship of City Park.

How to Use These Guidelines

These Guidelines instruct the rehabilitation and improvement of City Park reinforcing it as an important neighborhood and regional public park. Criteria for evaluating proposed improvements or modifications to City Park is provided for new additions; use of materials; and measures to protect and repair historic features. These Guidelines inform design of all improvements proposed for City Park including projects initiated by city agencies.

• Review and evaluation of proposed modifications or improvements will be through an improved process. A new advisory committee of professional designers, park advocates, neighbors, ecologists, and regional users will be formed to assist in ensuring proposals adhere to these documents. They will review projects and provide recommendations to the Executive Director of Parks and Recreation, as well as be a forum for community input.

• City Park Pavilion, Graham / Bible House and Barn, and Bungalow Fire Station are designated Denver Landmarks. Other buildings and structures may be proposed for designation in the future. Proposed exterior modifications to these structures must be reviewed according to processes identified by Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission.

• Guidelines for Denver Zoo (the Zoo), Denver Museum of Nature & Science (the Museum), and East 23rd Avenue are presented in separate sections. These build upon current agreements and planning initiatives that provide direction for each institution.

2 Introduction

Study Area

City Park is Denver’s premiere regional park located two miles east of downtown Denver. Encompassing 320 acres, the park is bounded by York Street on the west, Colorado Boulevard on the east, East 23rd Avenue on the north, and East 17th Avenue on the south. Two civic institutions within the park—Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature & Science—attract more than 3 million visitors annually.

City Park attracts a diversity of parks users from nearby neighbors to regional users from Denver’s metropolitan area. It is an important neighborhood and community park providing recreation and respite to the region and its 8 adjacent neighborhoods. The park is connected with Denver’s renowned parkway system via City Park Esplanade, Colorado Boulevard, Montview Boulevard, and East 17th Avenue Parkway. Several bicycle routes connect the park with the city.

Cook

Str

eet

Mad

ison

Str

eet

Mon

roe

Stre

et

Gar

field

Str

eet

Jack

son

Stre

et

Har

rison

Str

eet

Colo

rado

Bou

leva

rd

East 17th Avenue 17th Avenue

18th Avenue

19th Avenue

Montview Boulevard

22nd Avenue

23rd Avenue

21st Avenue

20th Avenue

18th Avenue

23rd Avenue

22nd Avenue

York

Str

eet

City

Par

k Es

plan

ade

Det

roit

Stre

et

Fillm

ore

Stre

et

St P

aul S

tree

t

Stee

le S

tree

t

Adam

s St

reet

East 23rd Avenue

18th Avenue

Josephine Street

0 400 800200Feet

N

Denver Zoo

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Ferril Lake

City Park Golf Course

Duck Lake

Little Lake

City Park Pavilion

Children’s Fountain

Boat Dock

Electric FountainBand

Stand

North Meadow

Big Meadow

Meadow

Meadow

Meadow

South Meadow

Pinetum

Box Canyon

Waterway

City ParkGreenhouse

Court Sports

Elephant House

Graham Bible

House

Bungalow Fire Station

Kessler Plaza /

Benedict Garden

Monti Gateway

Sopris Gateway

McLellan Gateway

York Street Gateway

Zoo/Golf Course

Entrance Zoo/Museum/Park Entrance Colorado

Boulevard Gateway

Lily Pond

Burns Garden

Sopris Garden

City Park Esplanade

North Park RoadDuck Lake

Little Lake

Meadow

MLKMonument

Public Restroom & Maintenance Facility

LEGEND

Existing Park Building

New Park Building or

Structure

Existing Park Gateway

New Park Gateway

3Goals and Guiding Principles

Goals and Guiding Principles

Park Character City Park is ‘the People’s Park’ with a 120-year legacy as Denver’s most loved public space. The park’s distinct spatial patterns of large open meadows and lakes are defined by mature forested groves, curving park roads and paths, and allees of trees. Living collections and gardens, gateways, monuments, and buildings and structures create entries, views, and park experiences. These characteristics express ‘the People’s Park’ where experiences are offered for all, from tranquil walks, to play and biking, to outings to the Zoo and Museum.

Goals Five goals guide the repair and improvement of City Park. These goals ensure park character will be preserved and contemporary use addressed through a balanced approach.

■ Re-connect the community with City Park—physically, visually, and socially;

■ Preserve City Park’s historic features and patterns while integrating new compatible elements;

■ Follow an integrated approach—considering aesthetics, historical integrity, ecological function and performance, and visitor experience—in designing new improvements;

■ Improve ecological function and environmental performance for City Park;

■ Improve the condition of City Park including park infrastructure, vegetation, and features while recognizing the operational needs of the park and institutions.

Guiding Principles

Six guiding principles provide the framework for the Master Plan Update recommendations.

Park Composition: Protect and enhance City Park’s distinct composition of spaces along with views, topography, and individual features that define these spaces.

Circulation: Establish a comprehensive circulation system with improved connections and access to, and within, the park for all modes that builds upon City Park’s character.

Vegetation and Ecology: Protect and preserve City Park’s established tree and vegetation patterns, plant species, and significant and notable trees to preserve character, enhance the urban tree canopy, provide wildlife and bird habitat or other ecological benefits, and to enhance biological diversity.

Water: Protect constructed water features to preserve park character and to enhance water quality and ecological function.

Buildings and Structures: Preserve contributing buildings and structures, ensure new buildings and structures are consistent with park character, and provide opportunities for compatible park uses. Park Uses and Experiences: Maintain a balance of uses and experiences that are integrated with the park’s character and composition.

4 Context

Context

Historic Context

The development of City Park, on land once noted as a “great waste of seemingly endless prairie,” was inspired by national city beautification movements and the efforts of early Denver leaders and residents. By the 1870s Denver was emerging as a bustling town with a permanent population. The city had grown in its refinements and was focused on building a world class metropolis.

The idea of a large urban park for public use was relatively new in 1870. New York City’s Central Park (1858), Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park (1865), and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park (1866) were the first large, public urban parks built in the nation. They quickly became the standard for planning similar park spaces including those for Denver. The city’s early park movement is defined in the 1878 Sopris and Lee Plan that proposed a park system to create a livable and healthy community for the city’s residents. This plan envisioned a series of parks connected by tree-lined parkways and boulevards. City Park was to be the “east city park” and Sloan’s Lake the “west city park” within this greater system.

Land for City Park was purchased from the state of Colorado in 1882. Henry Meryweather, city civil engineer, prepared the first layout of the park the same year. Meryweather’s romantic arrangement of looped roadways and walks, augmented by lakes and meadows, created a distinct variety of views and vistas. By 1886 the park’s “sinuous tangle of winding carriageways, walks and promenades” were in place. Reinhard Schuetze, who became city landscape architect in 1892, designed Ferril Lake and the original Burns Garden. City Park was generally completed by 1900, with many park buildings and features in place. These included Graham / Bible House, City Park Pavilion, a bandstand, boat dock, and the race track. By 1896 the first zoo spaces and buildings were completed.

5Context

After 1900 and into the 1920s City Park became a truly elegant grand park linked to the city’s wider system of parks, parkways, and boulevards. Reflecting the ideals of the City Beautiful movement, City Park was beautified over this 20-year period. The 1914 plan by the Olmsted Brothers overlaid an organizing structure for the park—a distinct delineation of open spaces framed by tree masses, circulation networks, and park entries. Monumental statues, gateways, buildings, and fountains followed. Several designers contributed: Reinhard Schuetze, George Kessler, S.R. DeBoer, Frank Edbrooke, Edward Bennett, Jules Jacques Benois Benedict, and Max Blondet. Much remains today—Thatcher Fountain, Sopris, McLellan and Monti gateways, Kessler Plaza, the Electric Prismatic Fountain, Children’s Fountain, and Bungalow Fire Station. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, designed by architect Frederick J. Sterner with site design by Reinhard Schuetze, was built in 1901 on the park’s eastern high point originally defined by Meryweather.

City Park Golf Course, immediately north of City Park, evolved during these early years. Between 1896 and 1925 the course was proposed, land acquired north of City Park, and the course designed and built. The first plan, attributed to the Olmsted Brothers, was a 9-hole course. This course was expanded and redesigned to 18-holes by Tom Bendelow, a pioneer golf course architect, in 1917 /1918. Until 1920 the golf course and park were one continuous space when East 23rd Avenue was extended as a through road.

After 1920 and through the 1950s City Park’s modifications were primarily led by S.R. DeBoer, city landscape architect. DeBoer’s Pinetum and Box Canyon Waterway added naturalistic and rustic elements to City Park. In 1952 the first Denver Botanic Garden was built at City Park with a diverse palette of plant species and several planted areas and gardens. Other changes included the addition of City Park Greenhouse / Park Nursery, new tennis courts and restroom, athletic fields, and expansion of the Museum. Many original walks began to disappear during this time, along with changes to the road system.

Between the 1960s and 1980s Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature & Science grew in size and visitation. In the 1980s Denver’s parks and parkways system was nationally recognized for its historical and architectural significance and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1986. City Park is a component of this system.

6 Context

HEN

RY M

ERYW

EATH

ER

RoadsMeadowsLakes

1882

REIN

HARD

SC

HUET

ZE

Ferril LakeBurns GardenMuseum Site Plan–1901

1896

GEO

RGE

KESS

LER

EsplanadeKessler Plaza

1907

J.J.

B. B

ENED

ICT Plan

Terrace West of Museum

1911OLM

STED

BRO

THER

S

Tree LawnSidewalksLittle Lake(to look like Monet Painting)

Urban Forest Enlargements/Modifications to meadows (1914)

1910

1882 to 1900Early American City Park

Movement

LORA

DO

TA

FT Thatcher Fountain

1901 to 1920

1882 to 1957

City Beautiful Movement

1904

E.H.

MO

ORM

AN

GRA

NT

STEV

ENS

McLellan GatewayBurns Statue

1912

MA

X BL

ON

DET

Children’sFountain

Recommended Period of Significance for City Park

7Context

1919

1925

1952

1953

1957

S.R.

DeB

OER

Bear Mountain

Lily PondSopris Memorial (artist unknown)

Botanic Garden at City Park

PinetumLilac, Crabappleand Rose Garden

Box Canyon andWaterway

1921 to 1960Rustic Park Movement

1912

FRA

NK

EDBR

OO

KE

Sopris Gateway

1913

1920

TOM

BEN

DEL

OW City Park

Golf Course opened

East 23rdAvenue extended

Recommended Period of Significance for City Park

8 Context

Contributing FeaturesCity Park is composed of significant features that individually and collectively contribute to the park character. Contributing features are those features present during the Period of Significance that possess historical or architectural integrity.

Feature Designer Date Built ContributingPARK COMPOSITION View from Museum West Terrace Reinhard Schuetze 1901 XPanoramic vista of Rocky Mountains Meryweather 1882 X CIRCULATION and CONNECTIVITY 5280 Trail City Park Alliance 2008East 23rd Avenue Unknown 1920s XBicycle Routes Unknown 2000s Park Roads Meryweather, Olmsted Brothers 1880s / 1920s XPedestrian Trails Meryweather, Olmsted Brothers 1880s / 1920s X VEGETATION and ECOLOGY Forested Groves Meryweather, Olmsted Brothers 1890s / 1920s XMeadows Meryweather, Olmsted Brothers 1890s / 1920s XTree Allees Meryweather, Olmsted Brothers 1890s / 1920s X GARDENS and LIVING COLLECTIONS 1950s Botanic Garden S.R. DeBoer 1952 to 1960 XBox Canyon Waterway S.R. DeBoer 1957 XBurns Garden Reinhard Schuetze 1896 XCity Esplanade George Kessler 1907 / 1918 XKessler Plaza & Benedict Garden G. Kessler, J.J.B. Benedict, Olmsted Bros. 1909, 1911, 1914, 1953 XRock Garden Unknown 1990sSopris Garden Unknown 1925, 1990s XCottonwood Groves Meryweather 1890s XIris Garden S.R. DeBoer / Denver Botanic Gardens 1955 Non-extantLilac Hedge S.R. DeBoer / Denver Botanic Gardens 1953 XPinetum S.R. DeBoer 1953 XSopris Gateway Frank Edbrook, Olmsted Brothers 1911 to 1912 X

9Context

Feature Designer Date Built ContributingCONSTRUCTED WATER FEATURES City Ditch Richard Little (Engineer) 1865, 1917, Post 1920 XDuck Lake Meryweather 1887, 1890, 1993 – repaired XFerril Lake Reinhard Schuetze 1896 XH2Odyssey (Gates Fountain) DHM, Inc. 1999 Lily Pond (Gold Fish Pond) S.R. DeBoer 1925 XLittle Lake (Sediment Pond) Meryweather 1882 / 1914 X

BUILDINGS, STRUCTURES and OBJECTS Bungalow Fire Station E.H. Moorman 1912 XElephant House (Park Maintenance Building) Joel Gray Barri 1906 to 1908 XGraham/Bible House Unknown 1893 XGreenhouse & Nurseries Works Progress Administration 1941 XCity Park Pavilion William E. Fisher, John J. Humphreys 1896,1929, 1995 – repaired XBandstand Unknown 1984 Boat Docks (at Ferril Lake) Unknown 1897 Children’s Fountain Max Blondet 1912, 1917 – relocated to current location XElectric Prismatic Fountain Fred W. Darlington 1908, 1983 & 2008 – repaired XFerril Lake Promenade / Staircase Reinhard Schuetze Early 1900s XGrizzly’s Last Stand Louis Paul Jonas (sculptor) 1930 XMartin Luther King, Jr. Monument Ed Dwight 2002 McLellan Gateway E.H. Moorman 1904, 1957 – relocated to current location XMonti Gateway Richard Phillips 1917 XRobert Burns Bronze Sculpture Grant Stevens 1904 XSopris Gateway Frank Edbrooke 1911 to 1912 XSullivan Gateway Leo Lentelli (sculptor), Edward Bennett (architect) 1917 XThatcher Memorial Fountain Lorado Taft (sculptor), J. R. Morrison (architect) 1918 XTennis Courts Unknown 1900, 1950s replacement XTennis Court Restroom Unknown Pre 1950s DENVER ZOO Bear Mountain S.R. DeBoer, Victor Hugo Borcherdt 1919 XPalm House (Raptor Exhibit) Unknown 1927, 1948 – relocated XZoo Operations Center W.E. Fisher 1898 to 1904 X

DENVER MUSEUM OF NATURE & SCIENCE Denver Museum of Nature & Science Frederick J. Sterner 1901, 1908, 1918,1940s,1982

10 Context

Period of Significance

City Park is historically significant at the state level and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a component of the Denver Park and Parkway System. The park is significant for its role in community development of the city of Denver and for its landscape architecture.

The NRHP period of significance for the park and parkway system is 1880 to 1936. This captures the inception of Denver’s park and parkway system through 1936, a date likely chosen because 1936 is 50 years earlier than the registration date of the nomination. The recommended period of significance for City Park is 1882 to 1957 to reflect the on-going design and development of the park through 1957. The revised end date captures the later designs of landscape architect S.R. DeBoer that contribute to park character. Designers with major roles in City Park include Henry Meryweather (1882); Reinhard Schuetze (1896 to 1906); George E. Kessler (1905 to 1909); Jules Jacques Benois Benedict (1911); the Olmsted Brothers (1913 to 1914); and S.R. DeBoer (1916 to 1960). City Park’s spatial patterns, vegetation, and circulation routes were altered in the 1950s from their earlier appearance of the 1880s to 1920s. Forested groves were altered, meadows enlarged, and pedestrian paths removed. Several important features were added in the 1950s—the first Denver Botanic Gardens, the Pinetum, and Box Canyon Waterway. City Park retains integrity in location, setting, feeling, design, workmanship, materials, and association. The park’s integrity is slightly diminished due to new non-compatible additions along the Zoo edge, expansion of buildings, loss of vegetation, and additions of non-compatible features that disrupt views and experiences. Recommendations in the Master Plan Update address these issues with strategies for improvements.

The recommended period of significance for City Park is 1882 to 1957 to reflect its continued design and historical development.

DESIGNERS1882 Henry Meryweather 1896 William E. Fisher 1896 John J. Humphreys 1896 to 1906 Reinhard Schuetze 1901 Frederick J. Sterner1904 E.H. Moorman1905 to 1909 George Kessler1908 Fred Darlington1911 J.J.B. Benedict1911 Frank Edbrooke1912 Max Blondet1912 E.H. Moorman1913 to 1914 Olmsted Brothers1916 Richard Phillips1917 Ed Herbert Bennett1916 to 1960 S. R. DeBoer1918 Lorado Taft1930 Louis Paul Jonas

11Context

Regional Context

City Park is a premier regional park destination for the Denver metropolitan area. It is also the neighborhood and community park for eight Denver neighborhoods: Skyland, North Park Hill, South Park Hill, City Park, Congress Park, Hale, City Park West, and Whittier. The park’s central location in east Denver is close to major highways and thoroughfares, and to many Denver residents, 85% reside within a 5-mile radius of the park. Two of Denver’s cultural institutions have been part of City Park since the early 1900s: Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Together these institutions attract more than 3 million visitors annually.

City Park is two miles south of I-70 and connected by Colorado Boulevard, the city’s busiest arterial street. The park is two miles east of downtown Denver. Dedicated bike routes, bus service, city streets, and pedestrian routes connect the park to adjacent neighborhoods and the broader city. City Park Esplanade and Colorado Boulevard connect City Park to Denver’s Parks and Parkway system. City Park Golf Course is the northern edge of City Park, across East 23rd Avenue. Together these two public spaces encompass 456 acres of park and open space.

City Park’s historical and architectural significance, beautiful natural setting, and variety of recreational and cultural offerings draw thousands of visitors each year. The park is popular for active and passive park uses including organized and informal activities. The 320-acre park provides more than 13 miles of trails; 10 sports fields—some within park meadows; two playgrounds; picnicking; 24 courts for tennis, handball and horseshoes; and athletic fields in the topographic bowl of a historic racetrack. Recent surveys indicate that 56% of park users visit City Park several times a week, many with family and friends.

12 Guidelines | Park Composition

Guidelines

Park Composition

Vision: City Park is a composition of small and large spaces defined by forested groves and tree-lined winding roads. This integrated relationship of open and enclosed space is expressed as meadows and lakes. The variety of open spaces are defined by roads, trails, and forested groves linked through views. This arrangement provides diverse park experiences and a refuge from the urban surroundings and defines the character of City Park.

Henry Meryweather’s 1882 plan laid out the park’s spatial organization. This included the iconic vista from the park’s natural high point on the east that visually links City Park with downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains. This panoramic view is supported spatially by the topography and open space of Big Meadow, and the open space of Ferril Lake with City Park Pavilion set on the lake’s west edge. Architectural and artistic spaces, monuments, and buildings introduced in the early 20th century enhanced the park’s composition as did the addition of the Botanic Garden in the 1950s.

Principle: Protect and enhance City Park’s distinct composition of spaces along with views, topography, and individual features that define these spaces.

1. Protect City Park’s composition by repairing and enhancing established and historic patterns, sequences, openings, enclosures, spaces, and spatial relationships. a. Preserve the pattern, variety, and hierarchy of open spaces. These include meadows, Big Meadow, North

Meadow, South Meadow, and Ferril Lake. b. Preserve and enhance vegetation patterns to better define established spatial organization and views and

vistas, and to reinforce spatial and physical relationships.

13Guidelines | Park Composition

Cook

Str

eet

Mad

ison

Str

eet

Mon

roe

Stre

et

Gar

field

Str

eet

Jack

son

Stre

et

Har

rison

Str

eet

Colo

rado

Bou

leva

rd

East 17th Avenue 17th Avenue

18th Avenue

19th Avenue

Montview Boulevard

22nd Avenue

23rd Avenue

21st Avenue

20th Avenue

18th Avenue

23rd Avenue

22nd Avenue

York

Str

eet

City

Par

k Es

plan

ade

Det

roit

Stre

et

Fillm

ore

Stre

et

St P

aul S

tree

t

Stee

le S

tree

t

Adam

s St

reet

East 23rd Avenue

18th Avenue

Josephine Street

0 400 800200Feet

N

Denver Zoo

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Ferril Lake

City Park Golf Course

Duck Lake

Little Lake

Forested Grove / Tree Allee / Living Collection

Meadow

Garden

Water Bodies

Zoo Boundary

1950s Botanic Garden

City Park Greenhouse

Graham / Bible House

Public Restroom /

Maintenance Facility

City Park Pavilion

Elephant House

Bungalow Fire Station

Pavilion

LEGEND

1896

1914

Lily Pond1925

Meadow1882 / 1914

1907

Meadow1882 / 1914

Forested Groves

pre-1914

Forested Groves

pre-1914

Meadow1886

Meadow1914

c.1914

Pinetum1953

Box Canyon Waterway

1957

Burns Garden 1896

1887

McLellan Gateway

1904

Sopris Gateway

1912

Monti Gateway

1917

North Meadow1882

Sopris Garden 1925

Big Meadow1882

Kessler Plaza /

Benedict Garden 1907, 1953

South Meadow1887 / 1957

Rock Garden

A

A

C

G

B

GE

D

G

F

G

B

C

D G

E

F

ForestedGroves

LEGEND Forested Grove/Tree Allee/Living Collection Water Bodies A City Park Greenhouse E Elephant House Meadow Zoo Boundary B Graham/Bible House F Bungalow Fire Station Garden Botanic Garden C Public Restroom/Maintenance Facility G Open-Air Pavilion D City Park Pavilion

Park Composition - Spaces and Features

0 400 800Feet

N

14 Guidelines | Park Composition

2. Preserve City Park’s significant views and vistas to the Rocky Mountains, downtown Denver, City Park Golf Course, and between park spaces. a. Comply with City Park View Plane Ordinance (Municipal Code, Chapter 10, Article IV, Sec. 10-62),

protecting the vista from the Museum and Kessler Plaza to the west. b. Ensure new park additions and new vegetation, or modifications to existing features or vegetation, respect

and do not interfere with significant views. c. Protect established views between park spaces and between circulation routes and spaces. d. Reestablish missing historic views between park spaces, to park features, and into City Park.

3. Preserve or enhance City Park’s composition and spatial character when considering modifications or creating new additions. a. Design new vegetation, buildings, structures, and other features in respect to established and historic

patterns and relationships to ensure park composition is preserved.

15Guidelines | Park Composition

Cook

Str

eet

Mad

ison

Str

eet

Mon

roe

Stre

et

Gar

field

Str

eet

Jack

son

Stre

et

Har

rison

Str

eet

Colo

rado

Bou

leva

rd

East 17th Avenue 17th Avenue

18th Avenue

19th Avenue

Montview Boulevard

22nd Avenue

23rd Avenue

21st Avenue

20th Avenue

18th Avenue

23rd Avenue

22nd Avenue

York

Str

eet

City

Par

k Es

plan

ade

Det

roit

Stre

et

Fillm

ore

Stre

et

St P

aul S

tree

t

Stee

le S

tree

t

Adam

s St

reet

East 23rd Avenue

18th Avenue

Josephine Street

0 400 800200Feet

N

Denver Zoo

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Ferril Lake

City Park Golf Course

Duck Lake

Little Lake

Preserve Historic View

Repair Missing View

Protect View (City Ordinance)

LEGEND

Ctiy Park Pavilion

Burns Garden

Elephant House

MLK Monument

Sopris Gateway

City Park Greenhouse

City Park Esplanade

1892

1892

1912

1917

1914

1914

1957

1882

19571882

191419141911

1907

1907

1907

1903

1887

1896

1908

LEGEND Preserve Historic View Protect View (City Ordinance) Repair Missing View

1907

1907

Park Composition–Views

0 400 800Feet

N