How Denver ended up with two MLK statues
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A Rocky Mountain News photo shows Martin Luther King Sr. standing near the first statue honoring his son at City Park in Denver in 1976. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
You've likely seen the Martin Luther King Jr. statue at City Park.
Details: The nearly 10-foot statue towers over a larger plaza in the park's southwest corner. The bronze structure includes MLK's likeness and people who inspired him: Frederick Douglass, Mahatma Gandhi, Rosa Parks and Sojourner Truth.
- Called "I Have a Dream," the public artwork was completed by artist Ed Dwight after he was commissioned by the city. It was installed in 2002.
The intrigue: This was actually the second memorial King statue at the park, replacing one that faced controversy over the way it displayed King.
State of play: That first statue, erected in 1976 and created by artist Ed Rose, featured the likeness of King and Emmett Till, the 14-year-old who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955.
- Members of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Foundation, which commissioned the statue, said that it didn't look like King, leading to a dispute over payments for the artwork, per the Denver Post.
- It was taken down in 2002 and replaced with Dwight's sculpture.
Of note: Rose's statue is still on display. It stood outside the Martin Luther King Jr. Museum and Cultural Center in Pueblo until the museum closed in 2016.
- It's now outside the Friendly Harbor Community Center in Pueblo, according to Westword.
Go deeper: Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy in Denver