Entry No. 115 — the Denver file — filed under: public art
Cold War Horse
“Drivers pass it daily without ever knowing what the red horse is guarding”
On a lonely stretch of Highway 72 northwest of Denver, a life-size horse stands in an electric-red hazmat suit, black rubber boots and a respirator. Artist Jeff Gipe (whose father worked the plant for 20 years) built it as a memorial to Rocky Flats, the nuclear weapons site beneath your feet that churned out more than 70,000 plutonium triggers for warheads from 1951 to 1989. It was sledgehammered by vandals within two weeks of going up; Gipe rebuilt it in his mother's Arvada garage and added a fence, sensor lights and a camera. Drivers pass it daily without ever knowing what the red horse is guarding.
The move: Drive out at golden hour for the eerie roadside photo op, then read the plaque together and talk about the Cold War history hidden under the open space around you.
📍 Before you go The horse stands on the south side of Highway 72 (Coal Creek Canyon Road) on a low rise just west of Indiana Street, near the Candelas subdivision—easy to blow past at highway speed, so slow as you crest the hill. There's no formal lot; pull onto the shoulder well clear of traffic and view it from the road. It's fenced with motion-sensor lights and a camera after earlier vandalism, so admire it from outside the fence and don't climb in. Daylight or golden hour is best, and there are no facilities out here. Pair it with the free Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge, whose Greenway trailhead sits just off Indiana Street—the former plutonium-plant site, now open space with a contested past (some still debate the cleanup, so it's a fitting companion).
- 📍 Arvada / Rocky Flats
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: South side of Highway 72 (Coal Creek Canyon Rd), just west of Indiana St near the Candelas development, Arvada area, CO
Hours: Roadside sculpture, viewable anytime; best in daylight. No facilities; pull off safely on Hwy 72.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Atlas Obscura · Roadside America · 9news.com
last checked: 2026-06-07