City Park Design Guidelines

CITY PARK Design Guidelines

CITY PARK Design Guidelines

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

City and County of Denver

Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR)

Allegra “Happy” Haynes, Executive Director

Gordon Robertson, Director Park Planning, Design & Construction

Kelly Ream, Project Manager, East Denver Parks Planner

Adam Smith, Superintendent

Historic Denver, Inc.

Annie Levinsky, Executive Director

History Colorado - State Historical Fund

Anne McCleave, Historic Preservation Specialist

Consultant Team

Mundus Bishop

Tina Bishop, PLA, ASLA, Principal

Rachel Scarborough, PLA, Landscape Architect

Josh Spinner, ASLA, Landscape Designer

Shelby Scharen, Landscape Historian

Anderson Hallas Architects

Nan Anderson, FAIA, Historical Architect

Andy Duckett-Emke, AIA, Architect

Muller Engineering Corporation

Karl Buchholz, PE, Transportation Engineer

Technical Review Team

City and County of Denver

DPR Operations

Joe Renteria, City Park Operations Supervisor

Doug Woods, Parks Director

DPR Planning Design and Construction

Kathleen LeVeque, Assistant Director of Parks Planning

Cincere Eades, Natural Resource Planner

Kent Sondgerath, Landscape Design & Construction Supervisor

Adrienne Burton, District Planner

DPR Natural Resources Division

Rob Davis, City Forester

Mike Swanson, Forestry Superintendent

Kelly Uhing, City Naturalist

Vicki Vargas-Madrid, Wildlife Program Administrator

Public Works

Scott Burton, Senior City Planner

Dan Raine, Senior City Planner

Community Planning and Development

Caryn Champine, Director

Jennifer Cappetto, Landmark Preservation Supervisor

Stakeholder Working Group

Patrick Brown, Kick In For A Cause (KIFAC)

Karen Collier, Whittier Neighborhood

Greg Davis, City Park Alliance

Peggy Day, Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS)

Megan Deffner, Denver Zoo

Mike Fernandez, City Park Alliance

Georgia Garnsey, City Park Friends and Neighbors (CPFANS)

Matthew Gullicksrud, Cole Neighborhood

Libby Kaiser, Mayor’s Bicycle Advisory Committee

Emily Lapel, City Council District 9

Jacqui Lansing, City Park Friends and Neighbors (CPFANS)

Brande Micheau, Parks & Recreation Advisory Board

Paul Nihara, Soka Gakkai International (SGI-USA)

Liz Orr, City Park Master Plan Exploratory Committee

Dawnisha Penny, Skyland Neighborhood

George Pond, Denver Zoo

Andrew Rowan, Denver Zoo

Andy Sense, City Park Neighborhood Advisory Committee (CPNAC)

Darrel Watson, Game Plan Task Force

Jeff Williams, Mayor’s Pedestrian Advisory Committee

Ellen Yu, City Park Racquet Club

The project was funded by Denver Parks and Recreation and a History Colorado–State Historical Fund grant, with contributions from Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver Zoo, Historic Denver, Inc., City Park Alliance, City Park Friends & Neighbors and dozens of individual donors.

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Introduction

Purpose of the Design Guidelines

The Master Plan Update and Design Guidelines provide a vision and guidance for the preservation and improvement of City Park as ‘the People’s Park,’ ensuring a balance of evolving use with preservation of the historic park.

The goals, principles, and guidelines set forth in this document reflect the historical development of City Park and inform both documents. Together the documents provide a comprehensive planning and decision-making framework to guide the long-term physical improvement, use, and management of City Park.

These Design Guidelines provide criteria to evaluate proposed improvements or modifications and assist in managing change while supporting the special character of Denver’s most significant and largest public space. These Design Guidelines, prepared by the Department of Parks and Recreation in conjunction with public input and a stakeholder working group, will inform future projects and the on-going care and stewardship of City Park.

How to Use These Guidelines

These Guidelines instruct the rehabilitation and improvement of City Park reinforcing it as an important neighborhood and regional public park. Criteria for evaluating proposed improvements or modifications to City Park is provided for new additions; use of materials; and measures to protect and repair historic features. These Guidelines inform design of all improvements proposed for City Park including projects initiated by city agencies.

• Review and evaluation of proposed modifications or improvements will be through an improved process. A new advisory committee of professional designers, park advocates, neighbors, ecologists, and regional users will be formed to assist in ensuring proposals adhere to these documents. They will review projects and provide recommendations to the Executive Director of Parks and Recreation, as well as be a forum for community input.

• City Park Pavilion, Graham / Bible House and Barn, and Bungalow Fire Station are designated Denver Landmarks. Other buildings and structures may be proposed for designation in the future. Proposed exterior modifications to these structures must be reviewed according to processes identified by Denver’s Landmark Preservation Commission.

• Guidelines for Denver Zoo (the Zoo), Denver Museum of Nature & Science (the Museum), and East 23rd Avenue are presented in separate sections. These build upon current agreements and planning initiatives that provide direction for each institution.

Study Area

City Park is Denver’s premiere regional park located two miles east of downtown Denver. Encompassing 320 acres, the park is bounded by York Street on the west, Colorado Boulevard on the east, East 23rd Avenue on the north, and East 17th Avenue on the south. Two civic institutions within the park—Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature & Science—attract more than 3 million visitors annually.

City Park attracts a diversity of parks users from nearby neighbors to regional users from Denver’s metropolitan area. It is an important neighborhood and community park providing recreation and respite to the region and its 8 adjacent neighborhoods. The park is connected with Denver’s renowned parkway system via City Park Esplanade, Colorado Boulevard, Montview Boulevard, and East 17th Avenue Parkway. Several bicycle routes connect the park with the city.

Goals and Guiding Principles

Park Character

City Park is ‘the People’s Park’ with a 120-year legacy as Denver’s most loved public space. The park’s distinct spatial patterns of large open meadows and lakes are defined by mature forested groves, curving park roads and paths, and allees of trees. Living collections and gardens, gateways, monuments, and buildings and structures create entries, views, and park experiences. These characteristics express ‘the People’s Park’ where experiences are offered for all, from tranquil walks, to play and biking, to outings to the Zoo and Museum.

Goals

Five goals guide the repair and improvement of City Park. These goals ensure park character will be preserved and contemporary use addressed through a balanced approach.

■ Re-connect the community with City Park—physically, visually, and socially;

■ Preserve City Park’s historic features and patterns while integrating new compatible elements;

■ Follow an integrated approach—considering aesthetics, historical integrity, ecological function and performance, and visitor experience—in designing new improvements;

■ Improve ecological function and environmental performance for City Park;

■ Improve the condition of City Park including park infrastructure, vegetation, and features while recognizing the operational needs of the park and institutions.

Goals and Guiding Principles

Guiding Principles

Six guiding principles provide the framework for the Master Plan Update recommendations.

Park Composition: Protect and enhance City Park’s distinct composition of spaces along with views, topography, and individual features that define these spaces.

Circulation: Establish a comprehensive circulation system with improved connections and access to, and within, the park for all modes that builds upon City Park’s character.

Vegetation and Ecology: Protect and preserve City Park’s established tree and vegetation patterns, plant species, and significant and notable trees to preserve character, enhance the urban tree canopy, provide wildlife and bird habitat or other ecological benefits, and to enhance biological diversity.

Water: Protect constructed water features to preserve park character and to enhance water quality and ecological function.

Buildings and Structures: Preserve contributing buildings and structures, ensure new buildings and structures are consistent with park character, and provide opportunities for compatible park uses.

Park Uses and Experiences: Maintain a balance of uses and experiences that are integrated with the park’s character and composition.

Context

Historic Context

The development of City Park, on land once noted as a “great waste of seemingly endless prairie,” was inspired by national city beautification movements and the efforts of early Denver leaders and residents. By the 1870s Denver was emerging as a bustling town with a permanent population. The city had grown in its refinements and was focused on building a world class metropolis.

The idea of a large urban park for public use was relatively new in 1870. New York City’s Central Park (1858), Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park (1865), and Brooklyn’s Prospect Park (1866) were the first large, public urban parks built in the nation. They quickly became the standard for planning similar park spaces including those for Denver. The city’s early park movement is defined in the 1878 Sopris and Lee Plan that proposed a park system to create a livable and healthy community for the city’s residents. This plan envisioned a series of parks connected by treelined parkways and boulevards. City Park was to be the “east city park” and Sloan’s Lake the “west city park” within this greater system.

Land for City Park was purchased from the state of Colorado in 1882. Henry Meryweather, city civil engineer, prepared the first layout of the park the same year. Meryweather’s romantic arrangement of looped roadways and walks, augmented by lakes and meadows, created a distinct variety of views and vistas. By 1886 the park’s “sinuous tangle of winding carriageways, walks and promenades” were in place. Reinhard Schuetze, who became city landscape architect in 1892, designed Ferril Lake and the original Burns Garden. City Park was generally completed by 1900, with many park buildings and features in place. These included Graham / Bible House, City Park Pavilion, a bandstand, boat dock, and the race track. By 1896 the first zoo spaces and buildings were completed.

After 1900 and into the 1920s City Park became a truly elegant grand park linked to the city’s wider system of parks, parkways, and boulevards. Reflecting the ideals of the City Beautiful movement, City Park was beautified over this 20-year period. The 1914 plan by the Olmsted Brothers overlaid an organizing structure for the park—a distinct delineation of open spaces framed by tree masses, circulation networks, and park entries. Monumental statues, gateways, buildings, and fountains followed. Several designers contributed: Reinhard Schuetze, George Kessler, S.R. DeBoer, Frank Edbrooke, Edward Bennett, Jules Jacques Benois Benedict, and Max Blondet. Much remains today—Thatcher Fountain, Sopris, McLellan and Monti gateways, Kessler Plaza, the Electric Prismatic Fountain, Children’s Fountain, and Bungalow Fire Station. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, designed by architect Frederick J. Sterner with site design by Reinhard Schuetze, was built in 1901 on the park’s eastern high point originally defined by Meryweather.

City Park Golf Course, immediately north of City Park, evolved during these early years. Between 1896 and 1925 the course was proposed, land acquired north of City Park, and the course designed and built. The first plan, attributed to the Olmsted Brothers, was a 9-hole course. This course was expanded and redesigned to 18-holes by Tom Bendelow, a pioneer golf course architect, in 1917 /1918. Until 1920 the golf course and park were one continuous space when East 23rd Avenue was extended as a through road.

After 1920 and through the 1950s City Park’s modifications were primarily led by S.R. DeBoer, city landscape architect. DeBoer’s Pinetum and Box Canyon Waterway added naturalistic and rustic elements to City Park. In 1952 the first Denver Botanic Garden was built at City Park with a diverse palette of plant species and several planted areas and gardens. Other changes included the addition of City Park Greenhouse / Park Nursery, new tennis courts and restroom, athletic fields, and expansion of the Museum. Many original walks began to disappear during this time, along with changes to the road system.

Between the 1960s and 1980s Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature & Science grew in size and visitation. In the 1980s Denver’s parks and parkways system was nationally recognized for its historical and architectural significance and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1986. City Park is a component of this system.

Recommended Period of Significance for City Park

1919

1925

1952

1953 1957

S.R. DeBOER Bear Mountain

Lily Pond Sopris Memorial (artist unknown)

Botanic Garden at City Park

Pinetum Lilac, Crabapple and Rose Garden

Box Canyon and Waterway

1921 to 1960 Rustic Park Movement 1912 FRANK EDBROOKE

Sopris Gateway 1913

1920 TOM BENDELOW City Park Golf Course opened

East 23rd Avenue extended

Contributing Features

City Park is composed of significant features that individually and collectively contribute to the park character. Contributing features are those features present during the Period of Significance that possess historical or architectural integrity.

CONSTRUCTED WATER FEATURES

The recommended period of significance for City Park is 1882 to 1957 to reflect its continued design and historical development.

DESIGNERS

1882 Henry Meryweather

1896 William E. Fisher

1896 John J. Humphreys

1896 to 1906 Reinhard Schuetze

1901 Frederick J. Sterner

1904 E.H. Moorman

1905 to 1909 George Kessler

1908 Fred Darlington

1911 J.J.B. Benedict

1911 Frank Edbrooke

1912 Max Blondet

1912 E.H. Moorman

1913 to 1914 Olmsted Brothers

1916 Richard Phillips

1917 Ed Herbert Bennett

1916 to 1960 S. R. DeBoer

1918 Lorado Taft

1930 Louis Paul Jonas

Period of Significance

City Park is historically significant at the state level and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as a component of the Denver Park and Parkway System. The park is significant for its role in community development of the city of Denver and for its landscape architecture.

The NRHP period of significance for the park and parkway system is 1880 to 1936. This captures the inception of Denver’s park and parkway system through 1936, a date likely chosen because 1936 is 50 years earlier than the registration date of the nomination.

The recommended period of significance for City Park is 1882 to 1957 to reflect the on-going design and development of the park through 1957. The revised end date captures the later designs of landscape architect S.R. DeBoer that contribute to park character. Designers with major roles in City Park include Henry Meryweather (1882); Reinhard Schuetze (1896 to 1906); George E. Kessler (1905 to 1909); Jules Jacques Benois Benedict (1911); the Olmsted Brothers (1913 to 1914); and S.R. DeBoer (1916 to 1960).

City Park’s spatial patterns, vegetation, and circulation routes were altered in the 1950s from their earlier appearance of the 1880s to 1920s. Forested groves were altered, meadows enlarged, and pedestrian paths removed. Several important features were added in the 1950s—the first Denver Botanic Gardens, the Pinetum, and Box Canyon Waterway.

City Park retains integrity in location, setting, feeling, design, workmanship, materials, and association. The park’s integrity is slightly diminished due to new non-compatible additions along the Zoo edge, expansion of buildings, loss of vegetation, and additions of noncompatible features that disrupt views and experiences. Recommendations in the Master Plan Update address these issues with strategies for improvements.

Regional Context

City Park is a premier regional park destination for the Denver metropolitan area. It is also the neighborhood and community park for eight Denver neighborhoods: Skyland, North Park Hill, South Park Hill, City Park, Congress Park, Hale, City Park West, and Whittier. The park’s central location in east Denver is close to major highways and thoroughfares, and to many Denver residents, 85% reside within a 5-mile radius of the park. Two of Denver’s cultural institutions have been part of City Park since the early 1900s: Denver Zoo and Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Together these institutions attract more than 3 million visitors annually.

City Park is two miles south of I-70 and connected by Colorado Boulevard, the city’s busiest arterial street. The park is two miles east of downtown Denver. Dedicated bike routes, bus service, city streets, and pedestrian routes connect the park to adjacent neighborhoods and the broader city. City Park Esplanade and Colorado Boulevard connect City Park to Denver’s Parks and Parkway system. City Park Golf Course is the northern edge of City Park, across East 23rd Avenue. Together these two public spaces encompass 456 acres of park and open space.

City Park’s historical and architectural significance, beautiful natural setting, and variety of recreational and cultural offerings draw thousands of visitors each year. The park is popular for active and passive park uses including organized and informal activities. The 320-acre park provides more than 13 miles of trails; 10 sports fields—some within park meadows; two playgrounds; picnicking; 24 courts for tennis, handball and horseshoes; and athletic fields in the topographic bowl of a historic racetrack. Recent surveys indicate that 56% of park users visit City Park several times a week, many with family and friends.

Guidelines

Park Composition

Vision: City Park is a composition of small and large spaces defined by forested groves and tree-lined winding roads. This integrated relationship of open and enclosed space is expressed as meadows and lakes. The variety of open spaces are defined by roads, trails, and forested groves linked through views. This arrangement provides diverse park experiences and a refuge from the urban surroundings and defines the character of City Park.

Henry Meryweather’s 1882 plan laid out the park’s spatial organization. This included the iconic vista from the park’s natural high point on the east that visually links City Park with downtown Denver and the Rocky Mountains. This panoramic view is supported spatially by the topography and open space of Big Meadow, and the open space of Ferril Lake with City Park Pavilion set on the lake’s west edge. Architectural and artistic spaces, monuments, and buildings introduced in the early 20th century enhanced the park’s composition as did the addition of the Botanic Garden in the 1950s.

Principle: Protect and enhance City Park’s distinct composition of spaces along with views, topography, and individual features that define these spaces.

1. Protect City Park’s composition by repairing and enhancing established and historic patterns, sequences, openings, enclosures, spaces, and spatial relationships.

a. Preserve the pattern, variety, and hierarchy of open spaces. These include meadows, Big Meadow, North Meadow, South Meadow, and Ferril Lake.

b. Preserve and enhance vegetation patterns to better define established spatial organization and views and vistas, and to reinforce spatial and physical relationships.

2. Preserve City Park’s significant views and vistas to the Rocky Mountains, downtown Denver, City Park Golf Course, and between park spaces.

a. Comply with City Park View Plane Ordinance (Municipal Code, Chapter 10, Article IV, Sec. 10-62), protecting the vista from the Museum and Kessler Plaza to the west.

b. Ensure new park additions and new vegetation, or modifications to existing features or vegetation, respect and do not interfere with significant views.

c. Protect established views between park spaces and between circulation routes and spaces.

d. Reestablish missing historic views between park spaces, to park features, and into City Park.

3. Preserve or enhance City Park’s composition and spatial character when considering modifications or creating new additions.

a. Design new vegetation, buildings, structures, and other features in respect to established and historic patterns and relationships to ensure park composition is preserved.

Circulation and Connectivity

Vision: City Park’s circulation system of roads and trails provides a hierarchy of movement that orchestrates park experiences. Sinuous, winding park roads provide access to park destinations and a park experience for drivers along alignments established as early as the 1880s. These narrow lanes include parallel parking and bicycling as a shared use. A ‘through’ designated bicycle route extends the length of City Park. Park entrance roads encourage access for all modes. Parking includes surface lots at City Park Pavilion, City Park Greenhouse, and the tennis courts. Surface lots and parking garages provide parking in the park’s northeast quadrant. Pedestrian trails crisscross City Park. Many follow reestablished historic routes to connect with prominent spaces and park destinations. The south park road is repurposed as a pedestrian and bicycle promenade. 5280 Trail remains as a popular walking and running route. Improved trails on the park’s east and west edges connect pedestrians and bicyclists with adjacent neighborhoods.

Principle: Establish a comprehensive circulation system with improved connections and access to, and within, the park for all modes that builds upon City Park’s character.

1. Follow a balanced approach to ensure a safe, quality park experience for all users that is intuitive to navigate.

a. Improve walking, running, bicycling, and driving experiences, and access to park destinations.

b. Minimize ‘through’ driving or bicycling routes that would impact park experiences.

c. Ensure wayfinding improvements at key decision points and park destinations respect park character and minimize sign clutter.

2. Respect City Park’s character when improving experiences, access, and connectivity.

a. Preserve established and historic circulation patterns that define the park’s hierarchy of movement and orchestration of park experiences.

b. Ensure new pedestrian trails are integrated with respect to the park’s composition. Use existing established roads or trails for driving and bicycling.

3. Ensure improved connections for pedestrians and bicyclists into City Park.

a. Encourage connections with existing and proposed bicycle / routes to City Park, and enhanced access at park edges.

i. Encourage improved pedestrian and bicyclist experiences along East 23rd Avenue, York Street, and Colorado Boulevard.

Park Entrance Roads

4. Ensure modifications to park entrance roads provide better access into City Park for all modes of travel.

a. McLellan Gateway at East 21st Avenue at York Street:

i. Retain established road alignment and relationships to McLellan Gateway, vegetation, and park spaces.

ii. Encourage reduced cross section widths to accommodate two-way vehicular travel and shared bicycle use.

b. Allow new traffic control gates at park entrances at East 21st Avenue, City Park Esplanade, Steele Street, and near City Park Greenhouse to manage access.

i. Design new gates to be small inconspicuous features, contemporary in style, and compatible with park character in scale, form, and material.

ii. Ensure adequate openings with no obstructions to provide safe use by pedestrians and bicyclists when closed to vehicles.

c. Ensure a consistent aesthetic for park entrance roads.

i. Acceptable materials include: asphalt surfacing for pavement, minimal concrete paving for drainage, and low rolled curbs.

ii. Acceptable materials for traffic control gates include: painted steel, aluminum or metal in a color palette compatible with park character.

5. Ensure improvements to East 23rd Avenue, the road and its edges, City Park, and City Park Golf Course are designed as a cohesive space. See East 23rd Avenue section for guidelines.

Park Entrance Road

McLellan Gateway Park Entrance Road

Park Roads

6. Ensure modifications to park roads to improve circulation, wayfinding, and park experiences are accomplished in a manner that respects park character.

a. Follow a consistent aesthetic for all park roads and ensure use of a similar scale and materials.

i. Retain established road alignments and relationships with adjacent vegetation patterns and park spaces.

ii. Encourage reduced cross section widths to accommodate travel lanes, parallel parking, and shared bicycle use.

iii. Ensure adjacent vegetation patterns along road edges, i.e., tree allees and meadows, are repaired and enhanced with any modifications.

b. Acceptable materials include: asphalt surfacing for pavement, minimal concrete paving for drainage, and low rolled curbs.

7. Ensure modifications to North Park Road are consistent with the park road aesthetic and enhance the interface with the Zoo boundary.

a. Allow modification of the cross section width to be consistent in scale and arrangement with the park roads.

b. Design modifications to North Park Road and improvements to the Zoo edge as one cohesive space and aesthetic.

c. Ensure improvements to the intersection west of the Museum entry on East 22nd Avenue better facilitate all modes of travel.

i. Acceptable modifications include slight realignment of the roads with stop signs or a roundabout.

d. Ensure improvements to the intersection with west park roads south of Duck Lake better facilitate all modes of travel.

i. Acceptable modifications include slight realignment of the roads with stop signs or a roundabout.

Park Road (One-way)

Park Road (Two-way)

Pedestrian Trails and Walkways

8. Provide a comprehensive pedestrian experience that enriches the park character.

a. Preserve established and historic trails and walkways including alignments, and where feasible, trail surfaces.

b. Allow repair to existing trails and provide new trails for better access to park destinations and for improved pedestrian movement.

i. Allow new trails along alignments of missing historic routes, particularly routes visible in established tree allees and forested groves.

ii. Design new trails with surfacing and widths that address use, i.e., soft surfacing with a narrow width for running trails.

iii. Acceptable materials for pedestrian trails include:

• Soft surfaces for running trails (<3’ wide) and for secondary pedestrian routes (6’ +/- wide);

• Hardscape paving for primary pedestrian routes (6’ to 8’ wide), universally accessible routes, shared pedestrian and bicycling routes, and park promenades;

• Follow the City Park hardscape paving mixes for color and finish. Meet Parks and Recreation standards.

c. Allow repair to existing walkways and provide new pedestrian walkways for access to park buildings and structures.

i. Design walkways in respect to the architectural character of adjacent buildings or structures.

• Orthogonal formal arrangements are appropriate at City Park Pavilion and Elephant House;

• Organic flowing routes are appropriate at Graham / Bible House and Barn.

ii. Acceptable materials for walkways to buildings and structures include:

• Hardscape paving for primary pedestrian routes (6’ to 8’ wide) and for park promenades;

• Follow the City Park hardscape paving mixes.

d. Allow enhancement of the Ferril Lake promenade.

i. Allow a wider pedestrian walkway with additional amenities including lighting and seating.

ii. Allow a broad terrace of seating or a pedestrian walkway on the lake’s north edge to connect to Elephant House.

9. Ensure pedestrian connections are improved to access the park from adjacent neighborhoods.

a. Ensure improvements for pedestrian / bicycle trails along York Street and Colorado Boulevard are compatible with park character.

i. Design new trails with surfacing and widths that address the shared use.

ii. Acceptable materials include:

• Soft surfaces for running trails (<3’ wide);

• Hardscape paving for shared pedestrian and bicycling routes with a maximum width of 8’;

• Follow the City Park hardscape paving mixes for color and finish. Meet Parks and Recreation standards.

b. Allow a through pedestrian route along East 17th Avenue.

i. Preserve and repair the sandstone trail where feasible, and design improvements to be compatible.

ii. Allow connections to City Park along East 17th Avenue at select locations.

c. Allow a pedestrian connection from Skyland Neighborhood to City Park through City Park Golf Course.

5280 Trail

Pedestrian Trail

5280 Trail with Pedestrian Trail

10. Ensure park promenades accommodate runners, walkers, bicyclists, and provides a respite for park users.

a. Ensure improvements provide a cohesive park space that offers a balanced park experience.

b. Preserve the established alignments of routes designated as park promenades. Allow modifications to the route and surfacing to accommodate pedestrians, bicyclists, and park users.

i. Allow a maximum 24-foot cross section width, narrowing where needed.

ii. Ensure a cohesive aesthetic with a range of surface materials that support intended uses.

iii. Acceptable materials include:

• Soft surfaces for running trails (<3’ wide);

• Hardscape paving for shared pedestrian and bicycle use and for universally accessible routes;

• Follow the City Park hardscape paving mixes for color and finish. Meet Parks and Recreation standards.

c. Ensure pedestrian-scaled lighting, benches, and trash receptacles are placed for function and enjoyment, in locations compatible with park character.

i. Design new amenities to be compatible with park character in a compatible color palette, and to assist in creating a cohesive park space.

Bicycling

11. Provide a shared experience for bicyclists traveling to, through, and within the park that respects park character and composition.

a. Ensure modifications to select trails to provide recreational bicycling as a shared use with pedestrians.

b. Retain the designated bicycle route (D-8) as the park’s through bicycle route.

12. Encourage shared bicycle use with vehicular travel on park roads.

a. Ensure travel lanes are adequate for shared vehicular use and two-way bicycle travel.

Parking

13. Ensure parking for park destinations respects park composition and a quality park experience.

a. Allow parallel parking along park roads.

b. Exclude parking at roundabouts, in areas of key views, and where pedestrian and bicycle routes connect to park roads.

c. Remove parking from views into park spaces and from views towards prominent features.

14. Allow modifications to parking in the park’s northeast quadrant (the Zoo, Museum, and North Meadow).

a. Ensure modifications to existing parking structures and lots respect the urban forest, living collections, and tree patterns.

b. Allow underground parking structures in already disturbed locations where these can be designed compatible with park character in mass, scale, and form.

c. Ensure improvements to park roads and parking are designed holistically to ensure a park experience is maintained.

Vegetation and Ecology

Vision: City Park’s urban forest will be managed to protect significant and notable trees for historic integrity, and to continue its legacy as an important urban forest. The park’s arrangement of trees, meadows, and gardens creates spaces that offer a variety of experiences.

The 157 tree species that compose City Park’s urban forest are arranged as tree allees, forested groves, and living collections with many important individual trees. Historic gardens—the 1950 Botanic Garden with the Pinetum, Lily Pond, Kessler Plaza along with Burns and Sopris Gardens—are equally characteristic features. Rookeries, trees, and lakes provide habitat for bird and water fowl species, aquatic species, and urban wildlife.

These vegetation patterns and species contribute to City Park’s significance and are valuable for horticultural qualities, aesthetics, and ecological benefits.

Principle: Protect and preserve City Park’s established tree and vegetation patterns, plant species, and significant and notable trees to preserve character, enhance the urban tree canopy, provide wildlife and bird habitat or other ecological benefits, and to enhance biological diversity.

Guidelines for Vegetation and Ecology include:

■ Urban Forest

■ Ecological Diversity

■ Meadows

■ Gardens and Living Collections

Urban Forest

Vision: Forested groves and tree allees contain some of the park’s oldest trees. Trees remain from each period of the park’s development—original 1890s cottonwoods, shade trees along park roads, evergreens and deciduous trees in forested groves along major streets, and botanical collections. Forested groves include evergreens and understory trees such as crabapples or hawthorns providing buffers along park edges. Tree allees line park roads with many remaining from the park’s earliest plantings, i.e., the 1880s into the 1920s.

1. Ensure the renewal of City Park’s urban forest and tree canopy is designed holistically to consider aesthetics, historic integrity, ecological benefits, environmental performance, and tree health.

a. Follow a successional approach that preserves significant and notable trees and respects historic patterns.

i. Protect and preserve significant and notable trees for longevity through sound horticultural practices.

ii. Allow replacement where trees are missing or diminished to retain or reestablish openings and enclosures. Replace trees when they become hazards or die.

iii. Allow new infill trees in anticipation of removal of aging trees.

b. Allow new hardy and experimental species for horticultural and environmental benefits while ensuring a similarity in form, color, and flower to historic species.

i. Ensure each vegetation pattern’s mix of species and composition is preserved when determining the appropriateness of new species.

2. Protect and expand City Park’s trees for longevity and health, to strengthen historic patterns, and to enhance park use and environmental performance.

a. Protect and preserve established, significant, and notable trees while allowing replacement of aging or hazard trees.

b. When replacement is required, use the same or similar species or new hardy species where appropriate.

c. Consider the individual nuances of each forested grove and tree allee when planting new trees to protect significant and notable trees. Retain the species mix, pattern, arrangement, and relationships to park spaces and park roads.

i. Manage forested groves as a mixture of evergreen and deciduous shade trees, or groupings of individual species that assist in defining the park’s spatial character and experiences.

ii. Consider additional horticultural measures such as use of potable water as an irrigation source to ensure longevity of sensitive species.

iii. Manage tree allees as deciduous shade trees within distinct patterns to preserve their role in defining the character of park roads and park edges along York Street and Colorado Boulevard.

3. Ensure established and historic tree allees and forested groves are preserved and enhanced when modifying park roads or park spaces.

4. Allow irrigated bluegrass as understory vegetation in forested groves and tree allees to ensure protection and preservation of significant and notable trees.

Ecological Diversity

Vision: City Park is envisioned as a diverse and ecologically functioning landscape that provides conservation measures and improves habitat. Improvements to park spaces or lake edges will enhance habitat for bird and water fowl species such as blackcrowned night herons and double crested cormorants, aquatic species, and urban wildlife, while respecting park character.

5. Allow specific areas of City Park to be managed and modified as more ecologically diverse landscapes while respecting park character.

a. Allow modifications to lake edges and select areas of vegetation to provide improved habitat for birds, water fowl, aquatic species, and wildlife in a naturalized aesthetic.

i. Allow selected lake edges to be improved with topographic changes and plantings of native and hardy plant species.

ii. Retain existing dead trees as wildlife habitat.

iii. Allow removal of invasive or noxious vegetation species.

iv. Allow improvements and additions to the rookeries in Ferril and Duck Lakes including:

• Vegetation replacement or enhancement, or other measures to provide long-lasting habitat.

• Man-made elements, naturalized in appearance, to provide nesting habitat as vegetation matures.

v. Ensure improvements, modifications, or additions respect park character and preserve and protect established and historic park spaces, vegetation patterns, and views.

b. Allow vegetation modifications in selected areas of South Meadow as a naturalized landscape.

i. Respect the established and historic park composition while allowing modifications to grasses and understory plantings within select park spaces.

ii. Encourage use of native and hardy plant species that provide habitat for pollinators, wildlife, and birds.

6. Allow modifications to Ferril Lake, Duck Lake, and Little Lake (the Sediment Pond) to enhance water quality and improve ecological health.

a. Acceptable modifications may include aeration, dredging, algae control, or erosion control.

Gardens and Living Collections

Vision: City Park’s living collections represent groupings of plants, either a single species or several similar species, associated with the park’s development. Living Collections include Sopris Gateway, Cottonwood Grove and components of the 1950s Botanic Garden—the Lilac Hedge and Pinetum. Historic gardens are equally characteristic features. They include the Lily Pond, Kessler Plaza, Benedict Garden, and Burns and Sopris gardens.

8. Preserve City Park’s living collections and gardens as individual park spaces as each has a distinct character created by its setting, features, and vegetation.

a. Preserve individual plantings, spaces and relationships, and the composition that characterize each living collection or garden.

i. Consider the individual nuances of each living collection or garden when modifying it.

ii. Retain significant and notable trees, species mix and features, and patterns and arrangements.

iii. Consider the relationships between each living collection or garden with adjacent park spaces, park roads, buildings, and structures.

b. Protect individual trees and replace missing trees or species.

c. Allow new species or varieties consistent with each living collection ensuring a similarity in form, color, and flower.

i. Allow new and infill plantings to assist in preserving or enhancing spatial relationships of a living collection or garden and its setting.

ii. Allow plant species that improve biodiversity, hardiness, and plant health while also respecting the form, color, and character of historic species.

d. Protect patterns of plantings.

e. Ensure the 1950s Botanic Garden remains as a horticultural collection and is managed for longevity.

i. Allow reestablishment of missing planting beds and groups of trees within the 1950s Botanic Garden.

Meadows

7. Protect the spatial arrangements of each meadow. Protect significant and notable trees, vegetation patterns, and features that define its composition.

a. Preserve and enhance vegetation that assist in defining the form and scale of each meadow and create its views.

i. Allow trees to be removed when they become hazards. Replace those that contribute to established or historic vegetation patterns.

ii. Allow infill trees within forested groves, tree allees, and living collections to repair the established or historic form and scale of each meadow and to repair or enhance views and viewsheds.

iii. Consider future uses when determining locations of new trees or features.

b. Preserve and enhance the low-growing ground plane vegetation appearance of each meadow.

i. Allow an irrigated hardy playfield bluegrass mixture for meadows where permitted league play and active field sports occur.

ii. Allow an irrigated hardy bluegrass mixture for passive use meadows, and for lawns under forested groves and tree allees to ensure the health and longevity of trees.

iii. Allow a hardy native species grass mixture for South Meadow for a naturalized aesthetic and for improved ecological function.

Water

Vision: Constructed water features and lakes are part of City Park’s original construction and are associated with City Ditch from which they are all fed. They range in style, material, and size dependent on intended purpose and share a commonality of function and artistic expression.

Ferril Lake, originally named Big Lake, was a central feature of Meryweather’s 1882 plan. It was realized in 1896 through Reinhard Schuetze’s design as an open mirror of water to provide broad vistas and a setting for public entertainment. Boating, rowing, and fishing are park experiences associated with Ferril Lake as is sitting or walking along the water’s edge. Duck Lake, with a central island, was built in 1887 as a breeding ground for birds. Lily Pond (1925) and Little Lake (Lilly Lake or Sediment Pond, 1917) are smaller historic water features built as a series of water bodies previously fed by City Ditch.

Principle: Protect constructed water features to preserve park character and to enhance water quality and ecological health and function.

1. Preserve, protect, and repair City Park’s historic lakes and constructed water features using accepted preservation practices.

a. Preserve the form, topography, and scale of Ferril Lake, Duck Lake, Lily Pond, and Little Lake.

b. Preserve features associated with historic constructed water features, i.e., Electric Prismatic Fountain.

c. Allow repair of the Lily Pond to function as originally intended as a work of art reminiscent of Monet’s painting.

d. Allow repair of Box Canyon Waterway.

2. Allow enhanced water quality to provide environmental benefits and renewed biological diversity for both plants and wildlife habitat.

a. Allow modification of lake edges at Ferril Lake, Little Lake, and Duck Lake for a more naturalized appearance, characteristic of what was present during the period of significance.

b. Continue to allow stormwater detention in Ferril Lake and Little Lake.

c. Continue to improve water quality in Ferril Lake, Little Lake, and Duck Lake.

i. Allow dredging and deepening of the lake bottoms to improve water quality and aquatic habitat.

3. Allow modifications to H2Odyssey, the water jet fountain west of the Museum of Nature & Science, considering the same attention to a feeling of grandeur, artistic expression, and design excellence that is present in historic features.

a. Ensure the fountain, Kessler Plaza, and Benedict Garden are designed holistically as integrally related components.

b. Ensure the design of new features are products of their own time that are reflective of modern-day style, but compatible with park character.

c. Ensure a human scale that engages park users. Locate equipment and functional features out of view.

d. Respect City Park’s architectural scale by ensuring new design is proportional, but subordinate to historic features in height, mass, and scale.

Buildings, Structures and Objects

Vision: City Park’s five historic buildings and nine historic structures are from the park’s earliest development through the 1940s. They range in style, material, and size dependent on original use and purpose, but all share a commonality of grandeur, artistic expression, and design excellence.

City Park Pavilion (1929), designed in the manner of an Italian Renaissance villa, is the largest park building. The rustic architecture of City Park Greenhouse (1936 / 1941) reflects its design and construction by the Works Progress Administration. Graham / Bible House and Barn (1893) are the park’s oldest buildings and reflect the shingle style. Two buildings are primarily brick construction—the symmetrical neo-classical Elephant House (1908) and Bungalow Fire Station (1912).

Features, monuments, and sculptures from the late 1890s through 1918 are artistic and commemorative works placed strategically within City Park. Historic and contemporary structures are set within an associated landscape or garden. Three gateways define park entries—McLellan Gateway (1903) relocated to its current site in 1957; Monti Gateway (1917); and Sopris Gateway (1911), the only monumental pedestrian entrance. Sullivan Gateway (1917) and Thatcher Memorial Fountain (1918) anchor City Park Esplanade.

Other structures and objects contribute to the park—Burns Sculpture (1904), Children’s Fountain (1912), Electric Prismatic Fountain (1908) in Ferril Lake, and Grizzly’s Last Stand (owned by Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 1930).

Contemporary additions include MLK, Jr. Monument (2002), the Bandstand (2002) that replaced an earlier bandstand, and H2Odyssey Fountain (2002) in the Benedict Garden.

Principle: Preserve contributing buildings and structures, ensure new buildings and structures are consistent with park character, and provide opportunities for compatible park uses.

City Park’s historic park buildings, structures and objects share a consistent scale. All share a commonality of grandeur, artistic expression and design excellence.

Park Buildings and Structures

1. Rehabilitate City Park’s park buildings and structures using accepted preservation practices.

a. Preserve and repair park building exteriors including fenestration and materials, while allowing minor modifications for egress and to accommodate community use.

b. Preserve and repair park structures including historic monuments, fountains, and features.

c. Consult the Secretary of Interior Standards for the Treatment of Historic Buildings and the Denver Landmark Preservation Design Guidelines for accepted preservation practices.

2. Allow minor modifications to park buildings, or portions of park buildings, to accommodate compatible community use and access.

a. Preserve and repair historic materials before replacement with new materials.

b. Ensure modifications are compatible with contributing park buildings and park character.

c. Restore original materials before replacement.

d. Ensure modifications are contemporary and of their own time, while being compatible.

e. City Park Pavilion:

i. Allow interior modifications to improve community use for event space, food and beverage, and public restrooms.

ii. Continue to allow second-floor use for City Park maintenance and operations.

iii. Allow seasonal concessions within the building and on exterior terraces.

PARK BUILDINGS

Graham / Bible House and Barn (1893)

Elephant House (1906)

Bungalow Fire Station (1912)

City Park Pavilion (1929)

City Park Greenhouse (1941)

PARK STRUCTURES

McLellan Gateway (1904)

Electric Prismatic Fountain (1908)

Sopris Gateway (1911)

Children’s Fountain (1912)

Monti Gateway (1917)

Grizzly’s Last Stand (1930)

Bandstand (1984)

MLK Jr., Monument (2002)

f. Elephant House:

i. Allow interior modifications for food and beverage (i.e., small restaurant or café), a community room, or public restrooms.

ii. Continue to allow maintenance and operations needed for City Park.

iii. Allow minor modifications to pedestrian walkways for improved access and to accommodate universal accessibility.

g. Graham / Bible House and Barn:

i. Consider community space, public restrooms, and interpretation / exhibit spaces within existing interior spaces.

ii. Continue to allow park-related use.

iii. Consider seasonal ‘cart’ concessions within, and near, the building and barn..

h. City Park Greenhouse:

i. Consider community space, public restrooms, and interpretation / exhibit spaces while continuing use for City Park maintenance and operations.

New Park Buildings and Park Structures

Vision: New park buildings and park structures will be designed with the same care and consideration as historic park buildings and structures. Each historic building, structure, and monument is distinct to the time it was designed, and is respectful of its location within City Park. Each is composed of a continuous architectural style and character on all four sides. Each reflects a different architectural style and is built using different materials, but all share similar principles of mass and scale, and appropriateness to function and presence.

3. Allow new park buildings and park structures in select locations as noted in City Park Master Plan Update.

a. Respect and preserve established views, vistas, open spaces, and relationships when placing and designing new park buildings, structures, and gateways.

b. Allow potential new park buildings only in these select locations.

i. Restroom building and storage, located near court sports.

ii. Maintenance building in northwest corner, if or when Elephant House is repurposed.

c. Allow potential new park structures only in these select locations.

i. Open-air shade pavilions near the court sports, Dustin Redd Playground, in the South Meadow/ southeast corner and North Meadow.

ii. Play features in northwest and southeast corners.

4. Design new park buildings and structures with attention to grandeur, artistic expression, and design excellence as is present in historic features.

a. Design new park buildings and structures in a contemporary style and practice, as products of their own time, and reflective of their function and location.

b. Ensure new park buildings and structures are compatible with park character and City Park’s range of architectural styles.

c. Respect City Park’s architectural scale when designing new park buildings and structures.

i. Ensure new features are proportional in height, mass, and scale, but are subordinate to historic buildings and structures.

ii. Ensure new park buildings and structures provide a human scale that engages park users.

iii. Ensure the use of simpler forms and detailing for maintenance and operations buildings.

iv. Design the entire setting of a new park building or structure so it is a cohesive component of the building and compatible with park character.

d. Allow the following acceptable materials for new park building and structures.

i. Park buildings: natural stone or brick with metal or wood accents / detailing, and metal or shingle roofing.

ii. Park structures: natural stone or brick with metal or wood accents, and metal or shingle roofing. Refer to park gateways for acceptable materials for these.

iii. Maintenance and operations buildings: natural stone, brick, metal or wood as primary materials with similar materials for accents and detailing, and metal or shingle roofing.

New Park Gateways

5. Allow new park gateways at York Street and Colorado Boulevard to mark major entrances into City Park. Park gateways should include monument structures with pedestrian access and a backdrop of plantings.

a. Design new park gateways with attention to grandeur, artistic expression, and design excellence as is present in historic features.

b. Ensure new park gateways are designed in a contemporary style and practice, are products of their own time, and are compatible with park character and the park’s architectural styles.

c. Ensure new monument structures are subordinate to historic park buildings and structures, and proportional in height, mass and scale to historic monuments.

i. Ensure new monument structures respect but do not imitate historic monuments, which reference neo-classical and Renaissance styles.

ii. Ensure new monument structures are 2-point or 4-point compositions and that a human scale is provided.

iii. Ensure new monument structures reflects its location on park roads, and include plantings on both side of the road and edges.

iv. Allow features to accommodate seating within the structure design, i.e., Sopris and Monti Gateways.

v. Limit signage to identifying City Park. Additional text or graphics is not acceptable on the structure.

d. Allow the following acceptable materials for monument structures.

i. Primary materials: natural stone or brick, or a combination. Acceptable variations include: rough-hewn, polished, boulder, cobble, sandstone, marble, granite, limestone; battered or dry set, mortared.

ii. Accents may include painted metals, sculptural elements, and finials and lighting as decorative elements.

iii. Paving: Pedestrian routes will be concrete paving using the accepted City Park concrete mix.

e. Design the entire park gateway holistically from roadway edge to adjacent park land, and for the entire experience through the entrance.

i. Ensure pedestrian routes are designed with the monument structure, and with its landscape and topography.

f. Allow standard park furnishings (benches, trash receptacles, lighting) in the design. Ensure furnishings do not clutter the gateway.

i. Ensure planting is primarily lawn under and around the monument structure. Ensure groupings of trees are oriented to frame views of the structure and provide a backdrop. An understory of lawn, lowgrowing shrubs, and seasonal color may be considered.

ii. Ensure elements such as utility boxes, vaults, poles, etc. are located out of view.

Vision: New public art installations that reflect the tradition, character and grandeur of City Park may be installed on a limited basis within the park. New features shall be designed with the same care and consideration as the park’s historic buildings, structures and objects.

1. Preserve and restore City Park’s significant art installations using accepted preservation practices.

a. Retain historic art installations (those placed within the period of significance) in original locations.

b. Clean and restore original materials before replacement. Use accepted restoration and conservation methods accomplished by professionals skilled in the preservation of museum quality art.

c. Consult with the Secretary of Interior Standards and the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission Design Guidelines for accepted preservation practices.

d. Allow removal of existing public art installations placed after the period of significance.

2. Ensure new public art installations are placed and designed to be respectful of City Park’s composition and compatible with park character.

a. New public art shall not be allowed on City Park’s historic buildings, structures, or objects.

b. Respect and preserve established views, vistas, open spaces, and relationships when placing and designing new public art.

c. Ensure new public art is proportional in height, mass, and scale, but subordinate to City Park’s historic park buildings, structures, and objects.

d. Ensure new public art is are designed to be works of superior artistic merit executed with the highest level of craftsmanship and quality materials.

e. Ensure materials and craftsmanship are of a durable quality able to withstand weathering.

Lighting

Improvements to park lighting is allowed to provide a consistent system in luminaire design and aesthetic. Lighting is associated with buildings, structures, and monuments, as wayfinding for pedestrians along Ferril Lake and park promenades, for safety and vehicular circulation. Lighting at buildings is associated with the individual building style and use, and lighting for artistic display includes Electric Prismatic Fountain. Lighting at park gateways is for artistic expression and wayfinding.

1. Retain existing historic pedestrian poles and luminaires in current patterns, allowing for modifications for safety, or when the pattern does not follow the historic arrangement.

a. Preserve and repair the historic lighting display at Electric Prismatic Fountain.

b. Allow removal of existing light poles and luminaires that detract from park character or obscure views or vistas.

2. Allow new lighting where safety and navigation needs have been clearly established.

a. Ensure new lighting is unobtrusive and compatible with park character.

b. Ensure new fixtures are simple in form, and subordinate to historic features. They should not create a new aesthetic character or theme.

c. Ensure new fixtures are placed outside views or vistas.

3. Ensure a consistency of luminaire design and aesthetic throughout the park, and lighting that is energy efficient and easy to maintain.

a. Lighting qualities, including color temperature, should have a consistent warmth and appearance across the park.

b. Ensure a consistent palette of materials and colors for park road and pedestrian lighting.

i. Ensure pedestrian poles are of one color with one fixture or a set of similar fixture types (dark green to match city standards), mounted at ground level, i.e., not elevated on concrete foundations.

ii. Allow banners poles / cameras attachments on road lighting poles.

c. Ensure luminaires are selected, installed, and maintained to direct light downward to trails and surfaces with limited light spill onto adjacent areas.

d. Consider single poles with multiple luminaires that can be directed for high use areas to minimize clutter from poles.

e. Where vegetation obscures light, either sensitively trim vegetation or reposition luminaires so output is not obscured.

f. Lighting from bollards, neon signs and architectural uplighting (except as noted below) is not acceptable.

4. Allow architectural lighting for park buildings, structures, monuments, and gateways to showcase historic features and to provide for safety and navigation.

a. Allow architectural lighting at City Park Pavilion, Elephant House, Graham / Bible House and Barn, Bungalow Fire Station, Monti Gateway, Sopris Gateway, McLellan Gateway, and new park gateways.

b. Ensure lighting complements, and does not detract, from historic facades and features.

c. Ensure ancillary equipment including conduit and switches are not attached to historic materials and are located to be unobtrusive.

Park Uses and Experience

Vision: Integrating a balance of passive and active uses and experiences with improved facilities and connections will ensure City Park’s continues its legacy as Denver’s most loved public space and regional park. The park offers a variety of uses and experiences from walking, running and bicycling, to picnicking and fishing, to viewing wildlife and scenery, to informal and active sports. Each day, hundreds of users enjoy the park as individuals, in large and small gatherings, and as visitors to the Zoo and Museum. Others enjoy organized festivals and events including Jazz in the Park. This integration of use and experience with the historic park contributes to its renown as ‘the People’s Park.’

Principle: Maintain a balance of uses and experiences that are integrated with the park’s character and composition.

1. Retain and enhance City Park’s current range of uses and experiences, referring to these guidelines. Refer to Building and Structures for guidance on specific features, and consult sections together.

a. Allow new facilities and amenities in select locations that respect established views, vistas, open spaces, and relationships.

b. Provide basic amenities in select locations.

i. Consider lighting, drinking fountains, seating, bicycle parking, and trash and recycling receptacles.

ii. Integrate public restrooms, food and beverage, and/or community access within select historic buildings.

2. Respect the architectural scale of City Park’s historic features when designing new features and amenities.

a. Ensure new features, including play features, reflect proportions of historic features, i.e., height, mass, and scale.

b. Ensure new features are subordinate to historic structures.

3. Allow improvements to facilities, spaces, and features to better support City Park’s uses and experiences, accomplished in a manner that respects park character.

a. Allow repairs or improvements to surfacing, fencing, lighting, and amenities.

b. Allow new park buildings and structure as noted in Buildings, Structures and Objects.

c. Allow modifications to enhance South Meadow and southeast corner as a natural area, while preserving historic features and patterns, and significant and notable trees and vegetation.

i. Ensure new features are integrated with established and historic patterns and vegetation including forested groves and meadows.

d. Allow Dustin Redd playground to be upgraded or removed and replaced.

i. Ensure new play features and spaces are integrated within significant trees and meadows.

ii. Preserve historic vegetation and spatial patterns that assist in defining the form and scale of the meadow and allow new tree plantings to enhance existing patterns and play experiences.

e. Allow improvements to North Meadow including potential alternative field sports / layouts that offer active use, while preserving the historic racetrack’s topography and vegetation.

Denver Zoo

Denver Zoo (the Zoo) encompasses 93-acres within City Park. The Zoo is operated as a public-private relationship with the City under a Cooperative Agreement and guided by a current master plan and building plan, approved by City Council. Design guidelines supplement these approved plans and provide guidance for Zoo edges and features visible from City Park and East 23rd Avenue.

1. Ensure improvements or modifications to the Zoo adhere to the most current City Council approved building plan and Denver Parks and Recreation approved master plan.

2. Enhance views and viewsheds into the Zoo.

a. Consider opening select views at street level and view corridors above barriers into the Zoo from City Park and East 23rd Avenue.

b. Consider providing select views towards exhibits or ‘zooconic’ buildings and structures, i.e., to the Dairy Barn or elephant exhibit.

c. Screen maintenance operations with acceptable vegetation and structures.

d. Protect established views between the Zoo and park spaces.

3. Ensure a cohesive compatible aesthetic for the Zoo boundary along East 23rd Avenue and North Park Road.

a. Ensure modifications are accomplished in a cohesive manner using a composition of building facades, walls, fences, openings, and vegetation that is identifiable with the Zoo.

i. Design the composition to be compatible in scale, material, and character with City Park and in accordance with approved plans for the Zoo.

• Ensure a variety of openings and enclosures to screen maintenance and for select views into the Zoo;

• Design buildings, walls, and fences to be human-scale and proportional to City Park’s historic structures, while providing functional requirements to adequately house and care for zoo animals and zoo operations.

b. Integrally design each Zoo edge with its associated park edge and park road to ensure a cohesive aesthetic and function.

4. New Zoo buildings, building modifications, or new additions within the Zoo as identified in the most current City Council approved building plan and Denver Parks and Recreation approved master plan and visible from City Park or East 23rd Avenue should consider City Park’s composition, views, and spatial character.

a. Design new ‘zooconic’ buildings and structures as artistic expressions that enhance the park experience.

i. Ensure facades facing the Zoo exterior are as expressive and identifiable as those within the Zoo interior.

b. Design maintenance and operations buildings and structures to be unobtrusive ‘background’ features.

i. Ensure new additions or modifications are subordinate to existing.

ii. Design new additions using color palette that harmonizes with the Zoo and City Park.

iii. Design building facades to have minimal openings oriented towards City Park in accordance with USDA requirements, and to ensure animal welfare and staff / guest safety.

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

Denver Museum of Nature & Science anchors the east edge of City Park. The Museum is an independent nonprofit institution with a mission of “Igniting the community’s passion for nature and science,” and is operated under a Cooperative Agreement with the City & County of Denver.

Only minor modifications are envisioned within the setting of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. These may include modifications to the Museum’s entrance, parking and plazas, modifications to the existing building or facilities required by code or for upgrades, and new features that improve connections between the Museum and the park.

1. Protect established views and allow enhancements to improve selected views.

a. Comply with the City Park View Plane Ordinance (Municipal Code, Chapter 10, Article IV, Sec. 10-62) to protect the iconic view from the Museum’s west façade and Kessler Plaza.

b. Protect established views between the Museum and park spaces.

c. Allow modifications or enhancements to improve the visual connections between the Museum and South Meadow. Ensure these are compatible with park character.

d. Screen maintenance operations and facilities, including trash and recycling areas, with vegetation and structures.

2. Allow enhancements to the primary vehicular and pedestrian entrance into the Museum and associated parking.

a. Ensure these are compatible with park character in materials, size, scale, and color.

b. Design road and trail or walkway enhancements as integral components of the Museum, compatible with park character in materials and color.

c. Ensure modifications or new features are subordinate to historic structures and proportional in mass and scale.

3. Allow enhancements to the existing Museum building, if an opportunity arises, to assist in bringing a humanscale to the building.

a. Design these to be products of their own time, reflective of modern-day styles and practices, and reflective of their function and location.

b. Ensure they are a cohesive component of the Museum and compatible with park character in materials and color palette.

4. Ensure upgrades or modifications to Museum facilities respect park character and are integral components of the Museum setting.

a. Ensure these are compatible with park character in materials, size, scale, and color.

b. Ensure modifications or new features are subordinate to historic structures and proportional in mass and scale.

East 23rd Avenue

Vision: East 23rd Avenue between York Street and Colorado Boulevard will become a park-like road and a major entrance into City Park. This one-mile section was built along its current linear alignment in the early 1920s, revised from the sinuous route built in 1892 when City Park was first built. East 23rd Avenue will remain as a linear road, serving as a park road, primary entrance into City Park, City Park Golf Course, the Zoo, and Museum, and as a commuter route. Its north edge will be an undulating landscape, defined by topography and forested trees groves that create openings and enclosures. The south edge will be defined by a variety of park and Zoo spaces.

1. Ensure modifications retain the linear road alignment and address the road and edges as one cohesive continuous space.

2. Preserve established and historic patterns, sequences, openings and enclosures, and topography.

a. Ensure modifications build upon, and are compatible with, these patterns, sequences, openings, enclosures, and topography.

b. Ensure new plantings, entrances, and features are designed with a cohesive aesthetic along the entire length of East 23rd Avenue.

3. Protect established views and vistas and allow enhancements to improve and better define selected views.

a. Protect and allow modifications that enhance established views to downtown Denver, the Rocky Mountains, and into City Park Golf Course, and City Park and the Museum.

b. Allow modifications that improve views towards the Zoo’s tree groves, ‘zooconic’ buildings, or other notable features.

c. Allow modifications that improve views into City Park Golf Course, i.e., towards the clubhouse.

d. Ensure new features, vegetation, and modifications respect and do not detract from established views and vistas.

e. Screen maintenance operations and facilities, including trash and recycling areas.

4. Ensure the north edge’s (City Park Golf Course edge) undulating space of topography and forested groves with defined openings and enclosures is preserved.

a. Ensure new tree plantings frame entrances and views from the golf course, and enhance established patterns.

b. Allow removal of existing walls. Ensure new features are of a simple aesthetic, and compatible with park character.

• Acceptable materials: Natural stone, brick, or architectural concrete, modular systems are discouraged.

5. Preserve and enhance the south edge’s established patterns, and diversity of vegetation along the City Park edge.

a. Preserve established spaces, vegetation, topography and views into City Park including those towards the Museum.

b. Ensure a cohesive compatible aesthetic for the Zoo boundary.

• Ensure modifications are accomplished as a cohesive composition of building facades, walls, fences, openings, and vegetation identifiable with the Zoo. Refer to Denver Zoo for specific guidelines.

• Allow for enhanced select views at street level and to highlight views above the Zoo boundary.

6. Allow enhancements and modifications to East 23rd Avenue to improve circulation and wayfinding for all modes while providing a park-like aesthetic compatible with park character.

a. Consider a narrower road cross section or removal of center medians where appropriate.

b. Ensure pedestrian trails provide continuous access between Colorado Boulevard and York Street.

c. Allow enhanced mid-block crossings for improved pedestrian and bicycle safety, and enhanced bikeways for improved bicycle safety.

d. Allow improvements to bus stops including basic amenities and for universal accessibility.

e. Allow a pedestrian connection from Skyland Neighborhood to City Park through City Park Golf Course.

7. Ensure new park gateways at York Street and Colorado Boulevard are designed in a contemporary style as products of their own time, and as a cohesive park space. Refer to Buildings, Structures and Objects.

8. Ensure new park entrances or enhanced existing park entrances are designed as landscape-focused spaces of topography and plantings with minimal signage. Park entrances are the Zoo / Museum / City Park, the Zoo / City Park Golf Course, and near City Park Greenhouse.

a. Ensure significant and notable trees are protected and integrated with modifications and new landscape design.

b. Allow modifications to improve circulation, safety, and wayfinding for all modes of travel.

• Ensure modifications are compatible with park character in size, scale, materials, and color

• Ensure traffic control gates are compatible in design with those at other park entrances in City Park.

c. Ensure signage and wayfinding are subordinate to historic park structures and proportional in height, mass and scale.

• Ensure design is compatible with park character and park-wide signage system.

• Signage should be vertical and human-scale, and acceptable primary materials include: metal, wood, brick, and cut natural stone.

• The destination(s) identifies all applicable destinations.

• Allow sign placement on the north and south side of East 23rd Avenue at park entrances.

d. Ensure a common aesthetic of plantings: a backdrop of conifer trees with some deciduous trees and a massing understory of plants.

9. Allow modifications to the alignment of the entrance Zoo / Museum / Park to better facilitate access into the park, while protecting established patterns and significant and notable trees.

a. Protect significant and notable trees when modifying the south edge for a new park entrance.

b. Allow signage and wayfinding that is compatible with park character, and part of a park-wide signage system.

10. Allow redesign of the parking at North Meadow.

a. Ensure modifications to the parking lot respect and do not detract from park composition, tree patterns and established trees, and topography.

b. Consider the location of the shade pavilion along with the redesign of parking.

“This project was paid for in part by a History Colorado–State Historical Fund grant. The contents and opinions contained herein do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of History Colorado.”

SHF Grant #2016-01-020