Big Changes For The Platte, Not To Mention Elitch Gardens...

The South Platte River runs right through Denver, and the spot where Cherry Creek meets the Platte River is where the city was founded back in 1858.  Very close to downtown, just beyond the bridge in the photograph on the left, is Elitch Gardens, an amusement park which straddles the east side of the Platte.  The park's downtown location has gone through a variety of owners, and is now the property of billionaire Stan Kroenke, whose company has recently announced that the site will become a mixed use real estate development called River Mile.  It will feature slim, 59 story apartment and office towers and a revitalized riverfront with retail, park space, and walking trails.  And am I considering taking up residence there?  Only if I win Power Ball between now and when construction begins in 2021.

The original Elitch Gardens, by the way, opened in 1890 at the corner of 38th and Tennyson here in Denver.  It was originally called Elitch Zoological Gardens, was Denver's first zoo, and soon added a theater, ballroom, and amusement rides.  When I first moved to Denver, I visited the park several times, and it truly was a garden, with amusement rides sprinkled in between. However, the family that had owned it since 1916 wanted to expand, and moved to a new location near downtown Denver back in 1995.  After two seasons of disappointing attendance figures, the family sold the park, which then became Six Flags Elitch Gardens, and went through several other owners after that.  The original site stayed vacant until 1999, when it was developed into an upscale urban neighborhood (which I also couldn't afford).  I took the photograph on the right of the park's main entrance back in 1998, not too long before it was torn down.

After the original Elitch Gardens closed, I never did visit the new amusement park.  I road past it many times while biking along the Platte River, and also while riding on the light rail train, but from what I could see, the grounds looked like a desert.  No gardens, no grass, no charm whatsoever - just a bunch of amusement rides set down on a sea of concrete.  According to the River Mile website, the first step in the new project will be to construct parking garages, and then start development on the surface lots, allowing the park to continue operations for a few more years.  For better or worse, it will take decades to complete.  In any case, I took the photograph on the left of the roller coaster at the old Elitch Gardens site at the same time I took the photo of the  main entrance, not too long before it was demolished.  Happily, Elitch's rival, Lakeside Amusement Park, which opened in 1908, is still around, and charges only a small fee to enter the park, as opposed to the $65 admission cost for the new Elitch's.  No wonder I hate that place.