6 
PARK AND CEMETERY. 
DENVER TO GET VAST CHAIN OF MOUNTAIN PARKS 
MAP OF PROPOSED MOUNTAIN PARK SYSTEM OF DENVER. 
A system of mountain parks for 
Denver embracing the most pictur- 
esque sections of the mountains and 
foothills west and southwest of the 
city, is outlined on a map which has 
been drawn for the joint mountain 
parks committee of the Denver com- 
mercial bodies. The plan is subject 
to change, depending upon the ex- 
penditure needed to acquire the priv- 
ately owned land included in the sys- 
tem, but if it is carried out in general 
detail it will provide an asset to the 
city’s attractions such as is found 
nowhere else in America. 
Seven natural mountain parks, em- 
bracing some 17,000 acres, furnish the 
basis of the plan. They are made 
the links in a chain of good roads and 
electric transportation lines giving 
easy access from the city and making 
the entire system available as a re- 
creation ground to all classes of peo- 
ple. 
Golden and Lookout Mountain on 
the north and Morrison, Mount Mor- 
rison and Mount Falcon on the south, 
are the best known points in the park 
system. The map illustrated is the re- 
sult of a year’s work on the part of 
the mountain parks committee of the 
Chamber of Commerce, Real Estate 
Exchange and Denver Motor Club — 
shows a boulevard highway running 
directly west as a continuation of 
West Colfax avenue, entering the 
mountains just south of Golden. 
Lookout mountain is parked with a 
series of highways which wind in a 
southwesterly direction to Genesee 
mountain, Alta Vista park and Bergen 
park, the latter the most distant point 
from the city. From Bergen park 
the highways — some of which will be 
improvements of existing roads and 
others newly built — swing to the 
south and thence to the southeast to 
Troutdale and Evergreen and Spruce 
park. Evergreen is a point on the 
highwajr to Leadville, to improve 
which the people of Jefferson, Park 
and Lake counties and the Denver 
commercial bodies petitioned the last 
legislature for a $20,000 appropria- 
tion. 
From Evergreen the road system 
urns to the northeast to Bear creek 
and follows the course of that stream 
to Mount Morrison and Morrison. 
Four and a half miles west of Mor- 
rison the highway branches to the 
south to Turkey creek, circling Mount 
Falcon and joining the other road at 
Morrison. From this point there will 
be two routes into Denver, one of 
them by way of Fort Logan. 
The road west of Morrison is 
planned as part of the transcontinent- 
al highway, crossing the range by way 
of Idaho Springs. 
According to Chairman Pence the 
Tramway company is planning an ex- 
tension of the Denver & Intermoun- 
tain into the mountain parks. This 
will be a continuation of the branch 
that leaves the main line before it 
reaches Golden. It is proposed to 
extend it to Bergen park, one of the 
most distant points of the park sys- 
tem from Denver. 
It is also proposed to extend the 
Intermountain to Morrison and to 
build the Valverde line of the Tram- 
way to Fort Logan and Morrison and 
thence into the foothills. The ulti- 
mate aim of the committee is to have 
every point in the mountain park sys- 
tem reached by street car line, so as to 
make it accessible to all at a minimum 
cost. 
The committee is now securing op- 
tions on the land needed and expects 
to have this portion of its task com- 
pleted by the time the amendment to 
the charter, authorizing the city to 
acquire land for park purposes out- 
side the corporate limits, comes up 
for vote at the next election. The 
amendment provides also for a half- 
mill levy for a mountain parks fund 
to be expended under the direction 
of the park board. 
Through the foresight and gener- 
osity. of a number of Denver business 
men one of the most attractive sites 
for the proposed chain of mountain 
parks has been snatched from a syn- 
dicate of lumber men who had all 
but completed its purchase, and will 
be preserved intact until such time 
as the city is prepared to acquire it. 
The site, which has thus been saved 
to the people of Denver, is on Turkey 
creek, about twenty miles from the 
city. It is heavily wooded and has 
been in the hands of one person for 
many years. Until the committee on 
mountain parks of the Real Estate 
Exchange visited the place and put 
it on the list of properties that are to 
be included in the chain of parks, it 
was not supposed that this tract was 
in the market at any price, for the 
owner had consistently declined to 
sell. In some way, however, the fact 
T if y f f rp 

CHEESMAN MEMORIAL PAVILION, DENVER, COL. 
