Entry No. 108 — the Denver file — filed under: haunted

Tower of Memories

Drive past Crown Hill Cemetery on Wadsworth and you'll see a 158-foot Gothic tower most people assume is off-limits — it isn't. The Tower of Memories is a working 1920s mausoleum holding roughly 11,000 crypts and cremation niches behind marble walls and red stained glass, and during the day you can walk right into floors 1-3. Catch the elevator on a good day and it'll run you up to the 4th-6th floors, where the balconies open onto a sweeping view of the Denver skyline and the foothills almost nobody realizes is up there. It took decades and several architects to finish — interrupted by a firm's collapse and World War II.

The move: Wander the marble corridors and the chapel with its red stained glass, then try your luck with the elevator to the upper balconies for a quiet, slightly eerie skyline view — a low-key, unusual afternoon for two who like history and the macabre. Go respectfully; it's an active cemetery.

📍 Before you go It sits inside the working Olinger Crown Hill cemetery off 29th & Wadsworth — pull in through the main gate and follow the long esplanade up to the tower, where there's a parking lot right at its base. Come on a clear weekday afternoon: it's quieter, and the upper-balcony elevator runs only intermittently, so a bright day maximizes your odds of those skyline-and-foothills views (access shifts seasonally — check ahead). This is an active cemetery and mortuary, so dress decently and steer clear of any services in progress. Pair it with Crown Hill Park & Wildlife Preserve right next door — a free open space with a flat lake loop and winter bald-eagle sightings.

• 📍 Wheat Ridge
• 💸 Free
• ⚡ Low-key
• 🌗 Indoor or outdoor

Where: Tower of Memories, Crown Hill Cemetery, 7777 W 29th Ave, Wheat Ridge, CO 80033 (entrance near 29th Ave & Wadsworth Blvd; mortuary/Dignity Memorial on-site)

Hours: Generally open to the public daily until ~4pm; floors 1-3 regularly accessible, floors 4-6 (balcony views) only when the elevator is running them. Active cemetery — visit quietly and respectfully.

Plan a visit & invite your people →

Further reading: Atlas Obscura · denverite.com · Wikipedia · historycolorado.org

last checked: 2026-06-07