About This Piece

“The Denver” is a sculpture designed in honor of an old steamboat called “The Denver.” In the summer of 1874, the boat carried passengers west by way of a canal from what is now Federal Boulevard to and across Sloan’s Lake to the then Grand View Hotel (later St. Luke’s Hospital) and back. The Denver is made of steel and bronze and consists of two pieces, a bow and stern, each of which include a recycled steering wheel, steam pipe and wave-like details. The shovels atop the stern represent the shovels that were used to dig the canal. The moon figure atop the bow represents the moonlit night the canal was completed.