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| Prepare for a special treat in City Park! On Saturday, March 12 at 7 am, Denver Field Ornithologists (DFO) will sponsor a Field Trip to view the birds in City Park. The leader of this special excursion is Patrick O’Driscoll, editor of DFO’s Lark Bunting newsletter. Here is Patrick’s description of the tour:
“At a time of transition, we’ll stroll throughout an uncommonly birdy urban hub of central Denver habitat. The returning Double-crested Cormorants at Duck Lake will be growing as the big birds build and spruce up colony nests and perform courtship rituals. The last of thousands of overwintering Cackling and Canada Goose flocks will be leaving. Resident songbirds, corvids, raptors and some winter visitors (sparrows, ducks, etc.) will continue, with a few early spring migrants perhaps dropping in. Dress for the weather and bring water/snacks.”
The tour is rated as easy. Attendees will meet at the parking strip on the north side of Ferril Lake.
To register: https://dfobirds.org/FieldTrips/Register.aspx?TripID=13854 |
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February Sightings:
Double -Crested Cormorants, Female Northern Shoveler, Male Hooded Meganser: Henry J. Feldman
Ferril Lake birds: Susan Langley |
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Tribute to Larry Ambrose
by Dave Felice
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| A pillar of community activism in Denver and great friend of the city’s parks, Larry Ambrose, is dead at age 76. Ambrose died on January 28, 2022. A native of Pueblo and graduate of Central High School, Larry had an amazing reach and helped shaped the destiny of his adopted city.
Ambrose, a hypnotizing story teller, excelled in many fields. He is as responsible as anyone for the survival of the little Denver house where Golda Meir once lived. Larry oversaw moving the house to the Auraria campus in 1988 as head of the newly-created Auraria Foundation. In the post he loved to smooze with the campus community.
Ambrose was a staunch advocate for the protection of City Park. He fought fiercely against city plans for park events requiring paid admission, such as the proposed Mile High Music Festival in 2007. Developed secretly months before being publicly revealed, the festival would have closed the western third of City Park for a three-day rock concert. |
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| Denver Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Larry Ambrose on March 13, 2021 for his longtime work in preserving and enhancing the quality of life in Denver’s neighborhoods. |
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| Larry opposed excessive noise and congestion coming from park events. He helped arrange sound monitoring for a heavy metal rock band performance. The event was so disruptive city officials told promoters they could not return.
In 2010, Ambrose formed a coalition of neighborhood representatives to oppose city plans for an outdoor movie theater on the lawn behind the Museum of Nature and Science. The proposal was withdrawn.
Ambrose also advocated in favor of rebuilding Dustin Redd playground on a neighborhood scale, control of park zoning by the Parks Department, and against a proposed gas-producing incinerator at the zoo.
Larry also provided valuable inspiration and guidance behind the scenes, leading to formation of City Park Friends and Neighbors as a Registered Neighborhood Organization in 2014.
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| Before settling in Denver, Larry was heavily involved in entertainment, including a stint managing a renowned Hollywood nightclub. He took on the establishment by successfully organizing a cabaret workers union. In the 1970s, Ambrose operated a booking and talent agency in Denver, and was co-owner of a nightclub in Lakewood.
Along the way, Ambrose earned a Bachelor of Sciences in Business from CU-Boulder, a Masters degree in Arts Administration from UCLA and a Juris Doctorate from DU. Even with his degree, however, he was never a practicing attorney.
Always proud of his hometown, in the early 21st century, Larry managed the Pueblo Convention Center. He was a close partner of his wife of 48 years, Jane Parker-Ambrose, in her amazing kite business, and the promotion of her international One Sky One World Kite Fly for Peace festival.
Ambrose was very active in Denver politics. He ran twice as an unsuccessful city council candidate. In 2015, those disgruntled with the Michael B. Hancock administration rallied around Larry with a remarkable two percent of the vote as an undeclared write-in mayoral candidate. Those voting did so in part because they knew Larry as a champion of parks. He was far more qualified to run the Parks and Recreation Department than most of the people recent mayors had appointed.
As much as anything, Larry was a community activist. He was a long-term president of Sloans Lake Neighborhood Association. As president of Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation (INC) from 2012 to 2016, he helped shape the direction and influence of the city’s neighborhoods. He formed and headed the INC parks committee to protect, enhance, and expand the city’s park system.
Always ready with a story, Larry created a marvelous portrait of the world around him. He was a captivating presence who worked to improve everything he touched. Not afraid to take on city hall, he endlessly had a vision of uplifting everyone. This came out particularly in his last job, executive director of the Southwest Improvement Council in the less affluent Brentwood area.
Long-standing health problems, including a bizarre cancer of the ankle, led to Larry’s death. His funeral was at Emanuel Cemetery at Fairmount on February 1. Besides Jane, he is survived by numerous cousins. Most of all, Larry is remembered by the multitude of people he met, educated, entertained, and assisted. |
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