Audio By Carbonatix
Yard Arteology: The study of neighbors through lawn decoration.
Perhaps the most thrilling moment for a yard arteologist is when, after two hours of schlepping up and down neighborhood streets and seeing only birdbaths and flowerpots, he comes face-to-face with a mysterious specialty item. These handmade wonders not only prove that life in Denver does exist, but that life here is wonderfully weirder than previously expected…
Figure 69. Chaffee Park: Front-yard baptismal font is ready to rock a newborn’s world.
The trees in the above photo prove that this is an older established neighborhood. The small clapboard home denotes that the neighborhood was built during the post-world-war baby boom for lower middle-class families. The yard art made of tile and stone hint that this tiny home was the nexus of neighborhood newborns.
When news happens, Westword is there —
Your support strengthens our coverage.
We’re aiming to raise $50,000 by December 31, so we can continue covering what matters most to this community. If Westword matters to you, please take action and contribute today, so when news happens, our reporters can be there.
The chest-high chalice-shaped urn made of hand-laid stone suggest that this is a natural pool to be used for the immersion of infants in sacred religious ritual. The tile finish and width of the knee-high concrete pedestal beneath the baptismal font indicates that this area was the work-space that held the vessel, cruet, Purificator, candle and bullhorn needed for baptism. That it has fallen upon disrepair argues that it is no longer in use as intended.
