The History of Red Rocks Amphitheater

In an acoustic, open-air auditorium more majestic than Carnegie Hall, visitors to the Red Rocks Amphitheater find themselves breathless after the visual inhalation of the naturally crafted theater. Once listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World-and is now considered the eighth-the amphitheater resembles an oversized disc that rises away from the stage. Two titanic limestone rocks surround the disc that provides seating for the theater, Ship Rock on the south side and Creation Rock on the north.

Red Rocks has become famous over the years for its perfect acoustics; gorgeous, three hundred million year old natural setting; and stellar musical performances. The history behind the only naturally occurring amphitheater in the world, however, is just as entertaining as the concerts that it hosts.

Before Red Rocks reached its modern state as an entertainment venue, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, it was known as the Garden of Angels. Beginning in 1906, the Red Rocks creator referred to it as the Garden of the Titans. The residents of Morrison and Denver, however, had always known it as Red Rocks. When the grounds were officially acquired in 1928 by the city of Denver, it was formally entitled Red Rocks.

The initial idea of employing the amphitheater for professional productions was birthed by the famed editor of Cosmopolitan magazine, John Brisben Walker. When Walker sold the blooming magazine to William Randolph Hearst in 1905, he used the proceeds from the sale to gradually purchase the Red Rocks and Mount Falcon natural areas. He took the parks onto his own shoulders and prepared to develop them; Walker created the road to Red Rocks, a teahouse, and the various hiking trails surrounding the park that finally lead to the Denver Mountain Park system.

With his vision woven into the success and popularity of the theater, Walker produced a myriad of concerts between 1906 and 1910. The earliest known performance in the stadium was entitled The Grand Opening of the Garden of Titans and featured Pietro Satriano and his twenty-five-piece brass band; the concert was the formal opening of the amphitheater to the public in May 1906. After a recital in 1911 starring opera singer Mary Gordon and Walker's wife, violinist Ethel Richmond Walker, the amphitheater was pronounced "acoustically perfect." Walker was then set on following his inspiration to turn Red Rocks into the entertainment venue it is today. It wasn't until 1927 that the manager of Denver Parks, George Cranmer, persuaded the city to purchase the Red Rocks area from Walker and transform it into a city-operated venue. The amphitheater and surrounding area was sold for $54,133.

See part two for more!