Elitch Gardens
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Previously known as Elitch's Zoological Gardens | |
Opened | May 1, 1890 |
---|---|
Closed | October 1, 1994 |
Owner | John Elitch and Mary Elitch Long (1890–1916) John Mulvihill (1916–1930) Gurtler family (1930–1995) Elitch Gardens (1995–2014) |
Slogan | Not to See Elitch's is Not to See Denver |
Area | 28 acres (113,000 m²) |
Attractions | |
Total | 37 |
Roller coasters | 5 |
Water rides | 2 |
Elitch Gardens was a family-owned seasonal
Early history
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/ff/Elitch_Gardens_1890s_Gate.jpg/250px-Elitch_Gardens_1890s_Gate.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/ef/ElitchGardenTheatre1923_X24651.jpg/250px-ElitchGardenTheatre1923_X24651.jpg)
Elitch's Zoological Gardens opened May 1, 1890, on 16 acres (6.5 ha) of former farmland bought by John Elitch and Mary Elitch. It was the first zoo west of Chicago, and it offered the Denver community a unique cultural experience.
Mary Elitch Long managed the park for 26 years following John's death in 1891. Mary Elitch was the first woman to own and manage a zoo, and "until the opening of the Denver City Park Zoo, Elitch was the only zoological gardens between Chicago and the West Coast."[1] One of the bears was famous for dancing a waltz when the band played.
The
The park's first roller coaster, a Toboggan
Mulvihill/Gurtler ownership
This section may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards, as it contains incomplete sentences, questionable conclusions stated as fact, and only one citation. (August 2020) |
As floral gardens were expanded and greenhouses built, Elitch's became a commercial florist. Mulvihill died in 1930, and the park's ownership transferred to his son-in-law Arnold Gurtler.
In the mid-1930s, the zoo portion of the park was discontinued, with the space being used for more formal gardens (and rides). A giant floral clock was added and the Trocadero Ballroom became a regular stop for touring big bands and home to An Evening at the Troc, a weekly radio broadcast. During this classic period of Big Band Jazz and Swing, the Trocadero Ballroom became a famous summertime night spot as its seemingly endless succession of brilliant stars provided countless hours of live national radio broadcasts in an age before television.[3]
In 1945, management was assumed by Gurtler's sons, Jack and Budd. In 1952, a section of the park called Kiddieland, oriented to small children, was opened. At a time when amusement parks catered almost exclusively to adults, Elitch's Kiddieland was an instant hit attraction with the first of many lucky generations of small fry. For tots, there were two-seat rocket planes, open-wheel race cars, real floating "motorboats", a real small-scale car track with a gas station, all in Kid Scale. The floral business side of the park was quite successful, becoming the largest supplier of carnations in the country in the early 1950s.
Despite substantial community outcry, the Trocadero Ballroom was torn down in 1976, claiming the declining popularity of ballroom dancing, replacing Denver's beloved landmark Old Troc with Skee-Ball and arcade games. The theater, which had switched formats from summer stock to star-centered performances in 1962, closed in 1991.
Mister Twister
Mister Twister opened in 1965. It was a 96-foot-tall (29 m) wooden coaster, designed by
One feature of Mister Twister was that, after ascending the first hill, the rider was within the line of sight of another coaster, Lakeside Amusement Park's crown jewel 'Cyclone'.
Wildcat
The Wildcat was the oldest of the coasters in the park having been built in 1926 as "The Skyrocket" and revamped as "The Wildcat" in 1935.[5] It was an out-and-back design by Herbert Schmeck of the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, and like Mister Twister, did not make the move to downtown Denver. It has since been demolished to make room for residential development.
Sidewinder
Ride list
- Mister Twister (1964 John C. Allen wooden twister coaster)
- Sidewinder (1981 Arrow Dynamics launched shuttle loop, debuted 1990)
- Wildcat (1927 Herbert Schmeck wooden out-and-back coaster)
- Spitfire (Hrubetz Spitfire, debut unknown but visible in a map dated 1950 [5])
- Splinter (log flume, debuted 1978)
- Rainbow (Huss Rainbow, debuted 1985)
- Troika (Huss Troika (ride), debuted 1977)
- Paradise (Huss Breakdance, debuted 1987)
- Holland Express (Reverchon Himalaya, debuted 1967)
- Casino (Chance Wipeout/Trabant (Ride), debuted 1965)
- Mine Shaft (Chance Rotor, debuted 1991)
- Round Up (Hrubetz Round Up, debuted 1963)
- Thing-A-Ma-Jig (Heintz-Fahtze Twister, debuted 1985)
- Spider (Eyerly Spider, debuted 1969)
- Wild Mouse (Schiff wild mouse, debuted 1960)
- Bumper Cars (Reverchon Dodgems, debuted 1955)
- Illuminator (Chance Skydiver, debuted in 1992)
- Carousel (Philadelphia Toboggan Company 1905 model) first one, Elitch Gardens Carousel, Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel #6, was sold and removed in 1928
- Carousel (Philadelphia Toboggan Company 1920 model) second one, Philadelphia Toboggan Company Carousel #51, replaced the original in 1928
- Big Wheel (Chance Giant Wheel, debuted 1992)
- Sea Dragon (Chance Sea Dragon, debuted 1981)
- Sky Ride (Hopkins chairlift, debuted 1969)
- Battle Zone (boat tag, debuted 1987)
- Tilt-A-Whirl (Sellner Tilt-A-Whirl, debuted 1957)
Move to new location
In 1985, management and ownership of the park was assumed by Buddy Gurtler's son, Sandy Gurtler. At its historic location the park had no expansion space, and the family had long planned to relocate to a larger location. The city of Denver provided a location in the Central Platte River Valley, an area that was once a Superfund cleanup site.
On May 27, 1995, Elitch's opened at its new downtown location with fifteen of its twenty major rides from the old location.
At the old location, separate arson events a day apart in November 1995 destroyed the arcade building[7] and heavily damaged the Splinter water ride and Wildcat roller coaster.[8]
Following two seasons at its new location with attendance of about one million (versus 750,000 for the last season at its old location) and a second season goal of 1.2 million,
Redevelopment
The 28-acre (11 ha) site of the former amusement park has undergone redevelopment as Highlands' Garden Village. The site won the
References
- OCLC 823177622.
- OCLC 823177622.
- ^ Fisher, Steve. "Dancing at the Troc". University of Denver Magazine. Spring 2004.
- ^ Mr. Twister (Elitch Gardens). Roller Coaster DataBase.
- ^ a b "In the Gardens of Elitch. — Themerica". December 26, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-12-26.
- ^ Will, Ed. "ELITCH GARDENS REBORN: Patience the watchword for opening day at Denver's new (old) amusement park". Denver Post, May 26, 1995: Weekend page 22.
- ^ Robinson, Marilyn. "Fire spurs call to up security Old Elitch park scene of blaze." Denver Post, November 4, 1995: B-01.
- ^ "Second fire at old Elitch's". Denver Post, November 6, 1995: B-03.
- ^ Olgeirson, Ian. "Forecast for Elitch's: Visitor numbers flat". Denver Business Journal, September 20, 1996.
- ^ EPA Smart Growth: 2005 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement. United States Environmental Protection Agency. August 2, 2006.
- ^ Jonathan Rose Companies > Projects > Highlands' Garden Village Archived 2006-04-29 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Moore, Paula. "Retail building starts at old Elitch's site". Denver Business Journal. November 3, 2006.
- ^ "Jonathan Rose Companies > Projects > Highlands' Garden Village".
Further reading
- Documentary film Welcome Back Riders (2007)
- Hull, Betty Lynne (2003). Denver's Elitch Gardens : spinning a century of dreams. Boulder, CO: Johnson Books. ISBN 1-55566-285-4.
- Hunt, Corrine (1982). The Elitch Gardens story : memories of Jack Gurtler. Boulder, CO: Rocky Mountain Writers Guild. ISBN 978-0-937050-27-9.
- KRMA-TV (1995). Rocky Mountain Legacy: Elitch Gardens (Videotape). Denver, CO: Council for Public Television, Channel 6, Inc.
- Levy, Edwin Lewis (1960). Elitch's Gardens, Denver, Colorado: a history of the oldest summer theatre in the United States (1890-1941). OCLC 15110556.
External links
- The Historic Elitch Theatre Foundation
- Highlands' Garden Village Archived 2007-01-21 at the Wayback Machine
- The Original Elitch Gardens Single page photoessay at Colorado Magazine
- Elitch Gardens Official Website