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Originally Posted by bunt_q
That rendering is hilarious. Are those supposed to be ducks? Because the notion of 10+ boats leisurely floating the Platte is laughable.
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While they are not quite distinguishable as boats even when zoomed in to the original pdf, that probably is the intent. One of the Greenway Foundation's stated goals is to increase the recreational use of the river including increased rafting and kayaking.
Maybe the rendering is depicting their annual river festival when there are several dozen craft on the river at any one time
Confluence park, just up stream, is home to the worlds first urban white water park which is also slated to be rebuilt. There has been talk of renting rafts and kayaks all summer.
P.S. There was briefly a paddleboat that traveled from the Denver to Brighton.
Here is an excerpt from an article at coloradogambler.com about John Brisben Walker:
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Walker also purchased 500 lots in the Platte Valley for Denver’s first amusement park. In the wake of massive publicity, River Front Park opened to a crowd of more than 20,000 in 1887, a spectacular addition to Denver’s social scene. The new amusement park attracted thousands of city folk in search of summer thrills, featuring a racetrack, medieval castle, grandstand, baseball park, toboggan slide and even riverboat rides. Buildings included an exhibition hall and a grandstand capable of handling 5,000 spectators, where he staged Denver’s first rodeo.
River Front soon became home base for Denver’s beloved baseball team, the Mountaineers. Games were played at a bandstand on Colfax Avenue, first created for special concerts by the Great Gilmore and his 55-piece band. Walker’s horse cars drove guests directly to the park entrance and returned spectators home at the end of the performance. The carriages were color-coded for those who couldn’t read.
Walker held baseball games and concerts at a grandstand on Colfax Avenue and Broadway, next to Denver first fire station.
In 1887, Walker introduced another unique feature to landlocked Denver, a side wheel paddler that sailed to Brighton and back for 50 cents. When the South Platte proved too shallow for efficient navigation, the river was dammed at 19th St. to form a lake that extended back to 15th Street. One year, the paddler was converted into the H.M.S. Pinafore for Gilbert and Sullivan’s famous operetta. Performances were originally held every evening, but the Sunday show was dropped after the manager and company were arrested and fined for breaking the “Sunday blue laws.”
Walker subsequently sold River Front Park to the City of Denver, missing by months the Panic of 1893.
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