Centennial Gardens, located at Speer Boulevard and the South Platte River, combines the formality of a French garden with drought-tolerant Colorado plant species to create a peaceful oasis in the heart of the city. Too bad hardly no one ever goes there.

I heard a rumor that the Denver Botanic Gardens, which built Centennial Gardens at the request of former mayor Wellington Webb and maintains the five-acre facility, is considering closing the gardens. Even though entry into Centennial Gardens is free, the lack of visitors has the Botanic Gardens thinking there may be better ways to use their resources. Hopefully, the rumor is not true. We need more, not less, parks and public spaces in the Downtown area, and it would be a travesty to let something as special as Centennial Gardens close.

Part of the visitation problem is likely due to the garden’s location. While it is surrounded by big-name attractions like Elitch Gardens, the Downtown Aquarium, REI, and the Pepsi Center, it is easy to miss from elevated Speer Boulevard and it is visible only from the stretch of Little Raven Street that functions mostly as a gateway to Elitch’s parking lots. Perhaps someday, if those parking lots are replaced with mixed-use development, the gardens will seem less isolated.

Yesterday I decided to visit Centennial Gardens and take a few photos and share them with you. It was a beautiful day and the gardens are sporting their new spring blooms. My only disappointment was that the garden’s several fountains were not functioning (I’m not sure if they are permanently turned off or if they just haven’t turned them on yet for the season). For most of my visit, I was the only person there.




I hope you’ll take the time to visit Centennial Gardens one of these days and also let the folks at the Botanic Gardens know you appreciate Centennial Gardens and how important the gardens are to Downtown Denver.