I took a walk in Denver's Washington Park after a recent snowstorm, and took a few photographs along the way. The photo on the left was taken from the front porch of the Eugene Field House, which was moved to Washington Park from West Colfax Avenue back in 1927, thanks to the help of Denver's "unsinkable" Molly Brown. Field lived in the house when he was the managing editor of the Denver Tribune, from 1881 to 1883. He moved to Chicago after that, and his famous children's poem, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, wasn't written until years later. But no matter - the house became a branch of the Denver Public Library, eventually replaced by a much larger and more modern facility, which now happens to be my local library branch. There is also a Wynken, Blynken, and Nod statue in the park, a particular favorite of both passing dogs and assorted pigeons.
Washington Park is quite a beautiful spot, and is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Denver. In the background of the photograph on the right is the Washington Park Boathouse, built in 1913, and a popular venue for wedding receptions, graduation parties, and other events. It is located on Smith Lake, which I have walked around many times, along with my fellow senior citizens and assorted other Denverites. My ex-wife Lisa and I ran across a home for sale on the east side of this park, back when we first got married in the early 1980s. The listing price was $279,000, which was a fortune at the time, but a steal these days. Needless to say, we never bought the place. A shame, since I am sure it is worth well over a million dollars these days. But what the hell - we would have had to sell the place when we got divorced, and the sales price would have been nothing like it is today. Plus, think of all the property taxes we have avoided paying over the years. The glass is always half full, not half empty, right?
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