The Elitch’s Farm
“A sixteen-acre tract was purchased in the Highlands, adjoining, and now a part of Denver… Mary had found her trees; majestic cottonwoods…and an orchard of thriving apple trees.”
“Occupying the comfortable farm house that was located in the orchard, they eagerly planned and worked together, for, though John had his own conviction of the great emprise, Mary held the vision beautiful. No stone was laid, no tree planted or trimmed, no path projected, without her complete and joyful approval.”
“The Highlands was something of a wilderness, for few streets were in common use. Mr. Elitch and I would drive from the gates of our ranch diagonally across the plains and down the hill, across the Platte River into Denver. A visit to ‘the City’ was a day’s event to us.”
“Shortly before the opening of the Gardens, in 1890, a track for a small steam train had been laid, and as this line passed our property we felt it was a great step towards the success of our venture, and we placed our rustic gates advantageously for the convenience of visitors arriving by train from ‘ town.’”
[Dier, Caroline Lawrence. The Lady of the Gardens: Mary Elitch Long. Hollycrofters, Inc. Ltd., 1932.]
The Opening of the Gardens
On May 1, 1890, the scheduled opening of the Elitch Zoological Gardens and Amusement Park was chilled by showers that threatened to dampen the spirits of all who came. Notwithstanding this, a large crowd attended the opening of the park.
A short time prior to the opening day celebration, city officials had installed and opened a steam train line from downtown Denver to the Gardens. The line began at the end of the old cable system at Thirteenth and Galapago Streets and ran to Thirty-eight and Tennyson Streets.
Mary Elitch vividly described opening day as follows:
“When the momentous day of opening arrived, I was filled with grief and disappointment, for rain was falling. Mr. Elitch was nearly as sorrowful as I, for we had made great preparations for the opening, and it seemed doomed to dismal failure. Looking back through the vista of years, l am sure my sorrow was for him far more than for myself. I remember l prayed very fervently for a cessation of those May showers. As we stood in our doorway, trying to encourage each other, a horseman dashed up to the gates. Excitedly hailing Mr. Elitch, he announced that all of Denver was moving over to Elitch; that the train, packed to capacity, was laboring up the hill from the river; that coaches, carriages, delivery wagons, farm wagons, people on bicycles and people afoot were headed for our opening. We then realized that Denver was ready for what we had to offer, and her people cared not for showers; but even as we bustled about in last-minute excitement, the glorious sun broke through the clouds.”
The rains ceased suddenly as the crowds neared the Gardens. Then as Wolfe Londoner, Mayor of Denver, turned the key in the garden gates and flung them wide, the Elitch Zoological Gardens and Amusement Park was officially open. The great crowd swept into the place like a tidal wave, and the celebration began.
Men shouted and danced and tossed their hats into the air. Women laughed and cheered and hugged their friends. Mary Elitch then dedicated the Gardens to clean amusements, to the joy of little children and the recreation of all people. Mary Elitch became “the first woman in the world to own and manage a summer and zoological resort.”
Until the opening of the Denver City Park Zoo, Elitch was the only zoological gardens between Chicago and the West Coast. Among other things, the Gardens also contained a lake, picnic grounds, rides, games and concession stands.
Phineas T. Barnum of circus fame was present, as were Mr. and Mrs. Stratton known to the public as General and Mrs. Tom Thumb (famous midgets), Senator H. A. W. Tabor, Governor John L. Routt and ex-Governor John Evans. Eugene Field, J the poet and colorful reporter for the Denver Republican, was also present as were James O’Neill and Nat Goodwin, leading actors of the day.
Following an elaborate picnic, the doors of the Theatre opened for the public to enjoy free vaudeville performances. When the curtain of the Theatre rolled up, Mayor Londoner made an opening speech in which he touched upon the magnificence of the Theatre and the gorgeous elegance of the grounds as “first class in every particular.” He described the resort as a place “where the mothers and children could come to spend a quiet day free from household cares and worryings, and a place where the working man and his family could come on Sundays.”
The program that followed was greeted with storms of applause, and frequent encores showed plainly that everyone was satisfied. The program included Miss Minnie Zola, the little athletic wonder, Van Auken and La Van, champion triple horizontal bar performers of the world and Miss Rosa Lee, the gifted and refined balladist, just to name a few. Charles Goodyear, comedian, and Charles Schilling, the quaint, comical musical genius, also performed. Vaudeville acts by notable performers continued throughout the summer.
[Borrillo, T. A. (2012). Denver’s historic Elitch Theatre: A nostalgic journey (a history of its times). Colorado.]