Many public parks are named after people whom time has forgotten, but the namesake of C.J. Walker Park, at East 30th Avenue and High Street, is certainly worth remembering. As related in
On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker, a book penned by A'Lelia Bundles, Walker's great-great granddaughter, Madam Walker was born into humble circumstances in 1867. After founding a business that sold hair-care products to African-American women in northeast Denver, however, she began accruing a fortune that eventually made her the first female self-made millionaire in U.S. history. Hers is a tale few Denverites know -- but thanks to C.J. Walker Park, which was given its current moniker last May, more will discover it.