Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Morrison, owned by Denver, is a natural open-air venue set among towering red sandstone monoliths shaped millions of years ago and later uplifted during the Laramide Orogeny. Likely used earlier by the Ute and brought into Euro-American settlement after Stephen Long’s 1820 expedition, the site evolved from scenic parkland into a performance space under John Brisben Walker and then into the modern amphitheater after Denver bought it in 1927. Built beginning in 1936 and dedicated in 1941, it became an architecturally celebrated and culturally influential venue, hosting landmark concerts and remaining a leading force in live music into the present.