How Time Flies: Mystery Of The Missing Porch

Search For The Truth Unmasks A Wild Tale Of Dynamite, A Man Blown To Bits And A Dive Back In Time When Shock And Scandal Dominated The Headlines

By Cara DeGette | GPHN Editor

It was an explosion that turned Park Hill from a quiet residential district into what one reporter described as “a bedlam of hysterical humanity.”

Last month’s issue included a fine contribution, by Rebecca Zimmerman, that detailed several shiver-inducing ghost stories that ripple through Park Hill this time of year. One anecdote recalled a dynamite explosion that occurred nearly a century ago. Dennis Phillips, a miner in his early 20s, had been driving down 23rd Avenue with five sticks of dynamite in his car when it exploded. Phillips was blown to bits, and the force of the blast was felt miles away. 

Matt Spohn, who lives at 23rd and Ash Street, followed up with an email:  

“Hi, first let me say how much I enjoy the Greater Park Hill News! I think I’ve read every copy cover-to-cover since we moved here almost 20 years ago.

“But I wanted to ask about the page 1 article in [the October] edition, The Spirits Awaken. You have a great description of a 1930 dynamite explosion at 23rd and Ash. Where did you get that info? We live right on the corner, at 2309 Ash St. We have heard broad strokes of this story for many years, but I’ve never been able to track down the details. 

“I’m especially interested because a 1919 photo of our house shows a wrap-around porch on our house that is no longer there, and we have heard that it was destroyed in that dynamite explosion. I’d love to dig into your source materials if you don’t mind.”

Zimmerman happily supplied the reference material. It came straight from the June 6, 1930 issue of the now-defunct Rocky Mountain News, which included multiple stories about the blast and this screamer of a page 1 headline:

“DENVER MAN BLOWN TO BITS WHEN DYNAMITE EXPLODES IN CAR, ROCKING ALL OF PARK HILL”

Jumping Jehoshaphat! In my response to Mr. Spohn, I noted that, while Zimmerman had duly reported that the unlucky fellow had been “blown to bits,” as the editor, I had removed that detail before publication in these pages. My thinking was that the gruesome description would be a bit over the top for some of our more delicate readers. 

As it turns out, this is a fine reminder that today’s headlines are a far cry from the newspapers of our grandparents and great-grandparents. The turn of the last century was the heyday of yellow journalism, a style that was promoted by the legendary newsman William Randolph Hearst. Sensational headlines of violence, scandal and sex were the norm, crafted to grab readers and boost newspaper sales.

By 1930, the era of yellow journalism had largely morphed into a style called Jazz Journalism — coverage that also leaned heavily into the scandalous and salacious, often accompanied with provocative and graphic photographs. 

Spohn quickly tracked down the June 6, 1930 Denver Post. (Page 1 headline: YOUTH KILLED AND PARK HILL HOMES SHAKEN BY DYNAMITE BLAST IN AUTO)

“There are a bunch of articles about the explosion in Park Hill, all competing to be more gory than the other,” Spohn noted. “There’s even a map of where the driver’s head ended up compared to his body! And of course several articles about the ‘chum’ who narrowly missed death.”

Both daily newspapers devoted several pages to the blast that rocked Park Hill. They included maps showing the locations of the head and body parts, photos of the blown-up car and crowds of people gathered to gooseneck at the scene. Here are some of the headlines:

• Parts Of Body, Pieces Of Car Hurled Block Away By Explosion

• Death, Destruction and Panic Ruled In Park Hill

• Residents in Panic as Houses Are Jarred And Windows Broken

• Houses Shaken In Mile Radius By Fatal Blast

• Blast Fails To Waken Baby Sleeping Nearby

• Friends Say Phillips Always Had Smiling Contempt For Danger

• Youth’s Body Fell Several Seconds After Blast

• Young Phillips Sacrificed Life In Dangerous Calling

• Family Did Not Know Explosive Was In Garage 

• Blast Disproves Belief That Dynamite Explodes Downward

• Three Children Barely Escape Death In Blast

• Blast Draws Thousands To Park Hill Area

•  Souvenir Hunters Carry Away Bits Of Phillips Car

The coverage included an interview with Mrs. W. W. Hamilton, whose family lived at 2309 Ash St. — where Spohn now calls home. The Queen Anne-style house suffered the worst of the damage, as it was less than 100 feet away from the blast. Every window was shattered in the deafening explosion. But, as evidenced in the accompanying photos, its wrap-around porch remained intact.

“Someone must have taken it down later,” Spohn deduced, “likely to brighten things up inside.”

Full coverage of the June 6, 1930 dynamite explosion in Park Hill can be read at the following links:

Rocky Mountain News: tinyurl.com/1930ParkHillBlastRMN

Denver Post: tinyurl.com/DPLMemberLogin (Use your DPL card to access.)