Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/denvermountainpaOOtammrich % f cAkld the MOUKTAIK PARK^ A DESCRIPTIVE VIEW BOOK in colors, reproducing from actual photographs the most prominent views in the City of Denver and the surrounding mountain regions; in which K^ districts are embraced the Denver Mountain Park System, The Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. / ^^ PANORAMA FROM WILDCAT POINT. ALTITUDE 7,200 FT. PUBLISHED AND COPYRIGHTED BY TME M.H.JAMMEM COMPANY DENVER.,' COLORADO. DENVER. "P^EN VER is a city of unusually fine residences, splendid ^-^ boulevards, beautiful parks, and a strictly modern business district. Its proximity to the Rocky Mountains is its chief oharm, however and no other large city on earth is able to offer its visitors such a remarkable array of one- day trips. Within the city are the United States Mint — one of the foremost money-coining institutions in the world; the New Post Office — probably the best example of the purely classic in Greek architecture; a tower 375 feet high, fashioned identically after the Campanile at Venice, Italy, in which tickets for all trips may be pur- chased; a new $2,000,000 Passenger Station, and a new Civic Center. I mI / /• 7 ■ ■ 1 ■ ■^ ^^^1 ■1 j^^^^^^^^l r Grays Peab James Peali 1 tI ^^^^^^^^^^^BHW ^^^^^^^^^" 11,341 ft. 13.283 ft. 1 LonFIs Peak 14.271 h. Mt. Evans Berthoud Pass M Arapahoe Peaks 14.330 ft. 11.349 ft. A 13.520 ft. M ^ Mt. Audubon r>. i ^^. ^ 13.178 fi. .^Al^^^ SSiife*.!^*'- ^ •s^ii^^s^iL^ =^^fc^^K*=r^. DENVER. COLORADO. Y };/>,' NEW UNION STATION. /^NE of the latest additions to Denver's famous public buildings is the New Union Station, built at a cost of nearly $2,000,000. This structure built of granite and terra cotta has few equals for similar buildings in this section of the country. The main waiting room is 110 feet by 100 feet. Waiting room 67 feet high and seats 400 people comfortably. NEW UNION STATION. DENVER. COLORADO. COLORADO STATE CAPITOL. /COLORADO'S State House stands at the crest of the west slope of Capitol Hill, the magnificent resident section of Denver. The grounds cover three full squares and have one of the finest lawns in the world. The build- ing is constructed of Colorado granite ; is a massive structure, exceptionally well built, and cost $2,800,000, exclusive of the site. The grounds are now valued at $1,000,000. COLORADO STATE CAPITOL. DENVER. COLORADO UNITED STATES MINT. T^HE United States Mint shown in the foreground of "^ this picture was completed in 1905. In the great Bullion Vaults of the Mint there Eire hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold and silver bars, chiefly the product of Colorado mines. This is conceded to be the finest coining mint in the world, though not the largest. It required five years to be built and the cost was nearly two millions of dollars. It is equipped with the finest steel vaults and the best machinery ever manufactured in the United States. UNITED STATES MINT. PUBLIC LIBRARY AND STATE CAPITOL. DENVER. COLORADO. NEW DENVER POST OFFICE AND FEDERAL COURT HOUSE. "^jX^ITHOUT a doubt the most noted of the new additions to Denver's famous hst of puWic build- ings, is the New Post Office and Federal Building. This structure is probably one of the best examples of purely classic in Greek architecture in this country. It is 200 feet in size, and was built of Colorado marble. The cost of construction was $1,500,000 and the site cost $500,000. ;:^^:-*v^^?^ NEW DENVER POST OFFICE AND FEDERAL COURT HOUSE. CHEESMAN PARK PAVILION. /^F the T>venty-nine parks that are the property of the City of Denver, Cheesman Park is one of the most beautiful. The Cheesman Memorial, located in this park was erected by Mrs. Walter S. Cheesman in memory of her husband, the late Mr. Walter S. Cheesman, and do- nated to the City of Denver for the benefit and enjoyment of her people. The view obtained therefrom is unexcelled in beauty, and nearly every tourist to Denver, visits this place. This structure was built of pure Colorado marble at a cost of $100,000. CHEESMAN PARK PAVILION. MOUNTAfN RANGE IN DISTANCE. DENVER. COLORADO. CIVIC CENTER. TN connection with Denver's Civic Center the Colonnade ■■• of Civic Benefactors was conceived with the idea that this should be a local hall of fame dedicated not to the great of past generations, but to those, living or dead, whose love for their home city should inspire them to present it with works calculated to increase its beauty or culture in a dignified, substantial manner. :i GREEK THEATRE. CIVIC CENTER. DENVER. COLORADO. TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF DENVER MOUNTAIN PARK RANGE. "VUTITH the close of the season of 1919, the Mountain >V^ Park and Boulevard system has cost the munici- pality of Denver approximately $525,000.00. Future im- provements, purchases and extensions will bring this amount up to $1,000,000. The Mountain Park system con- sists of 17 tracts comprising a total area of 3739 acres. The system is unique in that the creation of it is the first in- stance on record of an American city establishing a Park and camping grounds twenty to thirty miles beyond its own borders Denver has brought her own Mountain sce- nery to her own doors. TOPOGRAPHICAL MAP OF DENVER MOUNTAIN PARK RANGE DOUBLE HAIRPIN TRAIL. ^\^?^HERE the -vtronderful drive to the summit of Lookout Mountain '^ begins to emerge from behind the low foot-hills, one's eyes are suddenly arrested by the vision of the plains, of the city of Golden and of the picturesque escarpments of Table Mountain. The view of this sublime landscape is only attainable by the most difficult stages of mountain highway construction, those sharp turns in the road which have been compared to "hair-pins' ' and to the sinuosities of the flying lariat. Climbing Lookout Mountain is a succession of surprises. Thrilling views follow one another so closely that one fears to guess what may happen next. It is a true joy to the motorist to hug this perfect mountain boulevard and to sweep here and there from one ocular discovery to another. It is an experience without parallel. DOUBLE HAIRPIN TRAIL. DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. THE LARIAT TRAIL. T— TERE we find ourselves gazing upon the most distinc- tive feature of Denver's Mountain Park and boule- vard system. The winding highways at this point have been variously designated as the "Hairpin" Turns, the ' 'Lariat Trail' ' and the ' 'Wreath of Incense. ' ' This scene has inspired more poetical smiles than any other landscape in the world, and it is caught each year by els many cameras as Niagara Falls. We are here approaching Wildcat Point and the summit of Lookout Mountain. The drive in the lower foreground of the picture is the consumma- tion of the journey which is marked out in the distance by the exacting hand of the highway engineer. We are rid- ing at an altitude of about 7, 000 feet. THE LARIAT TRAIL. DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. ••BUFFALO BILL" nUFFALO BILL (Col. W. F. Cody) the world femous Scout and Plainsman was born February 26, 1845, Scott County, Iowa and died January 10, 1917. Denver, Colorado. At his request he was buried on Lookout Mt. overlooking the plains he knew so well and in the early Pioneer days loved to roam in quest of BuflFalo and other big game. "BUFFALO BILLS" (COL W F. CODY) GRAVE ON WILD CAT POINT: WILDCAT POINT. LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. /'"^ONTRARY to the impression which exists in some ^^ minds of the East, there are no Indian tribes within several hundred miles of Denver. The redskins shown in this picture are visitors from a distant reservation. But it was not many years ago when the region now included within the Denver Mountain Park district were overrun by Utes, Arapahoes, Kiowas and other Colorado tribes. Colorow Point, which is one of the sublime scenic spots of the Lookout Mountain drive, was named from Chief Colorow of the Ute tribe. This photograph was taken on Wildcat Point a rocky promotory of Lookout Mountain which overlooks the plains of Denver basin and the snow- capped peaks of the snowy range. WILDCAT POINT. LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN. DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. VISTA FROM GENESEE MOUNTAIN. T^ENVER is the only American municipality which owns a Moun- -*-^ tain Park in an adjoining county. The summit is 3,000 feet higher than the State Capitol, and is easily reached in a motor drive of 6n hour and a half. While the peak itself is not picturesque, the prospect from it is magnificent. Not only does it overlook the great plains to the east, but it offers one an unusual panorama of the Rocky Mountains to the west. Genesee Peak is a part of Genesee Park, which is owned by the citizens of Denver. This park comprises 1,800 acres and includes a wild-animal enclosure of 135 acres on the west slope of the mountain. The enclosure contains untamed Buffalo, Elk and Deer. Many fine photographs have been taken from Genesee Peak, and this is one of the best. VISTA FROM GENESEE MOUNTAIN, DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. VIEW FROM WILDCAT POINT. STANDING upon the summit of a high building does not afford one a situation to be compared with the experience of looking down from the roch promotory called Wildcat Point. Persons who are easily afflicted with the terror known as the height craze hesitate to venture out upon the edge of this sharp declivity , but such persons are few in number. The average man or woman loves the thrill which can only come from an aerial flight or from the sensation of being suspended between earth and shy. One day a distinguished orator from New York City observed an eagle flying far below as his car was being driven swiftly up the boulevard toward Wildcat Point, "Ah" he exclaimed; "this is the first time I ever experienced a bird's-eye view of a bird." LOOKING DOWN FROM WILDCAT POINT. DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. SNOWY RANGE SHOWING JAMES PEAK. /X DETOUR from the main drive over Lookout Mountain, to ■* *• what is known as Colorow point, affords the visitor to the Denver mountain parka a view of the snowy range and of Clear Creek Canyon that is not excelled for picturesqueness anywhere in the world. A few feet from the spot where the automobile stands, it is possible to look almost directly down into a gorge 2000 feet below, where flows Clear Creek, one of the streams in which gold was dis- covered in the memorable year of the Pike's Peak excitement, 1859. The actual discovery occurred about 15 miles west, but placers have been operated near the point here shown. A Railroad traverses this gorge, connecting Denver with Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Silver Plume, Blackhawk and Central City, towns which are famed the world over for their mineral wealth. Combined with this awe-inspiring glimpse of the canyon is the beautiful prospect of the snowy range to the distant west. Travelers usually pause at this bend in the highway to commune with their own souls in the sublime presence of their God. SNOWY RANGE SHOWING JAMES PEAK, IN DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. VIEW IN DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. 'T'HIS beautiful spot at an altitude of approximately 7,000 feet is sometimes spoken of as the kodaher's paradise, because of the many invitations to the eye of the camera which are presented on from this point. Professional landscape photographers from Denver have achieved their greatest triumphs on this spot. To one who has for the first time arrived upon the scene, there is a natural interest in looking over the journey which made the attainment possible. VIEW FROM AUTO HIGHWAY IN DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. MOUNT EVANS. CONSPICUOUS upon the mountain sky-line extending from the northwest to the southwest of Denver are several snow-capped peaks, whose fame reaches to the ends of the earth. Almost directly west rises Mount Evans, an eminence 200 feet higher than Pikes Peak. This summit is named after John Evans a former governor of Colorado, who, before he took up his residence in the Centennial state, has been similarly honored in the designation of Evansville, Indiana, and Evanston, Illinois. Mount Evans is the natural western limit of the Denver system of mountain parks and boulevards, and, in the very near future a<5cording to official plans, an automobile drive will be completed to its summit— an unusual achievement. This drive will extend "Westward from the existing park system of Denver, and, by an easy climb, it will rise to a point overlooking a chain of mountain lakes 14,000 feet above sea-level. Mount Evans is also known as the sentinel of Denver's Mountain Parks. MOUNT EVANS FROM DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS HIGHWAY. SCENE IN BEAR CREEK CANYON. NEAR EVERGREEN. BEAR CREEK CANYON was long ago selected by the first femilies of Denver as the aristocratic summer retreat of the near- by hills. It still holds this place in the esteem of Denver's wealthiest citizens, many of whom have erected villas on the slopes among the pines. Evergreen with its mantle of blue spruces — than which God never made a prettier tree — is an early Colorado settlement, and the Bear Creek Canyon road was constructed long ago. Because of the great charm of this canyon, the variety of forms and tints that confronts the eye, the city of Denver selected it as a part of its mountain park system and it has reconstructed the highway and purchased picnic grounds along the route. It was near the point shown in this picture that the main unit of the mountain park drive from Golden to Morrison was formally dedicated December 12, 1915. Although this event occurred almost in the middle of winter, the dedicatory auto- mobile run was made by 300 cars. The waters of Bear Creek are the melted snows of Mount Evans, the sentinel of Denver's Mountain Parks. They are stocked with trout and thus made additionally attractive to the tourist. SCENE IN BEAR CREEK CANON. NEAR EVERGREEN, DENVER MOUNTAIN PARKS. JUNCTION. FORT COLLINS-LOVELAND AUTO ROADS. £^ FTER leaving Loveland the car soon disappears in the Canon of the Big Thompson River, to emerge twenty-five miles ferther up the stream in Estes Park. The road is a steady ascent without hills, smooth as a billiard table and as sinuous as the beautiful river itself. Seventeen times the road crosses from one to the other side of the canon to make way for the waters of the Thompson, which rage and toss and tumble in beautiful rapids. From Ft. Collins the route is equal as rich in scenic beauties. The State Agricultural College Farm is passed and the road follows Spring Canon, Buckhorn and Missouri Canons. JUNCTION. FORT COLLINS-LOVELAND AUTO ROADS TO ESTES PARK, ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. COLORADO. ST. VRAIN CANON. LYONS-ESTES PARK ROAD. A FTER leaving its course along the beautiful shaded St. Vrain River, the road leads toward the foot hills — through a gloriously rugged country. Crossing and re- crossing sparkling stream and sunlit canon, tortuously winding and twisting, the road leads ever upward, past mile after mile of majestic scenery, until finally the car pauses at the crest of Park Hill (elevation 8,500 feet) from which a spectacular scene of giant peaks and lovely valley greets the eye. ST VRAIN CANON, LYONS-ESTES PARK ROAD. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. COLORADO. WARD -ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK AUTO ROAD. pROM Boulder, a most attractive route exists to Ward, another auto gateway, via "Switzerland Trail of America." twenty-six miles in length, thence due north thirty miles via auto to the village of Estes Park. Scenic- ally this route is altogether different, being a "cross country" route on top of the mountains, with a wide ex- panse of views of the range, from Longs Peak on the north, to James Peak on the south. BUCHANAN PASSAND PEACEFUL VALLEY FROM WARD-ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK HIGHWAY. ESTES PARK-GRAND LAKE ROAD. 'T'HE new Estea Park-Grand Lake Road, just completed, covering forty miles of the most magnificent scenery to be seen in the New Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most popular in this region of wonders. It takes you by Poudre Lakes, Specimen Mountain and leads to the famous Grand Lake, Colorado's largest and most imposing mountain lake. ESTES PARK-GRAND LAKE ROAD. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. VISTA IN ESTES PARK. TF Colorado is the playgrxjund of America, then Rocfey Mountain National Parh-Estes Peirk is the playground of playgrounds. For here — seventy miles fix>m Denver, at the foot of grim scarred Longs Peak— nature has set her Gsurden of Eden, a lovely natural park without peer or rival, ramparted with a wall of rugged mountains that en- circle it like a gigantic crooked arm flung out from the main range of the Rockies, the Continental Divide. VISTA IN ESTES PARK-SHOWING LONGS PEAK AND JAPAN ESE TREE. FERN LAKE. 2^ SSUREDLY the most attractive scenes that greet the visitor's eye in this region of -wonders are the many beautiful crystal lakes that are scattered throughout this park. Fern Lake, one of the most noted of these is famous for its exquisite purity and clearness, as well as beautiful scenery of its surroundings. This lake is of glacial origin and is situated at the head of beautiful Fein River. FERN LAKE. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. THE RANGE FROM MORAINE PARK. "CSTES PARK, of which beautiful Moraine Park is a part, is a natural amphitheatre covering 100,000 acres at the foot of Colorado's grandest mountain. Longs Peak. On every side is a circle of great snow peaks, including Ypsilon, Hague's, Chapin and a score of others. On near- ing this wonderful region, the visitor is awe-inspired by the grandeur of the range which surpasses in beauty any other similar scenes in the world. THE RANGE FROM MORAINE PARK. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK-ESTES PARK. LONGS PEAK FROM BEAR LAKE. T ONGS PEAK, the monarch of all the mountains surrounding the Rochy Mountain National Psirk, was named for Major S. H. Long, the explorer. Attaining an altitude of 14,255 feet, it is the most precipitous lofty summit in the Front Range, and is the axis of interest in the Rocky Mountain National Park. The Arapahoe Indians say that the summit was visited by their chiefs to trap the sacred eagle, but the white man's first successful eflFort to climb it was that of the Byers party in 1868. Now-a-days the alpine glow of the August and September dawns r£U"ely fails to disclose some party on the cliflFs. LONGS PEAK FROM BEAR LAKE. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. MOUNT CHAPIN. "ViJT^ITHIN the embrace of what is known as Estes Park and the New Rocky Mountain National Park nestles a natural amphitheatre of a hundred thousand acres, every one a contributing detail to a series of panoramas most charming and picturesque. This region is unique 8nd without replica, the inspiration of the Creator's rarest mood. For when white winter sits enthroned on the peaks and glaciers, the green and tawny Park swims in a drowse of golden summer. Above is the circle of the magnificent peaks — Mount Chapin, Ypsilon and Hague's; while below is the grass carpet of thousands of acres of gently rolling meadow. MOUNT CHAPIN. ESTES PARK-ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. YPSILON PEAK. AAOUNTAIN climbing opportunities in the Rocky Mountain National Park are the best on the con- tinent, if not in the world. There are Ypsilon, Hague's, Flat Top, Longs Peak and a score of others whose altitudes rank with those in Switzerland, and yet they sure only beginning to be known. Mt. Ypsilon, shown in this picture, with Hague's Peak and Flat Top, form sentinels standing just within the crooked arm of the Continental Divide. YpsUon is 13,500 feet high, while Hague is 13,382 and two miles north. YPSILON PEAK. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. CONTINENTAL DIVIDE FROM SLOPE OF PROSPECT MOUNTAIN. '^JkJTONDERFUL ! No word is better adapted to express the eflFect this magnificent panorama of scenic features has on the visitor who first beholds this landscape in this region of wonders. Here is some of the most wonderful scenery in the world, within a few miles of the village of Estes Park, Bierstadt Lake, Bartholf Parh and Mary's Lake are attractions in this vicinity. CONTINENTAL DIVIDE FROM THE SLOPE OF PROSPECT MOUNTAIN, ESTES PARK-ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK. i 'l-.i . -' - ::}-'\^-r--' M' ,>V'