Founded in 1876, Riverside Cemetery is the resting place of many of Denver's pioneers, as well as a lot of Globeville's residents. One of my favorite spots is Block 19, home to the members of Holy Transfiguration of Christ Orthodox Cathedral at 349 East 47th Avenue in Globeville.
The church was founded in 1898 by Slavs from homelands that ceased to exist when these countries were annexed by Austria-Hungary, Russia or Germany: Ruthenia, Bukovenia, Bohemia, Carpatho-Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Czechs, Slovakia, and Moravia. If their origins sounded exotic, their circumstances were desperate.
The empires who oppressed them required them to serve in their armies. And they were starving - their small farms wouldn't sustain large families. Crafts formerly made by hand were now churned out by machines. And so they fled, taking gritty jobs in smelters, railroads and meat packing, working 12 hour days for meager wages.
They settled near each other in the neighborhood between 47th and 48th Avenue, and Grant and Logan Streets, and they are buried alongside each other in Block 19.
It's easy to find this special plot. Many grave markers feature the unique three-bar crucifix of the Orthodox faith, and there are memorials with gold onion domes, or inscriptions in Cyrillic or Russian. Most striking is a small sky-blue chapel, constructed in 1922 in memory of John Wysowatcky who was killed in action in the last weeks of World War I. Each year, a Requiem Mass is held in this small building on the first Sunday after Easter, known as St. Thomas Sunday, to honor deceased members of the parish. Another Mass is celebrated there on Memorial Day.
Riverside Cemetery is a gem. Come wander the grounds and visit Denver's early settlers. Stop by Block 19 and read the inscriptions on the memorials of Globeville's Holy Transfiguration Orthodox Cathedral.
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