Cheesman Park Pavilion & Its Buried Dead

Cheesman Park looks like any leafy Denver green space, but it was the city's first cemetery — and when it was 'converted' to a park in the 1890s, the removal was botched so badly (corpses dismembered to fit child-sized coffins, the contractor fired mid-job) that an estimated 2,000+ unclaimed bodies were simply never dug up. The neoclassical marble pavilion, donated in 1909, sits directly on top of them. This isn't just legend: workers digging sprinkler and irrigation lines turned up actual skeletons in 2008 and again in 2010. Local lore claims standing on the west steps on a moonlit night reveals the old cemetery instead of the park — take that part as folklore, but the bodies under your picnic blanket are real.

The move: Bring a blanket and a flask at dusk, walk up to the marble pavilion, and tell the story of what's actually still under the grass — a free, slightly morbid sunset hang that beats any patio.

• 📍 Cheesman Park
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Low-key
• 🌗 Outdoors

Where: Cheesman Park Pavilion, 1599 E 8th Ave, Denver, CO 80218 (the marble neoclassical pavilion at the center of Cheesman Park)

Hours: Public park; Denver parks are generally open ~5am–11pm. Best at dusk/golden hour for the pavilion. Free, no ticket.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Proof: source 1 · source 2 · source 3

Verified 2026-06-07.