Elitch Gardens is an amusement park in Denver that opened in 1890 as a zoological garden and amusement park with a renowned summer stock theater. John Elitch and his wife, Mary, founded Elitch Gardens on land that was formerly Chilcott Farm in northwest Denver. When Elitch Gardens opened, it became the first zoo west of Chicago.

Early Years

Elitch Gardens boasted captive bears and other exotic animals, as well as a summer stock theater that entertained crowds of up to 6,000 on its busiest days. Elitch Gardens is also credited with pioneering the concept of amusement park rides designed specifically for children operated in a section of the park known as “KiddieLand.”

Following John Elitch’s death in 1891, Mary Elitch sold her controlling shares of the Elitch Garden stock to investors who founded the Elitch Gardens Amusement Company. The conglomerate retained control of Elitch Gardens until the widow Elitch married the head of the company, Thomas Long, in 1902 to become Mary Elitch Long.

In addition to its zoological gardens and amusement park rides, Elitch Gardens became famous for the Elitch Gardens Theatre, a summer stock theater where actors such as Douglas Fairbanks and Helen Bonfils made their debuts. For more than sixty years, the Elitch Gardens Theatre employed actors and stagehands, paying cast members as much as $500 weekly.

During a brief decline in the Elitch Theatre’s profitability, park owner John Mulvihill erected the Trocadero Ballroom, a partially enclosed outdoor dance floor that hosted weekly formal dances. Elitch Gardens was known for its strict prohibitions on alcohol consumption, and dancers who failed to maintain proper form and attire were promptly ejected from the Trocadero. Famous performers such as Benny Goodman provided live music that was broadcast to thirty surrounding states on the KOA radio program “An Evening at the Troc.”

Relocation

Facing steep competition from a burgeoning Denver theater scene, Elitch Gardens management announced their intentions to sell the northwest Denver parkland in 1986. Six alternative park sites were investigated, including land in rural Douglas and Arapahoe Counties, but ultimately they selected the former site of the National Radium Institute Factory, near downtown Denver.

The downtown Denver location was a designated superfund site, and 100,000 tons of radioactive soil had to be removed before the amusement park would be allowed to relocate. Fifteen original Elitch Gardens amusement rides were relocated to the new site. The former Elitch Gardens Theatre and the carousel pavilion have been restored and are listed on the National Register of Historic places.

Today

When Elitch Gardens reopened in 1994, it became the first and only theme park with boundaries inside a major metropolitan area. In 1998 Six Flags Theme Parks acquired Elitch Gardens, operating it until 2007 when the company sold it to CNL Properties. In 2015 Revesco Properties, with partners Second City Real Estate and Kroenke Sports Entertainment, acquired Elitch Gardens for $140 million. Despite multiple changes of ownership at its downtown Denver location, Elitch Gardens continues to operate as a popular seasonal destination.