letter to the editor

City Park Should Return To Nature

I am writing in response to Greg Davis’ opinion piece in the March 2015 issue of GPHN and his call for other ideas and opinions about City Park.

I would not advocate installing more hardscape into City Park, but would urge “a return to nature” for our beautiful, Olmsted-inspired park. As Denver densifies and more people are in condos and apartments without grass, our parks and their greenery become ever more important as a balance and relief from all the hardscape around them. Therefore we should look for ways to keep our parks green as they evolve.

Here are some of my suggestions: place planters with evergreens and/or colorful floral plantings above the retaining walls circling the new Boettcher Plaza (on the south side of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science); place pots of wisteria or other vining plants inside the Boettcher Plaza at the base of its west end wall and building structure; bring water back to the DeBoer Canyon; let the water flow south to the now-abandoned lily pond and return the pond to its lush glory as featured in photos from the turn of the 20th century; bury the pumping station to the southwest of the Interactive Fountain; place substantial floral displays in the pots circling the Martin Luther King Outdoor Museum and plant low shrubs at the front of the grassy area circling the statue; plant mature evergreen trees in front of the walls that extend to either side of the Zoo’s new gasification plant area (Gate 15); implement the plan presented by the Zoo at its Master Plan public forum to establish tiers of natural plantings in front of the walls and buildings lining Duck Lake.

Join the tour of City Park, sponsored by Doors Open Denver on April 25 and 26, at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm each day, to get a better feel for the park and its spacious, Olmsted-inspired beauty. The tour will meet at the Snowmastodon Sculpture at the northwest corner of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Go to DoorsOpenDenver.com for more information.

Patricia Paul, Park Hill

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