The land that is now Cheesman Park was once a cemetery, opened in 1858. After years of neglect, Congress let the city turn it into a park in 1890. The park finally opened in 1907.
The park was named for Denver pioneer Walter Cheesman, whose family paid for the pavilion in his honor. The Cheesman Memorial was built in 1908 from Colorado Yule marble in the neoclassical style.
German-born landscape architect Reinhard Schuetze did the first designs, with winding carriage paths, the pavilion and a reflecting pool. From 1934 to 1972, the Denver Post sponsored open-air musicals and operas at the pavilion.