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. walling of the Cherry Creek channel along what is now Speer Blvd., was not completed until 1915. Prior to the walling of the channel it is probable that construction of the Castlewood Dam and reservoir in 1890, at what is now the site of Castle wood State Park south ofFranktown, provided some incidental flood control due to the fact that approximately 40% of the drainage basin lies above the dam site, which is situated 40 miles above the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River. The reservoir was designed only for water storage, and was built on an unstable and overloaded foundation. In August 1933 the dam failed during a cloudburst and Denver was again at the mercy of Cherry Creek. After the failure of the Castlewood Dam in 1933 the construction of the Kenwood Dam and reservoir was started in 1935. It was located about five and a half miles upstream of the Denver city limits on a site that is now part of the Kennedy golf course. During construction, the now famous storm of May 30,1935 occurred 12 miles outside the Cherry Creek watershed and resulted in discharges of 110,000 to 150,000 cfs in Box Elder, Kiowa and Bijou Creeks. The Republican River was eleven times greater than at any time in the previous 40 years. This storm cast doubt on the adequacy of the Kenwood Dam and led to the formation of the Cherry Creek Flood Control Association. In 1942 the current site of Cherry Creek Dam was chosen, approximately 1/4 mile upstream from the Kenwood Dam. The Army Corp, of Engineers began work on the dam in 1948, and completed the dam in 1950. Much of the rock and earth from the old Kenwood Dam, which was destroyed during the construction of the Cherry Creek Dam, was incorporated into the current structure: . In 1950 Cherry Creek Dam was several miles from the City of Denver. The City's fathers could not possibly have envisioned the growth that would take place in the next few decades. By 1959 it was apparent that some sort of management of the area was necessary due to the large number of people hunting, fishing and recreating at the reservoir. In an agreement with the State, the Army Corp. of Engineers leased the area to the State. The Division of Parks began managing the resource as Cherry Creek State Recreation Area, and it became Colorado's first State Park. Today, under the management of the Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation, Cherry Creek State Park with an annual visitation ofl,500,000 visitors is the most frequented of all of the State Parks. With the increasing recreational demands, surrounding development, and budget constraints, management of the quantity and quality of water within the park will challenge the park administration for years to come. . We must not forget, we all live downstream. As compiled by CCSP staff October 1999 .