Central Business District in Denver in Denver County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

The National Humane Alliance Fountain

Photographed by Susan Van Den Bosch, July 21, 2026

1. The National Humane Alliance Fountain Marker

Inscription.
1907
Presented by the National Humane Alliance
Herman Lee Ensign
Founder

Erected 1907.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Charity & Public Work. In addition, it is included in the National Humane Alliance Fountains series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 39° 44.421′ N, 104° 59.598′ W. Marker is in Denver, Colorado, in Denver County. It is in the Central Business District. It is at the intersection of West Colfax Avenue and Tremont Place, on the right when traveling west on West Colfax Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 333 W Colfax Avenue, Denver CO 80204, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s Front Range.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: City and County of Denver Old Station One

Paid Advertisement

Click or scan to see
this page online

(within shouting distance of this marker); Civic Center (approx. 0.2 miles away); Broncho Buster (approx. ¼ mile away); In Honor of Christopher Columbus (approx. ¼ mile away); On The War Trail (approx. ¼ mile away); Passing of the Street Car (approx. 0.3 miles away); Smoky Hill Trail (approx. 0.3 miles away); Alfred Packer (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Denver.

Also see . . .
1. Denver, CO.

Denver was one of three cities in Colorado to get a National Humane Alliance fountain along with Grand Junction and Colorado Springs. Denver got theirs in 1907 and installed it in the Civic Center Distric where Colfax, Tremont, and 13th Streets intersect and it is still basically in the same location.

(Submitted on July 21, 2026, by Susan Van Den Bosch of Almond, Wisconsin.)

2. The Ensign Fountain / National Humane Alliance Fountain.

Between 1906 and 1912, the National Humane Alliance presented somewhere around 125 Horse Watering Troughs to cities and towns across the country, including Denver. Herman Lee Ensign, who died in 1899, dedicated his fortune to funding the National Humane
Photographed by Susan Van Den Bosch, July 21, 2026

2. The National Humane Alliance Fountain Marker
Alliance in order to “spread about humanitarian ideas among the people.” Such education, Ensign hoped, would instill in people “especially the young, ideas of humanity both to the lower animals and to each other.” The fountains were produced in Vinalhaven, Maine, an island off the coast from Rockland. One of the fountains was relocated to a park in Derby, Connecticut; their community has a web page that offers great information and photographs of the fountains from across the country.

(Submitted on July 21, 2026, by Susan Van Den Bosch of Almond, Wisconsin.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 23, 2026. It was originally submitted on July 21, 2026, by Susan Van Den Bosch of Almond, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 15 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 21, 2026, by Susan Van Den Bosch of Almond, Wisconsin. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.