The Cranmer Park sundial and its sandstone terrace -- a small but much-loved corner of Denver's parks system -- will be restored next year in a $2 million project.
The terrace is the size of a football field and was installed by the Works Progress Administration during the Great Depression. The original sundial was installed in 1941. Oh, and it was dynamited by vandals in 1965.
The current sundial was installed decades ago through a community effort, but both it and the terrace are showing their age. The sundial is chipped and the terrace has been damaged over the years by the freeze-thaw cycle.
The plan is to take the terrace apart and build it the proper foundation that it's never had. The sundial will be restored.
Parks lovers have raised about $680,000 for the restoration, and the city of Denver has agreed to contribute $1.3 million, plus $250,000 in extra funding if necessary.
The contract for the project has been approved by Denver City Council and the city expects construction to be done in fall 2018.
Denise Sanders, an organizer of the restoration effort, said the park is a special place.
"Some things, you like to stay the same," she told us earlier this year. "You’ll see people who proposed there, because it seemed like a place that would be there forever."
