The Chicago World's Fair of 1893 was known for creating the White City, capturing the imagination of cities across the country. Many hoped for well-manicured buildings and less crowded, busy streets, so this led urban developers to reimagine the city of Denver through the City Beautiful movement. This meant priority was put into improving public areas with much more open space, including landscaping with parks, paths, and amenities for those across the city to utilize. The Civic Center was a product of this movement, showing the investment and money the government was putting into investing in amenities. However, this led to displacements of working-class communities across the city, raising questions of who can have access to such amenities.
According to historian Tom "Dr. Colorado" Noel, Denver became a poster child for this nationwide movement to improve crowded, ugly, dangerous urban areas with parks, parkways and public amenities. Civic Center Park was transformed as the heart of a city-wide campaign to remake Denver as and City Beautiful showcase.
- Courtesy of Eilish Brennan and Tom "Dr. Colorado" Noel
- Photo courtesy of Tom Noel