Red Rocks Amphitheatre
A Century of Music 160 Million Years in the Making
Dedicated Sunday, June 15, 1941, Red Rocks Amphitheatre seats 9,450 people in 69 rows bookended by 300-foot-high, Jurassic-period sandstone monoliths. Near-perfect acoustics have made concert-goers feel favored by the historic performances they’ve witnessed—and by nature herself.
Concerts preceded the dedication by thirty-five years. On May 31, 1906, music-lovers gathered at what was then known as Garden of the Titans to hear Pietro Satriano and his 25-piece brass band. Owner John Brisbane Walker sold the park to Denver in 1927 and Parks Manager George Cranmer realized its world-class potential with help from Civilian Conservation Corps crews.
Red Rocks has rocked ever since, except during a five-year ban on rowdy acts triggered by a riot that broke out at a 1971 Jethro Tull concert.
Photo courtesy History Colorado, 10033201.
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