Classes begin at the University of Denver today for the 2024-25 school year. One experience for both old and new students is Washington Park.

The founding of the University of Denver’s campus was tied closely to the founding of Wash Park 125 years ago. Separated by a mere two miles and I-25, DU students often find solitude, exercise, and/or camaraderie in the park. The two locales are inextricably linked in time, place, and memory.

First developed by Denver city architect Reinhard Scheutze in 1899, the park’s design has been influenced by numerous local and national figures, including city planner George Kessler, the Olmsted Brothers, and the renowned philanthropist ‘Unsinkable’ Molly Brown. The beautiful public space has even been labeled Denver’s Central Park.

Around the same time the park was established, farmer Rufus Clark, also known both as Potato Clark and Dad Clark, was operating to the south of the park as a businessman, politician, and community leader who was dubbed the “Potato King of Colorado.” Following a religious conversion and after quitting alcoholic beverages, Clark was involved in the establishment of the town of South Denver (current day University Park) and donated land to the University of Denver to establish the dry (i.e. alcohol-free) University Park Colony at the site.

Construction of the University of Denver’s ‘new’ south campus began in 1890 as the campus relocated from downtown Denver to University Park in the fall of 1892. Seven years later, Wash Park was established to the north and the two locales were jointly bound to the history of the City of Denver.

Wash Park is comprised of 155 acres of recreational grounds including two lakes (Grasmer and Smith) along with two flower gardens, one of which is a replica of George Washington’s gardens at Mount Vernon. The park boasts several trails, including one that goes around the park’s perimeter (2.5 miles), tennis courts, a lawn bowling/croquet field, two playgrounds, and an inner road closed to traffic. A community recreation center is also located in the park. Smith Lake has a boathouse that can be rented out for various events.

The oldest part of the park was the preexisting Smith’s Irrigation Ditch, also. known as City Ditch, which was constructed in 1867. The ditch provided water for drinking and irrigation in the early days of Denver. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the park is surrounded by upscale homes and many scrape-and-rebuilds. Realtor.com says the medium home price is an eye-watering $2.2 million. South Gaylord to the east includes shops, restaurants, and bars, many of which have been converted from the late 19th-century houses that make up the neighborhood.

Whether riding a bike in the park, playing volleyball, jogging, walking, reading a book, romance, or lying in the sun, DU students have enjoyed Wash Park for all of its 125 years. While gold and silver are the traditional colors for a quasquicentennial recognition, crimson, and gold seem to be far more appropriate in this case.

Feel free to share your memories of Wash Park.