Red Rocks: A Colorado icon built on hope during the Great Depression

Company 1848’s Six-Year Construction of Red Rocks Amphitheatre

In 1935, two hundred broke young men got off a train in Morrison, Colorado. They were part of Company 1848, ages 17-25, with no jobs and few hopes.

Yet over the next six years, these men moved 25,000 cubic yards of dirt and laid 90,000 square feet of flagstone. They kept just $5 a month for themselves, sending the rest home so their siblings could buy shoes.

What they built became the largest CCC project in America: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, which still stands today as a monument to what desperate men can do with their hands.

The story of these workers lives on at Mount Morrison CCC Camp.

Train brought 200 broke young men to Morrison in 1935

Company 1848 rolled into Morrison, Colorado on June 30, 1935. About 200 guys between 17 and 25 years old got off the train after coming from Durango.

These were jobless workers joining President Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression when 25% of Americans couldn’t find work.

Each worker earned $30 monthly but kept just $5.

The other $25 went to their struggling families back home. CCC veteran Walt Purvis said, “A dollar a day was good money then, because there were no jobs, period.”

Camp life meant basic barracks and hard work

By November 1935, the men finished building their own camp at Mount Morrison. They set up offices, tool rooms, and repair garages for their upcoming project.

They lived in simple barracks 20 feet wide by 120 feet long, with up to 40 men sharing each one. The camp grew to include a recreation hall, mess hall, showers, and headquarters with a small clinic.

While waiting for the big amphitheater project approval, the workers fixed park roads and tackled smaller projects around the area.

Government finally gave the green light after a year of waiting

Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes approved using CCC labor for Red Rocks Amphitheatre construction on May 9, 1936.

Denver Mayor Benjamin Stapleton and Parks Manager George Cranmer spent months getting federal backing for their big plan.

The young men lived at the camp for nearly a full year before getting permission to start the main project.

This approval linked Roosevelt’s New Deal programs with Denver’s local government, creating jobs while building something lasting for the community.

Workers grabbed their tools just 48 hours after getting approval

The crew started work on May 11, 1936, just two days after getting the federal go-ahead. Almost all 200 men got assigned to “Project No. 120.”

Their first job was leveling the natural floor between Ship Rock and Creation Rock formations. The workers faced one of the toughest construction jobs in CCC history.

Using mostly hand tools and basic gear, they began reshaping the natural amphitheater into what would become a famous concert venue.

Dynamite day shook the mountainside all at once

CCC workers needed lots of dynamite to fix the natural slope that angled away from the planned stage area.

Instead of spreading out the noise over weeks, they planned all blasting for a single day to cut down on complaints from Denver city council members and newspaper editors.

The great natural sound quality that made the site perfect for concerts also made construction noise louder for miles around.

Workers carefully placed explosives to reshape the land without harming formations.

Men moved mountains with shovels and wheelbarrows

The crew moved 25,000 cubic yards of dirt and rock using mostly muscle power. Workers created clever systems for moving materials up and down the slopes.

They built tiered seating for 10,000 people by moving massive amounts of earth on the steep mountain terrain.

The physical demands were huge, with men working shifts through hot summers and cold Colorado winters. What today’s builders would do with heavy machinery, these young men did largely by hand over several years.

Stones bigger than cars formed the amphitheater walls

Workers placed 800 tons of quarried stone and laid 90,000 square feet of flagstone throughout the build.

The project used ten full train cars of cement and needed 30,000 pounds of steel.

The men created a smart concrete system that made perfectly even horizontal lines throughout the structure.

Many workers added their own design ideas to the project, including changes to “The Bridge” walkway on the south side that made it work better and look nicer.

Stage built big enough for a full orchestra plus Broadway sets

The construction included a huge 80 x 170 foot stage with an orchestra pit big enough for a complete symphony.

Workers built roomy dressing rooms, control rooms, and put in a massive lighting system that was cutting-edge for the time.

The finished building had 12,000 square feet of floor space, making it the largest CCC project ever built in America.

The men also built parking lots for more than 4,000 cars, planning ahead for the venue’s future popularity with concert-goers from across Colorado.

Opera singers tested acoustics while men kept working

George Cranmer brought musicians to test the amphitheater’s sound as construction moved along.

Workers sometimes enjoyed surprise concerts as opera singers performed without music to check sound quality from different spots.

The crew paid close attention to details like redwood bench specs, handrail designs, and planting native juniper trees to add natural beauty.

More than 125 detailed drawings guided their work between 1935 and 1941.

Project took five years instead of two but came in under budget

Construction stretched to five years, much longer than the original two-year plan.

The total cost reached $473,163.56, with $115,881. 87 spent on materials and $357,281.69 covering federal labor costs.

The Works Progress Administration added more money and hundreds more relief workers during the final building phases.

Despite taking longer than planned, the project showed successful teamwork between the CCC, WPA, and local government.

The result gave Denver a world-class performance venue at a fraction of what private construction would have cost.

Young builders got standing ovation at 1941 grand opening

Red Rocks Amphitheatre officially opened on June 15, 1941, with Colorado Governor Ralph Carr and Mayor Benjamin Stapleton giving speeches to the crowd.

Metropolitan Opera soprano Helen Jepson performed the first official concert, which CBS broadcast nationwide.

During the ceremony, Mayor Stapleton called the CCC workers onto the stage where the audience gave them a standing ovation for their years of hard work.

Time Magazine covered the opening, and New York Times critic Olin Downes wrote that nothing in America could equal its beauty.

Visiting Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp, Colorado

You can visit the Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp at 300 Union Avenue in Morrison, where 200 young men built Red Rocks Amphitheatre during the Great Depression.

Fourteen original barracks from 1935-1936 are still there. The camp is 2 miles south of Red Rocks in the 640-acre park.

Free ranger tours are available by appointment through Denver Mountain Parks at 720-865-0900, but you need to register ahead of time.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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