Confluence Park: Reclaiming Denver's Birthplace

Confluence Park: Reclaiming Denver's Birthplace. . , Denver was born under shady circumstances on the flood plain where Cherry Creek meets the South Platte River. For over a century, the city suffered from disastrous flooding. At the same time, the waterways suffered from devastating human abuse., Washed Away, In the late 1850s, many of Denver's first white settlers threw up shelters in the dry bed of Cherry Creek. They ignored the warnings of the Arapaho and Cheyenne people who had camped at the confluence for decades. Then on the night of May 19th, 1864, Cherry Creek overran its banks with deadly force. Eight people died, and several buildings were swept away, including Denver's new City Hall., On May 2, 1878, Cherry Creek left its banks once more, this time taking out most of the city's bridges. Again, on July 26, 1885, Cherry Creek flooded, threatening the recently rebuilt City Hall on the corner of Larimer and 14th Streets., Castlewood Dam was the first attempt to control the Cherry Creek watershed. The dam withstood one flood in 1912 but could not hold back the torrent unleashed in August of 1933. The Army Corps of Engineers completed construction of a new flood control dam in 1950., The Big One, On June 16, 1965, the worst flood in the Denver's history roared through the Central Platte Valley. The deluge took two lives and wiped out bridges, railyards, highways and neighborhoods Two years later, Chatfield Reservoir was constructed to control South Platte flood waters., Greening The South Platte, After the 1965 flood, government officials still did not deal with the river's miserable state. In 1974, Mayor William H. McNichols, Jr. asked State Senator Joe Shoemaker to head up a group that would begin the multi-million dollar clean-up that greatly improved the water quality of the river, along with providing a multi-purpose trail system, riverside parks and cleaner river banks. Shoemaker was a strong and longtime advocate for cleaning up the Central Platte Valley. His experience as the former Manager of Denver Public Works and head of the Colorado Legislature's Joint Budget Committee helped Shoemaker to oversee the creation of over $20 million of environmental and recreational improvements to the South, Platte River and the surrounding area., Shoemaker then founded the Greenway Foundation to help local governments transform the river from a public nuisance to a public amenity. Together, the Greenway Foundation and the City of Denver converted the trashiest, most abused sections of the South Platte into a landscaped oasis., Watery Wasteland, By 1965, the stretch of the South Platte that cut through Denver had become a polluted dumping ground. Old cars, appliances, mattresses and tires by the hundreds lined the banks. Used motor oil and other toxic liquids seeped from shore to water. Commercial and industrial operations along the South Platte had been releasing their wastes into the river for years., Still Gathering Folks, Flood plains, Denver finally learned, are for parks and open space-not for development. Confluence Park opened in 1975 as the first of many parks that now line the South Platte and its tributaries throughout the metropolis., The river's restoration inspired the private sector to float around many dreams and visions for the [indecipherable] Central Platte Valley. Then in 1995, real development began when Elitch Gardens, Denver's grand old amusement park, moved here from its old North Denver site., The 16th Street Viaduct was demolished in 1995 to open up the confluence area for further development. A flood of building and renovation followed, including Ocean Journey, the Pepsi Center and the REI store in the old Denver Tramway Power Plant. And, as they have since 1858, new residents are still coming to settle near the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek., Denver City: Claim Jumping Across Cherry Creek, Denver is here today because William "Green" Russell and his party of prospectors found traces of gold in a nearby South Platte tributary in July of 1858. As news of their discovery spread, legions of fortune seekers poured into the region. Among them was General William H. Larimer, Jr. who arrived on November 16, 1858., A veteran town promoter from Leavenworth, Kansas, Larimer came not to prospect gold but to build a supply town. Here he found the Russell party's town of Auraria taking shape on the west side of Cherry Creek. On the eastern bank, another group had staked out the town of St. Charles. It took Larimer about 24 hours to size up the situation and make his move., The founders of St. Charles had gone east for the winter, leaving behind only one man, Charles Nichols, to guard their claim. On a cold November night, Larimer and his party charged into Nichols' cabin and gave him the choice of joining their group or hanging. Nichols threw in his fortune with the claim jumpers., Larimer's party renamed the town Denver City, in hopes of courting favor with James W. Denver, the Governor of Kansas Territory. Unbeknownst to them, Denver had resigned from office a few weeks earlier., Boom Town Booster, On April 23, 1859, William Byers published the first issue of his Rocky Mountain News. Using his newspaper to lure new settlers to Denver City, Byers promoted the primitive hamlet as a great, civilized metropolis overflowing with opportunity. Appealing to the dreams of readers back east, Byers often printed fictitious business news and exaggerated farm reports, along with overblown descriptions the area's good life., Staging A Success, By early 1862, thanks largely to the efforts of Byers and Larimer, Denver City had a jail, a marshal and six policemen. The little city quickly sputtered to life with businesses, churches, schools and charities., In the early 1860s, Denver City won Colorado's first stagecoach connection to the east. As the region's transportation hub, the town sprouted new hotels, saloons and other ventures., Circling In On Growth, Between 1858 and 1870, prospectors dug over $27 million worth of gold from streams and mountains west of here. On the footsteps of the prospectors came town builders and farmers. By 1870, ambitious "Queen City of the Plain" had annexed the two rival towns of Auraria and Highlands, swelling the population to more than 4,500 people., Now Denver City faced its greatest civic challenge yet: to bring the transcontinental railroad to town., Photographs courtesy of The Denver Public Library and The Colorado Historical Society, This project was made possible by a State Historical Grant awarded by The Colorado Historical Society., Additional support was provided by the Department of Parks and Recreation, City and County of Denver, Wellington E. Webb, Mayor, 1993-2003; and the Mayor's South Platte River Commission.