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City Park Project Updates |
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CITY PARK'S ELECTRIC FOUNTAIN RETURNS AS A DENVER SHOWPIECE
Cooperation and collaboration key to resurrecting a Denver treasure
On Tuesday, August 19 Mayor John Hickenlooper joined City Officials unveiled the newly re-constructed, fully-functional City Park Electric Fountain. The Electric Fountain is now capable of producing the incredible light and water shows that made it a Denver destination years ago.
The Electric Fountain, which was originally constructed in 1908 for the Democratic National Convention, has not been fully operational for decades. The Fountain was a centerpiece of Denver life, drawing literally thousands of visitors to watch its amazing water and light shows while listening to concerts in City Park. Current City and community leaders wanted to restore the glory days of the Electric Fountain for all to once again enjoy. The recent Montclair Storm Drainage Project taking place in City Park made initial work on the Fountain's structure and infrastructure possible.
"This is a wonderful case of history repeating itself to our great benefit," Mayor Hickenlooper said. "This fountain will amaze and delight City Park visitors for years and years, just as Frederic Darlington's original fountain did. The dedication of the fountain links the vision of Darlington and Mayor Speer with that of the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission, the Colorado Historical Society, Denver Parks and Recreation, Denver Public Works, Denver Water and other partners who realized the value of recreating this remarkable community landmark."
"During the process of evaluating the condition of the original 1908 fountain, it was determined that restoration of the fountain would not be a financially advisable," said Scott Robson, Acting Manager for Denver Parks and Recreation. "Instead, plans were developed to demolish the original fountain and construct a completely new Electric Fountain, duplicating the appearance of the fountain structure in the lake, the famous water features and the colored lighting effects."
With permission from the Landmark Preservation Commission, Denver Public Works demolished the old concrete fountain vault in order to construct a sound, fully-functional replacement utilizing current technology and materials that will sustain the Fountain into the future. The portion of the Fountain visible above the water is virtually identical to the original structure. After the vault and deck of the Fountain were completely restored in April of 2007, the final piece of the project was to add the working labyrinth of plumbing and nozzles, complete with multi-hue colored lights for fountain show performances.
This remaining work demanded the installation of an enormous amount of complex plumbing, electrical, mechanical and computer features to create numerous geysers and light displays in a synchronized fashion. The majority of the work was done thanks to the tremendous synergy between Denver Public Works and Parks & Recreation, with Parks supplying the knowledge and Public Works providing the facilities to complete the project and bring the Electric Fountain back to life. The Colorado Historical Society, Denver Water and other independent contractors also contributed to the completion of this historically significant Denver landmark.
The Electric Fountain proudly uses modern technology, including energy-saving LED lights, and will be around for future generations to enjoy. After its initial illumination on Aug. 19, 2008, the fountain will be on every evening with performances scheduled at the top of each hour between 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.
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Denver Parks & Rec responds to inquiry on the use of the Pavilion
As you may know, the City Park Pavilion has undergone some changes. In hopes of having input into that change, the letter below was sent to the Denver Department of Parks and Recreation. The response to our letter also follows. We would like any and all feedback to these changes.
The links below lead to PDFs of the letters.
Thanks in advance,
Jim Slotta, for SCPNA
Letter from SCPNA to Denver Parks & Rec | Response from Denver Parks & Rec to SCPNA
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June 23, 2008
Submitted by Helen Kuykendall
Ferril Lake
Chemical treatments continue at Ferril Lake to control the algae situation. The chemical treatments can only be applied over 20% maximum of the algae growth to prevent depleting lake oxygen levels. Park crews spent 2 days physically removing the algae with a rake rigged to the pontoon boat and using a log grappler to load out the algae. The algae was hauled and placed at the city tree nursery near Stapleton. The process proved to be a slow means to address the problem and the department is looking into contracting with a lake management company to assist staff in more efficient spray applications and better physical removal methods.
Tent State University
The assembly permit issued to Tent State University during the DNC week (August 23 – 29) has raised many questions. The most frequent question is regarding camping in the park. The assembly ordinance requires that participants abide by city laws and ordinances including park rules. Overnight camping in Denver Parks is prohibited and the park closes at 11 pm. Consequently, participants will need to leave the park prior to closing to avoid breaking the terms of their permit.
The Tent State organizers have informed us they are committed to creating a positive atmosphere in the park consistent with their mission that supports non-violence. Their plans are being developed to ‘green’ their event to include recycling, composting and promoting a green lifestyle.
There will be meetings held to address neighborhood concerns and Carla Madison’s office is prepared to assist in the coordination of meetings too so that we can do our best to support an orderly assembly event. We have many conditions attached to their permit to ensure protection of park property and public safety. We still need to work out the details to make sure we can irrigate, mow and otherwise take care of the park during the event.
Mile High Loop Trial Run / Public Open House June 25
Denver Parks in cooperation with the City Park Alliance and East High School is hosting a public open house to unveil the new and improved route for the trail. You are invited to try it out by following the 3.1 mile (5K) loop which will be spray painted on the ground. The proposed route will be painted in the park on Wednesday, June 25 so park visitors can follow the route and provide suggestions and comments for the design at the open house. Park staff and volunteers will be at the City Park Pavilion from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm at the City Park Pavilion with maps and other information about the project. The location of the future Mile High Loop is planned to connect the 5280 contour that passes through the park in several locations. The trail project was awarded $200,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado to construct the project this fall.
For comments or questions please contact Helen Kuykendall at: Helen.kuykendall@denvergov.org, info@cityparkalliance.org, or telephone 720-913-0630.
Park Fountains
The Electric Fountain is running on weekends and now includes white lights to showcase the water patterns at night. A leak in the access hatch last weekend required shutting down the fountain, but the leak is expected to be repaired for next weekend.
Damage to a major electrical feed into the park has kept the Thatcher Fountain dry so far this summer. Xcel is repairing the underground electrical lines that have also affected the irrigation clocks and some park lights in the southwestern quadrant of the park. No date is available from Xcel for the timeframe to complete the repair work.
The Sullivan Fountain adjacent to Colfax Avenue is also down for repairs by park crews. The repair schedule has been delayed by other projects.
Tree Planting
The Mile High Youth Corps was in City Park last week to plant trees as part of the Mile High Loop project. Mile High Youth Corps offers summer employment opportunities for youth. All of MHYC's youth jobs involve team-based work on physical projects that benefit the community. The crew planted over 100 shrubs and 60 trees along a portion of the Mile High Loop that was constructed last year as part of the lake restoration. $5,200 from the Great Outdoors Colorado grant was used to pay the crew for the week. Wetland shrubs and perennials were planted around the Little Lake adjacent to 17th Avenue to enhance the wildlife habitat and diversity of plant materials in the park. Six varieties of willows were incorporated into the plantings including Pussy Willows and Weeping Willow. The kids worked really hard and had a great time in City Park. We wish we could keep them here all summer!
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Helen Kuykendall
Denver Parks and Recreation
201 West Colfax, Dept 613
Denver, Colorado
Telephone 720.913.0630
Cell 303.880.7132
FAX 720.913.0784
email Helen.kuykendall@denvergov.org
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