Secret Denver: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

by Eric Peterson, David R. Lewis

Where do the tunnels under the Colorado State Capitol go and why were they dug there in the first place? What is the backstory behind Tom’s Baby, the largest piece of gold ever unearthed in Colorado? Denver may be known worldwide as the Mile High City, but its elevation is just one item on a long list of anomalies. In Secret A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure you’ll find many more quirks and mysteries to explore. Learn why Lakeside is one of the most historic amusement parks in the nation. Discover cemeteries repurposed as parks, streets once paved with radium, elves hiding in museum dioramas, and a seemingly endless parade of ghosts. Local journalists David Lewis and Eric Peterson tackle these conundrums and many others in the city they call home. With their combined experience traveling the trails less taken and the questions rarely asked, Secret Denver is bound to illuminate the city from an unexpected perspective.

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction, History

200 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

About the author

Born in Colorado Springs, grew up halfway to Denver, where I live now.

Reviews

[Sara]

Boy, this was fun! I've lived here most of my life, but this book told me things about my mile high city I didn't know. Did you know we paved our streets with radioactive material? Or that there was a hell mouth in the old courthouse? The wild, the weird, the unusual, and the fun things about the metro area. Worth taking a look at whether tourist or long time resident.

[Lisa J Shultz]

After reading a lot of Denver history and guidebooks, Secret Denver was a fun addition to my collection. Not all entries are in Denver proper. If you like off the beaten path ideas of what to explore and obscure facts, this book might be for you.

[Zach Johnson]

How weird, wonderful, or obscure some of these entries are is debatable, but I did learn quite a bit and add some spots to my To-Visit list around the city. Biggest thing shooting this in the foot is that each entry is only two pages long and does not give much of any detail about any of the places/events described.

[Kate Lawrence]

This quick but informative guide offers lots of suggestions for quirky and unusual sights to see around the Denver area; definitely something for everyone. Each entry includes the pertinent facts about visiting (the address, is it open to the public, if so the entrance fee, etc.) I was amazed that the authors came up with so many incidents I'd never heard of, despite decades of living in Denver. I've made a list of the ones I want to see, and am looking forward to exploring.

[MKF]

Years ago while living in Denver we saw how bad and dangerous downtown got and stopped going. No matter how hard they try to revitalize the area if you don't get rid of the problem it will always be there. Unless things have changed I'd stick to locations that has a lot of people around.
As for this book I think the authors had no idea what this book would be. It has many locations in Denver and even the surrounding areas. Some of these surrounding areas though aren't even located in Denver and there's even some places that aren't even close to Denver. Why would you drive an hour or so to see sights from a travel book about Denver?
There's also a lot of stories and legends that aren't connected to an actual location. I doubt tourists are going to go to the downtown library and read papers while on vacation.
Besides all of these issues it's still a decent book especially if you enjoy history and legends.

[Kevin O'Keefe]

I was shocked to learn this book was first published in 2020 because it feels like a relic from the 90s or early 2000's. Quirky, interesting and fun to flip through. Lots of peculiar little facts about the city's history and culture. It's a book of nuggets. The authors don't go into great detail on any of the topics but provide enough context to suck you in and make you want to pick up your phone to research more.

That being said it's about 30 pages too long and I found myself skimming through the home stretch of the book. More of a coffee table book you can pick up at your leisure to pick up a few anecdotes to drop when you have visitors in town.