This extraordinary book traces the development of the cemetery in five western states from 1860-1890, from the time of the ‘boot hill’ graveyard to the designed and manicured ‘fair mount.’ As Annette says in her description:

Before the advent of art museums, public libraries or civic sculpture, the Rocky Mountain cemetery functioned as a repository of art and history… The emerging sepulchral garden functioned as an open-air gallery of public sculpture, at once a site for relaxation, learning and social ritual.

As one of the first park-like designed resting places in the Rocky Mountain West, Riverside offers a premier example of the role that the cemetery played in daily life. The statuary is a memorial both those whose “life had ceased” and also to the way of life in an environment that was often harsh and unforgiving.

Death was highly visible in the old west, where public hangings and burials created public spectacles. Indian wars, disease, lack of law enforcement, the dangers of childbirth, accidents and unpredictable mountain weather contributed to high mortality rates. Society coped with death by incorporating into daily life the rituals of burial, mourning, monument unveilings and grave decorating, often involving public parades, music and speeches.

In addition to writing this book and working with our history and research committee, Dr. Scott somehow finds time to chair the Art and Art History Department at the University of Denver.

Pioneer Cemeteries: Sculpture Gardens of the Old West is published by University of Nebraska Press. The book can be purchased via their website, as well as at The Tattered Cover in Denver or from Amazon.com.

We had over 30 members of the community attend the meeting, and it was a productive and passionate discussion. We are very excited that ten individuals have volunteered to join our ‘startup’ interim board of directors.

The meeting agenda and notes are available here (in PDF format).

More information will be posted on this site in the near future. Thanks again to everyone who offered their passion and insight to help save a true historical and cultural gem.

Riverside is Denver’s oldest and most historic cemetery; sadly, it is also the most neglected. As an organization, our goal is to increase the awareness of Riverside as a historical and cultural treasure in order to begin the process of restoring and revitalizing the cemetery. It has been largely ignored for many years, and it’s going to take a lot of time, energy, and money to get it moving in the right direction.

We are in the process of setting up a new non-profit, Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery. How our organization will evolve in the future is still to be determined, but we’re convinced that in some way we will help to improve Riverside.

We are having an organizational meeting on Saturday, November 17th, at 11am, and we encourage all interested members of the community to attend.

We are looking for people who want to get involved in a variety of ways, from board members to volunteers to historians. If you or anyone you know might be interested, definitely attend our meeting.

Here’s the info:
Meeting to discuss the formation of
Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery

Date and Time: Sat., Nov. 17, 2007, 11AM
Holy Transfiguration of Christ Cathedral Meeting Hall
349 E 47th Ave
Denver, CO 80216
directions from google
www.transfigcathedral.org

To RSVP for this meeting, send an email to Jan Allan (JAllan223@aol.com) or Hugh Graham (hugh@hughgrahamcreative.com)