Park Profile
A Tale of Two Parks ELITCH’S GARDENS
With over 1,500 amusement parks in America in the early part of the 20th century, and with every sizeable community having an amusement or “trolley” park, it was inevitable that the larger cities would have multiple parks. In
this two-part series, Gary Kyriazi explains how Denver is able to sustain two competing parks to this day
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as there competition within the major cities? Certainly. But as Coney Island proved, its 1897 Steeplechase Park, 1903 Luna Park (an expansion of 1895's Sea Lion Park) and 1904 Dreamland, created a destination for New Yorkers, who would happily cross the street to go from one park to the other. In Los Angeles, there were no less than seven amusement parks within a healthy two-mile walk along the Pacific Ocean, where piers and parks were built, flourished, competed with each other, burned down and rose from the ashes, bigger and better than the previous version.
A vintage shot of Arnold Gurtler 30
Up until the 1950s and 60s, cities like Boston, Cleveland and Salt Lake City maintained multiple parks. Atlantic City, New Jersey and Panama City Beach, Florida, kept their multiple parks going through until the 1970s, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina and Wildwood, New Jersey’s parks and piers made into the 21st century. Disneyland and Walt Disney World, with their respective local competitors, continue to feed off each other for visitors to Los Angeles and Orlando. Denver, Colorado, however, remains a seemingly unlikely survivor for maintaining two parks for over 100 years. Now superseded by Elitch Gardens in downtown Denver, the original Elitch's Gardens was just over a half-mile from Lakeside Park, the two venues opening in 1890 and 1908 respectively. Interestingly, the genesis of each park was distinctively different. Elitch’s Gardens began essentially as the “park,” while Lakeside was the “amusement.” In 1888, John and Mary Elitch purchased an apple orchard five miles west of what was the 30-year-old western cattle town of Denver and converted it into Elitch’s Zoological Gardens (Denver’s first zoo), a wonderland of exotic animals, orchard and gardens. When they opened their gardens to the public in 1890 (opening day guests included their friend and consummate showman PT Barnum), the success was
immediate. Although John Elitch died in 1891, 34- year-old Mary Elitch bravely went forward and opened the Elitch Theater in 1892 (which included a 14-year- old stagehand/hopeful actor named Douglas Fairbanks). The stars that graced Elitch’s stage throughout the 20th century included Sarah Bernhardt, Cecil B DeMille, Edward G Robinson, Grace Kelly, Lana Turner, Mickey Rooney and Vincent Price.
Four Generations of Family Ownership In 1916 Denver businessman John Mulvihill purchased the Gardens from Mary Elitch and began a dynasty of four generations of family ownership. Part of the sales contract allowed Mary Elitch to live rent- free in her cottage on the grounds as “the Gracious Lady of the Gardens,” receiving $50 a month until she died. She spent the last four years of her life with relatives and died at age 80 on July 16, 1936. The first major addition Mulvihill made to Elitch’s Gardens was 1917’s Trocadero Ballroom, Denver’s stop for the great dance bands of the era, including Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Guy Lombardo, Gene Krupa and Lawrence Welk. A carousel and a simple out-and-back wooden
MARCH 2013
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