Landscape Information
Serving as a grand processional to Cheesman Park, this elegantly composed one-block-long promenade was designed in 1912 by S.R. DeBoer, with advisement in 1914 by Olmsted Brothers. At nearly four acres and expressing formal design elements, the rectangular, linear park was commonly referred to as “Little Cheesman.”
The central organizing feature of the esplanade is a north-south linear path lined with hawthorns neatly framing views of the neoclassical Cheesman Park pavilion. On axis with the path, an open lawn accommodates active and passive recreation. Symmetrical, cross-axial terraces on the north and south extremes of the park serve as formal platforms for viewing the Picturesque landscape. With openings that frame significant views, linear plantings of blue spruce and Douglas fir enclose the terraces, counterbalanced by masses of flowering shrubs that serve to enclose the lawn. Rows of elm border the esplanade along the east and west perimeter streets. Cheesman Park Esplanade is a contributing feature to the Denver Park and Parkway System listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
