Best New Playground 2004 | Altair Playground | Best of Denver® | Best Restaurants, Bars, Clubs, Music and Stores in Denver | Westword
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Best New Playground

Altair Playground

Altair playground, which opened nearly a year ago near Park Meadows mall, is out of this world, and that's all part of the plan: In addition to its picnic shelter and spanking-new toddler-friendly equipment geared to the two-to-five set, Altair's centerpiece is a literal wreck -- an alien ship crashed into a rock that beckons kids to come climb all over it. Well-placed for emergency pre- or post-shopping recreation, this playground's a blast!

Best New Playground

Altair Playground

Altair playground, which opened nearly a year ago near Park Meadows mall, is out of this world, and that's all part of the plan: In addition to its picnic shelter and spanking-new toddler-friendly equipment geared to the two-to-five set, Altair's centerpiece is a literal wreck -- an alien ship crashed into a rock that beckons kids to come climb all over it. Well-placed for emergency pre- or post-shopping recreation, this playground's a blast!

Best Kids' Swimming Parties

Golden Community Center

The Golden Community Center's got it all under one roof: a six-lane lap pool, a therapy pool and an awesome kids' pool designed to provide a great swimming experience for all, regardless of age or level of water wisdom. Babies in swim diapers are in their element in gradually graded shallows that mimic the seashore, while older kids can romp through everything from fountains and waterfalls to a challenging floating bridge and a gigantic, 150-foot water slide. But the GCC really makes a splash with its birthday parties. Packages include all of the above plus a large private party room. And because everything's indoors, the parties are perfect in any season.

Best Kids' Swimming Parties

Golden Community Center

The Golden Community Center's got it all under one roof: a six-lane lap pool, a therapy pool and an awesome kids' pool designed to provide a great swimming experience for all, regardless of age or level of water wisdom. Babies in swim diapers are in their element in gradually graded shallows that mimic the seashore, while older kids can romp through everything from fountains and waterfalls to a challenging floating bridge and a gigantic, 150-foot water slide. But the GCC really makes a splash with its birthday parties. Packages include all of the above plus a large private party room. And because everything's indoors, the parties are perfect in any season.

Best Little Parties on the Prairie

Four Mile House Historic Park

Four Mile Historic Park, perched along the Cherry Creek Greenway, is an agrarian jewel, a throwback to earlier times smack-dab in the middle of the city. And it's a heck of a lot better than the rigors of Chuck E. Cheese's for kids' birthday parties. Instead of video games and rides, Four Mile offers horse-drawn wagon rides, pioneer and/or tepee games, cake-baking in an open-fire oven, old-timey crafts, and feeding the farm animals, which include roosters, fat hens, gorgeous screw-horned sheep and a pair of French Percheron horses. It's reasonably priced, more fun than a three-legged race, and there's no mouse telling you what to do.

Best Little Parties on the Prairie

Four Mile House Historic Park

Four Mile Historic Park, perched along the Cherry Creek Greenway, is an agrarian jewel, a throwback to earlier times smack-dab in the middle of the city. And it's a heck of a lot better than the rigors of Chuck E. Cheese's for kids' birthday parties. Instead of video games and rides, Four Mile offers horse-drawn wagon rides, pioneer and/or tepee games, cake-baking in an open-fire oven, old-timey crafts, and feeding the farm animals, which include roosters, fat hens, gorgeous screw-horned sheep and a pair of French Percheron horses. It's reasonably priced, more fun than a three-legged race, and there's no mouse telling you what to do.

Best Tennis Court -- Urban

Blake Street Bath and Racquet Club

Few people know it, but deepest concrete LoDo boasts its own tennis court. Available by invitation only, the Blake Street Bath and Racquet Club was built as part of a condo project in the 1970s. Now surrounded by new lofts with iron-fenced balconies, the court is just barely visible from the street. "There is more playing space on the ends and sides than most urban residential courts, but sharply angled volleys and serves still produce excitement and results," a tennis historian wrote about it a couple years back in Colorado Tennis.

Best Tennis Court -- Urban

Blake Street Bath and Racquet Club

Few people know it, but deepest concrete LoDo boasts its own tennis court. Available by invitation only, the Blake Street Bath and Racquet Club was built as part of a condo project in the 1970s. Now surrounded by new lofts with iron-fenced balconies, the court is just barely visible from the street. "There is more playing space on the ends and sides than most urban residential courts, but sharply angled volleys and serves still produce excitement and results," a tennis historian wrote about it a couple years back in Colorado Tennis.

Best Tennis Court -- Leafy

If you're looking for perfect bounces and ideal lighting, the solitary, hidden tennis court at 10th Avenue and Olive Street might not be for you. But if you want atmosphere, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place to play a few sets. Encased by beautiful mature, ivy-covered fences, the court was built by the grandfather of Denver tennis doyenne Mary Silverstein in 1891. For the next half-century, the family used it as a private court, as well as a bike-riding training ground and an ice-skating rink. Today it's known to only a handful of locals, most of whom use its undulating surface to ride skateboards and bicycles. Still, if you can find it, it's worthwhile to stop and hit a few strokes, just for the quiet history.

Best Tennis Court -- Leafy

If you're looking for perfect bounces and ideal lighting, the solitary, hidden tennis court at 10th Avenue and Olive Street might not be for you. But if you want atmosphere, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place to play a few sets. Encased by beautiful mature, ivy-covered fences, the court was built by the grandfather of Denver tennis doyenne Mary Silverstein in 1891. For the next half-century, the family used it as a private court, as well as a bike-riding training ground and an ice-skating rink. Today it's known to only a handful of locals, most of whom use its undulating surface to ride skateboards and bicycles. Still, if you can find it, it's worthwhile to stop and hit a few strokes, just for the quiet history.

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