As time went on different areas of the cemetery were designated for different religions, ethnic groups and fraternal organizations such as Odd Fellows, Society of Masons, Roman Catholics, Jewish, the Grand Army of the Republic, and a segregated section at the south end for the Chinese.

In 1875, 20 acres (81,000 m2) at the northeast part of the cemetery (slightly east of where the botanic gardens are now located) were sold to the Hebrew Burial Society, who then maintained it, while much of the rest of the graveyard fell further into disrepair.

Before long, Colorado Senator Henry Moore Teller persuaded the U.S. Congress to allow the old graveyard to be converted to a park.

Due to the large number of graves in the Roman Catholic section off to the east, Mayor Joseph E. Bates sold the 40-acre (160,000 m2) area to the archdiocese, which was then named Mount Calvary Cemetery.

The Denver Republican newspaper ran a story breaking the news, its March 19, 1893 headline read: "The Work of Ghouls".

Another shovelful of earth and some crumbled wood was then thrown into the box, the “remains” were disinfected, the lid fastened on and the “body” of “274, B. H.,” shipped to Riverside.Mayor Rogers canceled the contract and the city Health Commissioner began an investigation.

The city built a temporary wooden fence around the cemetery and in 1894, grading and leveling began in preparation for the park, though several of the open graves wouldn't be filled in until 1902.

Denver's landscape architect, German-born Reinhard Schuetze, did the initial designs for the park with its meandering carriage-ways that join in a figure-8, the pavilion and reflecting pool and the verdant central meadows outlined in groves of trees.

High Street also originally ran through the park, passing just east of the marble pavilion, but was eventually removed, with grass and trees taking its place.

The Cheesman Memorial was constructed in 1908 from Colorado Yule marble, in the Neoclassical style, on a raised platform with retaining walls clad in ashlar masonry and topped by decorative balustrades.

The walls were installed with fountains and inset with grand staircases approaching the pavilion, in the style of an Italian Renaissance garden.

City authorities undertook a restoration of the pavilion but decided to replace the platform altogether with gently sloping lawns and modest concrete staircases.

[11] The new grading meant that much of the original formal landscaping was lost during this period, replaced with simplified flower beds and a rose garden to the north.

In November 2008, during initial construction of a new parking structure for the Denver Botanic Gardens between York and Josephine Streets, human bones and parts of coffins were unearthed.

[13] In 2008 an assessment by the City and County of Denver proposed restoring much of Cheesman Park along the lines of the original 1902 plan conceived by Reinhardt Scheutze.

This would include replanting many trees lost over the years, removing obstructive vegetation, and restoring the parkway to the original figure-8 design.

[14] The retaining walls, fountains and staircases which once supported the Cheesman Memorial would also be restored along with the esplanade and gardens that once surrounded the pavilion.

The neighborhood is predominantly white and middle class with a median household income of $42,477 in 2008, and a higher average level of educational attainment than the city as a whole.

In a 1980 interview, writer and playwright Russell Hunter said he based many elements from The Changeling on experiences from his first months in Denver in 1968, while living in a large house at 1739 East 13th Avenue on the northern edge of Cheesman Park.