The historic closure of Civic Center Park is over, kinda.
Parts of Civic Center will reopen to the public Wednesday after Denver city officials lifted the public health order that closed the park in September. For now, Pioneer Fountain (the fountain in that little concrete triangle at Colfax and Broadway) and MacIntosh Park Plaza (the grass by the Webb Building across 15th from where we kept Ai Weiwei's Zodiac Heads for a little while) will remain closed. Most of the grassy areas within Civic Center will be fenced off for the foreseeable future as the city continues turf restoration and other repairs.
Public health officials unexpectedly closed the park earlier this fall and said in a news release that they found public health hazards in the area and removed them. The city's extensive list included rodent burrows, human waste, litter, and improperly discarded needles.
Large groups of individuals experiencing homelessness were promptly dispersed from the park, many of whom had belongings taken to a city storage facility. Advocates criticized the city for the sudden closure, saying it made it harder to deliver resources to people experiencing homelessness.
The city has focused on Civic Center
for months now. Police said the area is one of the five hot spots for crime the department would practice new tactics in, which they said have worked.
