Red Rocks Amphitheatre
A New Deal concert bowl set between two sandstone monoliths in the Colorado foothills.
Red Rocks sits at about 6,450 feet in the foothills west of Denver, in a natural bowl formed by two tilted slabs of Fountain Formation sandstone known as Creation Rock and Ship Rock, with Stage Rock behind the platform. Denver had staged concerts among the rocks since 1906, but the amphitheatre proper was designed by Burnham F. Hoyt and cut into the hillside between 1936 and 1941 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, with support from the Works Progress Administration. It was dedicated on 15 June 1941 and holds 9,525 people.
Hoyt's brief was to disturb the setting as little as possible, so the rows of benches follow the contour of the slope and the stonework is faced in local sandstone. The park is owned and run by the City and County of Denver as part of its mountain parks system. Outside concert hours it is free to visit, with walking trails, a visitor centre and the Colorado Music Hall of Fame in the Trading Post. The concert season runs from spring to late autumn.
Highlights
- Natural bowl framed by the Creation Rock and Ship Rock sandstone monoliths
- Cut into the hillside by the Civilian Conservation Corps between 1936 and 1941
- Free to walk in outside concert hours, with trails across the surrounding park
- Colorado Music Hall of Fame housed in the Trading Post building
