Denver's Darlington Electric Fountain

About the time my Moon Denver guidebook was wrapping up, the city of Denver was showing off the newly rebuilt Darlington Electric Fountain. There will be a special night of celebration from 6-8 p.m. in City Park on Memorial Day to turn the fountain and lights on for the season during a jazz concert. I think this is so cool. Back in the early 1900s a few of these prismatic fountains were built around the country--try to imagine that time before Vegas and Disney fountains galore--including this one is City Park's Ferril Lake. At the time it was a huge draw to the park and people loved to come out on a warm night and watch the water and lights blink on and off during a concert. Unfortunately, it fell into disrepair for many years to the point where it had to be rebuilt and not just renovated. Equipped with more colors and LED lights, the Darlington Electric Fountain is once again bringing people to City Park in the summer months.

Mile High Loop upcoming events

I wrote about the Mile High Loop in City Park in my Moon Denver guidebook even though the trail was still a work in progress. Well, many of those changes/additions are now coming to fruition! On June 2, Mayor Hickenlooper and others will be on hand to unveil the new 5,280 marker on the Mile High Loop. The trail hits the 5,280 elevation four times, but when I walked it recently I did not see any mention of this fact anywhere so it's exciting to know it will now be official in at least one spot. THe marker will be at the west side of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. I thought the loop was a great walk on a day when the trees were in full bloom and the park was not very crowded--a real step into nature in the middle of the city.