Washington Park History

Historically, Washington Park is synonymous with growth and the availability of water in the city of Denver. Up until the early 1860’s, Denver had not grown much outside of the downtown area and directly east of the Brown Palace Hotel (a landmark). With a history of growth in spurts, Denver was ready to grow out into the suburbs. Unfortunately; there was a shortage of water to sustain growth. In 1865, a businessman by the name of John W. Smith agreed to build a ditch for $10,000 to supply much needed water to the area. The headwaters to feed the starting point for the ditch began by tapping into the South Platte River where it exits the mountains. Using gravity, he carefully surveyed what was to become a labyrinth of ditches to supply water to the city of Denver. At one point in the surveyed course of the ditch, utilizing gravity as the engine of distribution, Smith observed a natural depression on the prairie lands extending southeast of the city. In and out of this basin, possibly a buffalo wallow, Smith created a lake. Today this lake is officially known as Smith’s Lake, the north lake of Washington Park. The ditch was finished in 1867, two years after construction began. Vestiges of the ‘City Ditch’, or ‘Big Ditch’ as it was known by locals of the period can still be seen running through Washington Park today.

Washington Park description from the city web site:

Wikipedia on Washington Park: