How Mary Elitch transformed Elitch’s Gardens forever.
In the spring of 1904, Elitch’s Gardens unveiled two of the most ambitious attractions in its history — the “Figure Eight” roller coaster and the enchanting “Old Mill” ride — signaling a bold new era for Denver’s beloved amusement park. For more than a month before opening day, hundreds of workingmen labored within the high board fences surrounding the grounds, erecting the towering wooden trestle of the Figure Eight even as spring rains fell. Alongside this mechanical marvel, crews also assembled the Circle Swing and a host of other novelties, but it was the coaster and the Old Mill that captured the imagination of Denver’s press — and its people.
The driving force behind these new additions was none other than Mary Elitch Long herself. The story of how the Figure Eight came to Elitch’s is as colorful as the ride itself. While on a research trip to Coney Island’s Luna Park the previous winter, Mrs. Long encountered a towering structure of wood and iron that stopped her cold. “Well, I won’t try that,” she reportedly told the park agent, clutching the hands of her husband Mr. Long and heaving a farewell sigh. But the agent persisted — if she wouldn’t ride it, how could she expect Denver audiences to embrace it? Mustering her courage, she took her place in a car weighing 600 pounds. Up the long, narrow trestle the car climbed, struck the summit, gave a short halt — and away it went, “down and around, up and around again,” with hats askew and wind whirling all about. When it was over, Mrs. Long stood up, drew a deep breath, and said simply: “Let’s do it again.”
“I was in doubt; I was afraid, but once I tried it I wanted to do it again — and if I am not mistaken it will strike the people of Denver the same way.”
— Mary Elitch Long, The Denver Republican, May 8, 1904
The “Old Mill,” meanwhile, offered an entirely different kind of wonder. Billed as something of a mystery attraction, Mrs. Long kept many of its secrets close, tantalizing Denver with the promise of a half-mile journey through underground passages, through scenes of heaven and hell, under the sea, through fairyland, Brownie Land, and Japan — all in a boat. “It seems that it takes hours to make this trip,” she told reporters, “and one feels that they have been carried miles away.” The Old Mill quickly earned its reputation as a romantic “lovers’ tunnel” and became one of the garden’s signature destinations for courting couples and thrill-seekers alike. Together, the Figure Eight and the Old Mill transformed Elitch’s into a destination that could rival the great amusement parks of the East — proof that Mary Elitch Long’s personal courage and unfailing instinct for what Denver wanted were the true engines behind the garden’s enduring magic.
Sadly, you can read about the Old Mill Fire 40-years later.
