FREE Wash Park Concert 4PM Aug. 26

Don't miss the FREE concert by the Denver Concert Band on  Sunday Aug. 26 at Washington Park. The concert will be located in the park, near Franklin & Mississippi. This is the Goddard School Children's Concert, so it starts early, at 4PM. FREE!

Volunteers Needed for Wash/City Park Flower Beds, Oct. 15

Roll up your sleeves, help two of Denver's most beautiful parks and get some good outdoor rec time by helping Denver Parks and Recreation department in "Putting the Beds to Bed!" Think of all the FREE exercise and fresh air you will get! The city needs 300 plus volunteers to remove the park's annual flowers, drag tarps, load flowers into trucks and overturn and dig dirt in Washington and City parks on Saturday, Oct. 15 from 8:30AM-12:30PM. There is plenty to do and tasks for everyone. Children ages 9-17 must be accompanied by an adult and please NO PETS. Tools are provided so just bring gloves and water. Register here. See you there!

Washington Park Canadian Goose Still on the Loose - Memories of Charlie the Caiman

Canadian Goose

Over at Washington Park they still haven't caught the Canadian Goose who was brutally shot with an arrow. Both Wild B.I.R.D. volunteers and the Colorado Division of Wildlife have been trying to capture the skittish bird for about a week now. Well, wouldn't you would be skittish if some asshat shot you with an arrow? Volunteers have been feeding the bird, which has been sticking to the thin ice in the middle of the lake. The volunteers also say the bird is showing signs of infection, including decreased interest in moving and eating. You can see a photo and read more about his plight here. While the story of the goose is truly tragic, and points up the disturbing fact that some moron is running around the park with a crossbow, it also features typical Wash Park zaniness. Cops had to be called to the park last week when a fight broke out among people trying to rescue the bird. One well-intended rescuer nearly nabbed the bird, only to fall into the lake. On another attempt, a passer-by got involved and almost fell through the thin ice.

All the recent media coverage brings back memories of Charlie, the infamous Wash Park caiman, who terrorized and delighted park goers in the summer of 1998. Rumors of a gnarly beast began when a newspaper delivery person reported seeing an alligator in the park's Grasmere Lake. Pretty soon, there were daily reports of near-brushes with the creature. Within weeks reports were that the animal was eight feet long and brutally snatching Canadian Geese and ducks from the lake surface. The most delightful bit of speculation was that an alligator named Albert (who had escaped from the Denver Zoo in 1981) had not only lived through many Colorado winters undetected, but had stealthily made his way through the City Ditch to the lake.

A young caiman

Exotic alligator trappers were brought in, with special traps. These experts determined that the creature was a caiman, who was promptly dubbed Charlie by locals. Lines were drawn in the sand and bitter arguments ensued at local backyard BBQs-- were you pro-Charlie or anti-Charlie? Around the park, dogs were suddenly kept on short leashes. Sharp-eyed parents kept kidlets close. Every evening the park was filled with eager TV news crews and area thrill-seekers hoping to catch a glimpse of the beast. I distinctly remember one day, when a dead raccoon was fished from the lake, causing traffic to come to a standstill on Downing Street, drivers and passengers alike craning their necks and hoping to catch a glimpse of something.  And of course, every time a school of guppies so much as burped, we all ran to the water's edge hoping to catch a glimpse of something. By late summer park officials decided to drain the lake to force Charlie's hand. With autumn closing in, local residents anxiously debated Charlie's chances of weathering the impending winter. If Charlie was captured, what fate awaited him? Would he be euthanized? More debates ensued, all covered breathlessly by local media.

But lowering the water level failed to yield Charlie, and a funky green slime soon began clogging up the stagnant pond water, threatening the lake's fish population. In early September park officials announced the hunt was off and the lake was being refilled. "We do believe we had a critter in the water," a park official said at the time. Sadly, Charlie was relegated to an urban legend.

Wash Park's regulars have always been protective of the park and its resident animals. We commend everyone who has tried to help the wounded bird, knowing that their hearts are in the right place. It shows our humanity, I think, that so many people should care about the plight of a simple goose. In South Denver, and around Washington Park, we have learned to expect nothing less.

Coyotes on the Move in Wash Park

A small pack of coyotes has been sighted in Washington Park. Most of us living in the Wash Park/DU neighborhood are well acquainted with foxes, but keep in mind that coyotes are much more aggressive. Be careful with leaving your pets outside, even in their own back yard. Cats in particular are a tasty coyote treat. Also, if you run your dogs off leash at Wash Park at night, keep in mind that you are taking a big risk.

We got this message today from our friend Carleen Thorn of the Platt Park Green Team and it includes a comment from Ashley Delaup of Denver Parks and Rec. For your pet's sake, please read and pass on to your friends. We are in the start of coyote breeding season.

 

Be aware that coyote breeding season has arrived, from approximately mid December through mid March sightings of coyotes and potentially pet conflicts increase as weather gets colder, food becomes scarcer and coyotes become more territorial in anticipation of breeding and pups.  

Coyotes are ambush predators who typically hunt by themselves, so small unattended dogs and outdoor cats are at highest risk (generally 15lbs or less).   Larger dogs can come into conflict if viewed as competition, and may be more likely approached by multiple animals (a single coyote generally won’t pose a threat to a larger dog).  Coyotes do not want conflict with people, so the best ways to keep your pets safe are to stay close to them.  Keep cats indoors, especially after dark.  Check yards for a waiting coyote before letting dogs outside, especially if you have a normal routine a coyote might learn (i.e. every morning at 5:30 am you let the dog out).  If you spot an animal-aggressively chase it away, coyotes are built to run (they are the second fastest mammals in NA) and will ALWAYS leave a situation they feel threatened (unless cornered or injured!)  

ANYTIME you see a coyote, make eye contact and act like the biggest, meanest person they’ve ever seen.  Urban coyotes tend to disregard people and we need to remind them that WE are dominant and willing to defend OUR territory (including our pets), and they can quickly learn to avoid you personally and your yard and pet.  The more people who harass or “haze” a coyote, the faster it will begin to avoid people in general.  UNATTENDED PETS WILL ALWAYS BE AT RISK, a coyote does not differentiate between a cat or a rabbit, and a well socialized, domestic cat may be easier to catch.  For more information visitdenvergov.org/wildlife or contact the wildlife ecologist at 303-455-0785.

 

The Haunts of Washington Park

If your summer reading list includes historical tomes, be sure to read The Haunts of Washington Park, by local historian and eccentric extraordinaire, Phil Goodstein. You can pick up a copy at the Tattered Cover for about $20 or borrow a copy from the library for FREE.

The book is a great read about the development of our very favorite city park.

Wash Park was designed by the city's official landscape architect, Reinhart Schuetze, who also worked on Denver's Platt Park and Cheeseman Park. Work on Wash Park began in the winter of 1898-1899 with teams of horses pulling scrapers. Schuetze adopted the English landscape style for Washington Park, with focal points including a large meadow, Smith Lake (a former buffalo wallow) , and formal floral gardens which were to become the largest gardens of any park in the system. John Lang, the park's first superintendent, drove his horse and wagon to the mountains to obtain evergreen trees for the barren site, as well as chokecherry and currant bushes to plant along Franklin and Kentucky (which, by-the-by, was the park's original "Lovers Lane").

Goodstein's book, chock full of photos, traces the park's evolution through the decades, including its wild love-in days of the early 1970s and recounting the era's Happenings and riots between cops and hippies.

The book examines the fights over zoning in the surrounding neighborhoods, the ongoing community angst over scrapeoffs and McMansions, and chronicles the stories of the area’s churches and schools. It also has a chapter on the area's politicos, full of interesting tidbits and controversial characters such as Don Wyman (who was stabbed by John Carr in 1977 for fooling around with Carr’s wife).

Goodstein throws in a few ghost stories for good measure, such as the haunting of the South High School tower and the ghostly apparition of a young woman known as Miss B. Haven, who supposedly haunts the Smith Lake's Monkey Island (commonly known these days as Bird Island).

While Haunts focuses the Washington Park area, it also addresses much of the city's southern sector, including Belcaro, Bonnie Brae and the stretch of South Colorado Boulevard that was once home to the beloved Celebrity Sports Center (game arcades, an indoor swimming pool and 80 lanes of bowling!) and the Cooper Cinerama theater.

The Haunts of Washington Park is the second in Goodstein's planned trilogy of books on the history of South Denver, following last year's The Spirits of South Broadway and the yet-to-be-published The Ghosts of University Park, Platt Park and Beyond, slated to be published in 2010. We look forward to it!