Wandering up the winding road from Denver, you first catch a glimpse of the deep red sandstone rock formations in the distance. This is an awesome sight in its own right, but when you drive under a sandstone arch and arrive at the geologically formed amphitheatre, unique in all the world, you are spellbound by the grandeur of it.
The amphitheatre, now known as Red Rocks and originally called the Garden of Angels, and no wonder, consists of two, three hundred-foot monoliths (Ship Rock and Creation Rock) and man-made seating that extends between them swooping down to the stage with a drop-dead gorgeous view of the City of Denver below.
It was in the early 1900's, that “Renaissance Man,” John Brisben Walker(1), journalist, owner/editor of Cosmopolitan Magazine, automobile manufacturer, land developer, hotelier, and owner of property that included what is now Red Rocks, dreamed of having a performing venue at the natural amphitheatre with such perfect acoustics. He arranged for a famous opera singer(2) of the day to perform there, and when she pronounced it the best concert hall she had ever sang in, attention was drawn to what Walker labeled “The Garden of Titans.”
Walker went on to produce a number of concerts between 1906 and 1910(3) on a temporary platform, but it wasn’t until much later than plans for a formal concert venue took hold. The City of Denver purchased the area of Red Rocks from Walker for the price of $54,133 in 1927 during the depression. Timing was right. Work programs created to get the economy back on its feet at the time provided the labor for the project. The federally sponsored Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), and the Work Projects Administration (WPA), were engaged to construct the amphitheatre based on Denver architect Burnham Hoyt’s design, maintaining the beauty of the original natural theatre. It was finally dedicated in 1941.
Since then outstanding performers from every era of music have performed here. The earliest notable rock and roll performance at Red Rocks was by The Beatles in August, 1964 (some clips). During a five-year ban of rock music from the venue after 1000 unticketed fans, many unruly, showed up at a Jethro Tull concert, Red Rocks focussed on easier listening from John Denver, Sonny & Cher, The Carpenters, Pat Boone, Seals & Crofts, and Carole King. But over the years since Sting, Santana, Joe Cocker, U2 among other have had concerts at Red Rocks. More recently Barenaked Ladies, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Zac Brown's Band and John Mayer have performed there.
The thought of going to a concert or an Easter morning service(4) here is mind-blowing. (Twitter friend Jason talks about this in one of his blogs: http://www.jasons-travels.com/my-colorado/red-rocks-amphitheatre.) But there’s more to Red Rocks than its concerts making it worth going there even in the off-season – for the gorgeous setting, to hike around and enjoy the magnificent vistas, to marvel at the incredible human engineering feat, to consider the geologic, entrepreneurial and musical history of the place. The Visitor Center features interactive educational displays, a short film documentary on the geologic and musical history, and a Performer's Hall of Fame.
(1) Ironically after years of investing in countless ventures, many of which earned him millions, Walker died penniless in 1931 at the age of 83.The ruins of Walker’s magnificent house are still visible along Walker’s Dream Trail on Mount Falcon. More on Walker.
(2) Mary Garden was known as the Sarah Bernhardt of Opera. She was a household name in the US in the early 1900s. More information and photos.
(3) The earliest documented performance at the amphitheater was the Grand Opening of the Garden of the Titans, on May 31, 1906. featuring Pietro Satriano and his 25-piece brass band.
(4) The first event at Red Rocks Amphitheatre was the Easter sunrise service in 1947. The Easter Sunrise service is now the opening event every year.
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