Entry No. 77 — the Denver file — filed under: cemetery
Riverside Cemetery Block 12 — Denver's Forgotten Potters Field
Riverside is Denver's oldest operating cemetery (1876) and a National Historic District, but almost no one knows about Block 12. It's a flat, near-empty stretch of grass hiding thousands of unmarked graves — a potters field where counties from across Colorado quietly shipped their poorest dead, including an enormous number of infants. There are no headstones; volunteers are still piecing together names from burial ledgers. Standing on what looks like an ordinary lawn and knowing what's under it is the whole experience.
The move: Do a quiet, reflective walk together with a printout of the cemetery's notable-graves map, end at Block 12, and talk about who decides whose name gets remembered — heavy, but it sticks with you.
📍 Before you go Riverside sits in industrial Elyria-Swansea off Brighton Blvd; the main gate has moved to the north side along York St, so follow current signage in. Because Block 12 is unmarked flat ground with no headstones, download the Friends of Historic Riverside Cemetery self-guided tour brochure/map ahead of time — otherwise you'll never find it. The grounds lost their irrigation decades ago, so it's a dry, near-treeless prairie with almost no shade: go in spring or fall, ideally morning, and bring water and sun cover. It's an active historic cemetery with limited office days — hours shift seasonally, so check ahead, stay quiet, and yield to any funerals. Coffee and food on the RiNo/Brighton corridor pair well on the way back.
- 📍 Elyria-Swansea / Adams County border
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Low-key
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: Riverside Cemetery, 5201 Brighton Blvd, Denver, CO 80216 (Block 12 / Potters Field is within the grounds; main gate relocated to the north side along York St)
Hours: Grounds open daily ~8am-5pm; office hours Tue/Thu/Sat 10am-3pm only. Free to walk. It's an active historic cemetery — be respectful and quiet.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Official site · Atlas Obscura · Wikipedia
last checked: 2026-06-07