Mayor Hancock announced that property adjacent to Red Rocks Park would be officially designated parkland. [Read press release as pdf.] The announcement was made at the dedication of the Red Rocks National Historic Landmark Wednesday night, July 15, on the 75th anniversary of the original dedication of Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

“At a time when Red Rocks, the jewel of our Mountain Parks system, becomes immortalized in the history of the United States, there’s no more fitting tribute to its legacy in Denver than expanding the experience for residents and visitors,” Mayor Hancock said. “This designation will ensure that even more of the natural landscapes that make this such a distinguished and cherished park will be protected for generations to come.”

Former Mayor Wellington Webb sent a letter outlining the history of the properties acquired by the City in 2000. Four properties, totaling 193 acres, were acquired. Now, after a 16-year wait, one property has been designated as parkland. Formal designation, a result of a 1955 charter amendment, means that use and development of the property will be as parkland, and the property cannot be sold unless city voters approve a change. Webb wrote in support of the designation in March 2003:

As Denver’s mayor from 1991-2003, it was my privilege to embrace Mayor Speer’s vision and carry it into the 21st century. Wherever we could my administration added to and expanded our city’s parkland as opportunities became available.

Red Rocks offered one of those opportunities. … The prospect of an increasing population in the valley would have potentially impacted amphitheatre operations. We saw a once in a lifetime chance to preserve open space near the park and seized an opportunity to acquire the 193 acres.

At sunrise, the property to be designated lies in shadow in the foreground of the amphitheatre. SL White photo.

The addition lies east of the current park boundary and south of Entrance 2. The remaining three properties, which are still undesignated, are north of Entrance 2, as shown in red. See complete map.

Denver Parks and Recreation is beginning trail planning for the area. We hope, in the face of increasing threats to the park from the expansion of Amphitheatre operations, development in this new area will be sensitive to preserving the natural values and character of the property.

10 reasons Red Rocks is headed for its best season, Westword, April 30, 2015

Construction projects planned at Red Rocks, YourEDM.com, April 25, 2015

As of August 4, 2015, Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp have been designated as Colorado’s newest National Historic Landmark (NHL)!

This long process officially began in about 2004 at the suggestion of the Friends of Red Rocks, a nonprofit group formed in 1995 to advocate for the park. The work on the nomination has been carried out by staff and consultants of Denver Parks and Recreation and the regional office of the National Park Service (NPS), and the nomination itself has been through several revisions over the last five years; a “final” version was officially submitted to the NPS in Washington on May 1, 2014.

During the last stages of the process, many groups and individuals wrote letters of support for the designation, including Governor Hickenlooper, History Colorado, Jefferson County Commissioners, the Denver Art Museum, the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation, and Bonnie Raitt. Secretary of State Sally Jewell signed the completed nomination August 4th, bringing the effort to a successful conclusion.

Red Rocks designation, Denver Post, August 4, 2015

Red Rocks and CCC Camp up for designation, Denver Post, February 24, 2015

The outstanding architecture and landscape architecture of Red Rocks Park and Mount Morrison Civilian Conservation Corps Camp illustrate the principles and practices of New Deal-era naturalistic park design and master planning in a metropolitan park as well as the use of Civilian Conservation Corps labor to develop such a park.
—National Park Service press release.

How does this new designation differ from National Register status?

Red Rocks Park District was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990, along with several other Denver Mountain Parks. The National Register listing is a process for recognizing historic sites that are usually at least 50 years old, and are significant according to listing criteria, including things like their association with historic people, events, etc. Although nomination and listing on NRHP is a substantial process, nominations are handled by the state historic preservation office before involving the NPS in Washington.

National Register Fundamentals (at nps.gov)
National Register of Historic Places on Wikipedia

Colorado has more than 1400 sites, buildings, and districts listed on the National Register, but only 24 National Historic Landmarks (Civic Center included) and 14 National Natural Landmarks (Summit Lake Park is one).

Historic Landmarks are automatically listed on the NRHP, but not all NRHP sites are, or are eligible to be, historic landmarks. NHLs have national significance, as opposed to just state or regional significance.

The National Historic Landmark is a much more prestigious and exclusive designation and the nomination process is much more detailed. Although none of these designations confer protection on a property, the landmarks do involve some federal review to ensure the landmarked sites maintain the qualities that make them significant and worthy of this high honor.