Lookout Mountain Park
Lookout Mountain Park | ||
MPS Denver Mountain Parks MPS | | |
| NRHP reference No. | 90001713[1] | |
|---|---|---|
| Added to NRHP | November 15, 1990 | |
Lookout Mountain Park is a
Early history
In 1889 a group of prominent area businessmen and residents proposed the idea of creating a mountain park as a getaway point for people from the urban city. After a lively competition between Lookout Mountain and
Denver's Park
With the advent of the Denver Mountain Parks system, Lookout Mountain was quickly eyed by the city, whose efforts were led by Mayor Robert W. Speer who earlier sat on the board of Lookout Mountain Park during the early efforts. In 1917 a portion of what earlier was Lookout Mountain Park was acquired by Denver, which became the new Lookout Mountain Park for Denver. After existing briefly side by side, the bankrupt remaining original park passed by the wayside and Denver's park has been popularly known as Lookout Mountain Park. Since then much of the area of the original park has been reacquired for park purposes as part of Jefferson County Open Space.
Buffalo Bill
"Buffalo Bill" Cody, who spent his final years living in Denver, was buried at Lookout Mountain Park on June 3, 1917. It is disputed whether Cody was buried here by his own request or by coercion,[2] and it is not known if the exact site was chosen by his sister. In 1921, the gravesite was joined by Pahaska Tepee, a large and rustic wooden lodge designed by Edwin H. Moorman, housing the Buffalo Bill Museum. The museum continues to host visitors from around the world, a testament to Buffalo Bill's global appeal even a century after his Wild West exhibition last performed.
See also
- Colorow Point Park, an overlook park on Lookout Mountain
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Colorado
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ When William F. Cody died, in 1917, he proved not to have been able to control even his own corpse. He had chosen a burial spot in Cody, Wyoming, but his current partner, Harry Tammen, the Denver newspaperman, either bullied or bamboozled the grieving Louisa and had the Last of the Great Scouts put to rest on Lookout Mountain, near Denver.