In 1899 Denver City Landscape Architect Reinhard Schuetze drew up the plans for Washington Park. Now, 125 years later, this urban forest is celebrating its birthday with a blow-out party and everyone is welcome. The FREE 125th Anniversary Jubilee is Wednesday, August 7, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Jubilee activities include:
Free day at the Rec Center (must have an ID)
10 a.m.: Loop Road Walk with dog parade and South High Drum Line. MEET AT LOUISIANA ENTRANCE TO THE PARK
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.: Open House at the VOC. The headquarters of Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado, which is celebrating their 40th anniversary this year, is in the historic Bath House of Washington Park, built in 1911 as an amenity to the swimming beach on Smith Lake. VOC
10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Climbing Wall, BOAT HOUSE PARKING LOT
10:30 a.m.: Washington Park Family Photo by drone photographer. GREAT MEADOW
11 a.m.: Outdoor yoga class by Garry Appel. LAWN SOUTH OF REC CENTER
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Displays of Washington Park History with over 80 photographs from the Denver Public Library Collection and original artifacts from History Colorado. BOAT HOUSE
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Educational Booths, BOAT HOUSE
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Open House at Fire Station 21 which opened at the corner of Virginia Avenue and Franklin Street 100 years ago in 1924. Engine 21 ran out of this station until 1975 when a new station was built at the same location. FIRE STATION
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Open House at the Eugene Field House. The former home of children’s poet Eugene Field was moved to Washington Park in 1927 as Denver’s first preservation project. Molly Brown helped pay for the move to the park where the home operated as DPL’s smallest library branch until 1970. It currently serves as the Park Ranger’s Headquarters. EUGENE FIELD HOUSE
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Food Trucks, BOAT HOUSE
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Rocky Mountain Wildlife Alliance with live animals (raptors). BOAT HOUSE
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.: Lawn Bowling and croquet lessons on the historic Lawn Bowling Green founded 100 years ago. LAWN BOWLING GREEN
11 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Public Voting on Photography Contest finalists. BOAT HOUSE
11 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Displays of Washington Park History BOAT HOUSE
Educational Booths BOAT HOUSE and PLAZA
Crafts for kids BOAT HOUSE
Face Painting BOAT HOUSE
12 p.m. to 1:15 p.m.: Lunchtime Jazz with the The Joe Anderies Quartet. BOAT HOUSE
12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.: History Talk from Phil Goodstein. From the beginning, promoters were sure that Washington Park would be the gem of South Denver. Learn how it emerged. Besides telling the park story, it includes the surrounding homes, businesses, and institutions which have been at the center of Washington Park. BOAT HOUSE
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Fishing with Park Rangers. SOUTHEAST EDGE OF SMITH LAKE
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: MV Garden and Park scavenger hunts. MOUNT VERNON GARDEN
3 p.m. to 5 p.m.: Tennis Clinics. TENNIS COURTS by Louisiana Street
4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.: Food Trucks PLAZA
5 p.m.: Announcement of contest winners of Photography (display) and Essay Contests (excerpts). Happy Birthday sing-a-long. PLAZA
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Wash Park Band. This award-winning band has been delighting crowds since 2009 with dance music from the 70s to the top 40 hits of today. BOAT HOUSE