DENVER'S PUBLIC ART--CIVIC CENTER PARK
When: May 14th (Monday) 6:30 p.m. promptly so that we can be finished before dark
Where: Seal Fountain (north entrance to Civic Center Park)
Program: "Denver's Public Art and Architecture: The Journey of a City Beautiful" - led by Docent Leon Krier
Please join Leon Krier, member of RMGA, for this walking tour of the Civic Center and surrounds. This tour will focus on the 100-year plus history of Denver’s public art and architecture. The tour provides an incredible snapshot of Denver’s diverse artistic and architectural styles in a single, concentrated area. From Alexander Proctor’s classical bronze "On the War Path" to Beverly Pepper’s contemporary "Denver Monoliths" and from the Neoclassical Capitol to the Beaux-Arts Civic Center Park itself and the Postmodern Denver Public Library, this tour is sure to inspire. Other features of the tour include:
* History of the plans that have impacted the development and restoration of the Civic Center
* Impact and inspiration of Chicago's 1893 Columbian World Fair
* "City Beautiful Movement" and "Civic Virtue"
* "Beaux Arts" Heritage
* Mayor Robert Speer & Henry Cords Brown
Guide Line Review
Eye On Denver Art, LLC
Civic Center Park is in the Broadway Terrace, a part of the South Platte Flood Plain. In Civic Center Park, the colonnade was depicted in Beaux Arts style which is eclectic. This incorporated both Roman and Greek details – the center section resembles the triumphal arch of Titus (Roman) and the wings are Greek. Roman/Romanesque architecture has an arch while Greek architecture is squarer and does not have an arch. The flat roof is also typical of the Beaux Arts style. The columns here are Ionic which is more feminine. Doric columns are considered to be more masculine. These columns were built in a ration of 7 to 1 for the height. Leon identified the architect, different parts of the columns, the pediments, the type of columns and the variations we might see as we moved forward. Leon explained the three types of detail and noted that we were seeing the egg and dart and egg and leaf detail here. These details represented fertility and were used often. We also looked at the Allen True murals on the walls. Allen True was a book illustrator and muralist. He also did murals in the Brown Palace Hotel and at the Capitol.
The park itself was developed by Edward Bennett, a landscape architect. The sons of Frederick Olmstead were also important to the development of Denver’s parks.
We proceeded from the Seal Fountain to the Columbus Statue to the Pioneer Monument. The Pioneer Monument fits the context of 1912 and has a statue of Kit Carson at the top, buffalo skulls below that and also depicts a miner, trapper, and a pioneer woman.
We proceed to the Carnegie Library, now called the McNichols Civic Center Building. The Carnegie Foundation funded 35 libraries in Colorado (9 in Denver) and approximately 2,500 nationwide. Leon explained the Greek Revival style of this building. Across the street we viewed the plumb bob with the surround facing both East and West. This represents Janus – God of beginnings and endings (the basis for January, a beginning and doors which could be either). This stands outside the Wellington Well Building which was built 50 years after the entry (1946).
Leon also talked about the people that Mayor Speer worked with to build this park, originally intended to extend toward the Northwest. The Arapahoe County Courthouse stood here until 1932 when the City and County of Denver were separated from the rest of Arapahoe County.
We then walked over to the Alexander Proctor bronze sculptures – “Bronco Buster” and “On the War Trail”. Leon showed us photos of earlier Proctor sculptures which were much more primitive in style than these two.
We continued on to the Greek Amphitheatre which has a true Greek flat roofline. All three decorative elements are depicted here. We also looked at the Denver Public Library which is Modern architecture – all vertical and horizontal lines and no connection to the past. The library addition is Post-Modern and also has some historical connection with the Egyptian obelisk tower and the columns on the front of the building.
We saw “The Yearling” a bronze sculpture by Lipski that has been painted. Originally made for a school in NYC, it was not accepted by the school. Originally the horse was fiberglass.
We noted the 10 red columnar “trees” in front of the Denver Art Museum which represent Earth renewal. There are only 10 instead of 12 “trees” to take away the Native American symbolism. This piece was done by artist Edgar Heap of Birds. The Art Museum has actually 28 sides and looks like a medieval castle.
Leon ended our tour with a description of his portable walking microphone – an Audiovox which he got online 2 years ago and has not had to replace the batteries (10 AA) yet. Adrian noted that the Art Museum has a handout with information about all the outdoor art around the DAM.
--- Nancy Brueggeman