Denver's Civic Center was established in 1868 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2012. The Civic Center includes the grounds of Civic Center Park, the Federal Revival Colorado State Capitol Building, the Georgian Revival Denver City and County Building, the Greek Revival McNichols Building (once the Carnegie Library), and the park's historic monuments and statuary.
This is one of two statues dedicated to the city. The other is the Broncho Buster. They depict the foundation of Colorado. On the War Trail was presented to the city in 1922. It is positioned across from the Broncho Buster. It is a memorial to the western roots of the state. The statue is known for its erect stance, ready for battle.
This statue was a donation to the city in the early 1900s and was given along with the On the War Trail statue which is located nearby. Both are meant to provide context for Colorado's foundation but only present one perspective. The famous American artist, A. Phimister Proctor, had roots in Colorado and the Cowboy life. Proctor's favorite cowboy model Bill 'Slim' Ridings, provided a true American tall tale to back this bronze sculpture.
This monument was erected in Civic Center Park in 1970 and stood until protests in 2020 led to its removal. Colorado artist William F Joseph created the sculpture which was met with increasing criticism at various points in the past five decades as Colorado residents have asked if the statue reflected the values and aspirations of their community. In 1989, the statue was defaced with fake blood by American Indian Movement (AIM) activist, Russell Means. Means was found not guilty of the crime of vandalism because he was expressing an act of free speech. On Thursday, June 25th, 2020, this statue was toppled by a group of unnamed protestors. This Denver protest was part of a larger response to the death of George Floyd and other minorities at the hands of police. The violence against minorities led to conversations about the meaning of monuments, along with isolated examples where monuments accross the country were the sites of protests.
The 1911 Pioneer Monument marks the end of the Smoky Hill Trail, which crossed the great plains from Kansas to Denver and served as the principal route for prospectors seeking their fortunes during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. Artist Frederick MacMonnies' original design sparked public controversy because it did not sufficiently celebrate white "civilization" replacing supposed Native savagery. MacMonnies compromised by replacing the Plains Indian warrior at the top of the pillar with a statue of Kit Carson. In 2020, the monument again sparked controversy, this time because it celebrated white cultural dominance.
The Sand Creek Massacre historical marker, located in front of the Civil War monument near the Colorado State Capitol, details one of the most controversial events in Colorado history. In essence, the Sand Creek Massacre was a massive atrocity during the American Indian Wars in 1864 that consisted of the killing and mutilation of between 70 and 163 Native American women, children, and elderly people by a 700-man force of Colorado Territory militia. Some civilians immediately denounced the attack, recognizing it as a massacre, while many others thought of the destruction of the peaceful villages of Cheyenne and Arapaho as legitimate targets in a war. The Civil War monument was built in 1909 and funded by the Pioneers’ Association and the State to honor Colorado soldiers who fought in battles in the Civil War. However, as Sand Creek was considered a battle, it was listed on the monument, mischaracterizing the nature of the attack. The monument caused protests and, consequently, greater recognition of the Sand Creek Massacre.
The Colorado State Capitol is home to the Colorado General Assembly. The offices of the state’s governor, lieutenant governor and treasurer are also located in the building. Visitors can stand 5,280 feet, or officially one mile high, above sea level on the building's west steps. The building’s dome offers a panoramic view of the Rocky Mountains. It’s even against state law to block the view. Free Capitol tours are available and allow the public to see the Allen True water murals, Women’s Gold Tapestry, and Colorado General Assembly Chambers with Rose Onyx wainscoting.
Dedicated in 2015, this memorial at the state capitol was dedicated to recognizing the victims of the Armenian Genocide, an atrocity that saw the deaths of millions from 1915 to 1922. The memorial consists of a Khachkar stone made of volcanic ash to commemorate the resiliency of the Armenian people, a religious minority who were castigated as a threat by the new ruling power in what became the nation of Turkey as the Ottoman Empire crumbled. The Armenian Genocide was recognized as a genocide by the U.S. officially until 2019, and still is not recognized as such by the Turkish government. In May of 2020, the Khachkar stone was vandalized during a series of protests that began to draw attention to police brutality in the wake of George Floyd's death.
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Nestled on the east side of the State Capitol Building rests the Closing Era Statue, a bronze monument honoring a dying race and telling a tale of westward expansion. A Native American man stands next to a bison, dying from a shot of his bow. Donated by the Fortnightly Club in 1893, the statue was originally exhibited at the World’s Fair Exposition in Chicago. When the sculpture was being prepared for installation, the Club asked sculptor Preston Powers to have the face of the man resemble Native American Chief Ouray. Chief Ouray had been a primary contact for treaty negotiations between the Ute Indians and the U.S. Government.
Situated prominently across the street from the state capitol building, the First Baptist Church of Denver was built in 1938 and is one of the city's finest examples of Georgian Revival architecture. Highly respected local architect G. Meredith Musick designed the church with a tall 160-foot tower, a grand portico with granite Corinthian columns, Indiana limestone trim, main entrance doors with limestone pediments, and pilasters at the corners of the building. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached at First Baptist on April 16, 1962.
At the western edge of Capitol Hill stands the Alma Temple, an imposing Greek-Revival building fronted by eight Corinthian columnns and topped by four neon letters, KPOF. These are the call letters of The Pillar of Fire Church radio station KPOF 910 AM, which started broadcasting in 1928. The Pillar of Fire International, founded in Denver in 1901 by Alma Bridwell White, began as part of the Holiness Movement, an offshoot of the Methodist Church. The controversial White believed in women’s emancipation but also espoused anti-Catholic, antisemitic and and anti-immigrant views (since disavowed by the church she founded). The temple, designed and constructed by church members between 1923 and 1937, is also used today as a music and performance venue.
Prominent businessman Joseph Creswell built this historic home in 1889. Denver-based architect John J. Huddart, who was born in England, designed it combining elements of the Queen Anne and Richardsonian Romanesque styles. It was built of rough red sandstone and features arched windows, two porches (one of which is a semi-circle), gables, and carved stonework. The house is now known as Marijuana Mansion for its association with Colorado's marijuana industry. Vicente Sederberg LLP, one of the law firms that authored Colorado Amendment 64 which legalized cannabis in the state, moved into the house in 2013 and helped develop the policies to implement the new law. An organization called the National Cannabis Industry Association moved in as well. The house is now a cannabis-themed museum and private event venue.
This historic Gothic Revival church building was designed by Denver architect William Lang in 1889, the same architect who designed the nearby Molly Brown House. Owing to poor maintenance, the church's original tower fell in the 1950s. This church served the Denver community for 86 years and was converted into a nightclub in the 1990s. Since that tie, the venue has welcomed a variety of music guests.
Colorado became the first state in the Union to give women the right to vote in a popular election in 1893. "A New Beginning" represents western women's empowerment women in the 1890s. It was sculpted by Veryl Goodnight and placed outside History Colorado Center in time for the center's opening in 2012.
The largest history museum in the state of Colorado, the center includes dozens of permanent and rotating exhibits as well as lecture series and a research library. Notable exhibits include decade reviews, Colorado history, and local celebrities. The Center is operated by the Colorado Historical Society, which was established in 1879.
The Kirkland Museum features the original studio and works of Vance Kirkland (artist, educator, and collector), 6,000 works by Colorado and regional artists dating from 1820-1990, and an international decorative art collection dating from 1875-1990. Curator Hugh Grant's salon style approach to display makes the museum vibrant and unique. Though the museum is closed from May 2016 through Fall of 2017 for relocation, the original studio will be moved intact to the new Bannock Street facility in Denver's Golden Triangle Museum District [1].
The Clyfford Still Museum is a minimalist showcase for the large-scale paintings & archives of Clyfford Still, who is considered one of the most important painters of the 20th century. Clyfford Still (1904–1980) was among the first generation of Abstract Expressionist artists who developed a new and powerful approach to painting in the years immediately following World War II. The museum opened in 2011.
The Denver Art Museum is an art museum located in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1893, the museum is one of the largest art museums between the West Coast and Chicago. It is known for its collection of American Indian art, and its other collections of more than 70,00 diverse works from across the centuries and world.
This historic Italianate-style house served as a home for two prominent Denver families. It was built for William N. Byers, the owner of the Rocky Mountain News, in 1883. William G. Evans, the head of the Denver Tramway Corporation and oldest son of former governor John Evans, bought the home in 1889. The house is operated by History Colorado and features an art gallery which showcases works reflecting the history of Denver and the Mountain West.
Located between the Denver Art Museum and The Denver Library, this modern outdoor sculpture symbolizes the Big Horn Medicine Wheel. The public art installation consists of ten red poles topped with abstract birds flying in a circle. The circle is astrologically positioned to receive the summer solstice on June 21st. Stories of American Indians adorn the cultures and the art installation is utilized as an ending place for the Sand Creek Massacre Spiritual Run-Walk. In 2018, Wheel was taken down during a renovation of the Denver Art Museum with the intent of being rededicated along with soil from the original site.
The Denver Public Library traces its origins to 1889, when it opened within a room inside Denver High School. Andrew Carnegie funded the library's first building at Civic Center Park, as well as some of its original branch locations. As the city grew, so did the need for a bigger central library. The second building, known to many Denver residents as the “Old Main” library, served the downtown area between 1950 and 1995. That building was replaced with this modern building, completed in 1995 after voters approved a bond project in 1990.
This Tour is a Walking Tour.
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This short walking tour includes Civic Center Park and numerous monuments past and present as it winds towards the state capital. The tour includes several historic buildings, markers, and museums in Denver's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The tour concludes at the city's public library, which offers an outstanding collection of items related to Denver's history.
