December 8th 2024.
Morgan O'Sullivan was eagerly anticipating the grand opening of FlyteCo Tower in northeast Denver in August of 2022. However, his excitement was quickly dampened when he discovered the tragic history of the site. It was the site of the first documented bombing of a large commercial airliner in the United States.
The three-story building, which would serve as a brewery, bar, restaurant, and arcade, was once the air traffic control tower for Stapleton International Airport. As O'Sullivan was preparing for the opening, he received a visit from Marian Poeppelmeyer, the daughter of a pilot who lost his life in the 1955 explosion. She asked to see the tower because it was where her father's final flight had taken off from. This encounter made O'Sullivan and his co-founder realize that the building they were occupying had a story of its own that far surpassed anything they could create.
In honor of the 44 victims of United Airlines Flight 629, as well as the first responders on the ground, a granite memorial will be erected next to the tower's entrance in November of next year. This date holds a special significance as it will mark the 70th anniversary of the tragic event. Along with the memorial, there are plans for a symposium and a memorial dinner on October 31st, and History Colorado will have a display about the bombing in the fall.
The bombing took place on the evening of November 1st, 1955, after the United flight departed from Stapleton heading to Portland, Oregon. Sadly, none of the 39 passengers or five crew members reached their destination as the plane exploded near Longmont. The perpetrator, John "Jack" Gilbert Graham, was a Denver resident who had already been on the district attorney's radar for forgery. He had taken out a travel insurance policy on his mother, Daisie E. King, who was on the flight to Anchorage, Alaska. Before her plane took off, Graham slipped away and purchased $37,500 worth of insurance, intending to collect the money by planting a bomb in her luggage.
Graham eventually confessed to the crime and was executed in 1957. This tragedy resulted in a federal law criminalizing the bombing of airlines and buses and set a precedent for allowing television coverage of court trials.
The bombing occurred just four years after Colorado's deadliest plane crash, which took place on June 30th, 1951. United Flight 610 was en route from Salt Lake City to Denver when it crashed into a mountainside in Larimer County, killing all 50 passengers on board. The wreckage of the plane can still be found on Crystal Mountain.
The former Stapleton International Airport control tower, which is now home to FlyteCo Brewing, stands as a reminder of the airport's past. The airport was closed in 1995 and replaced with the newly built Denver International Airport. The surrounding Stapleton neighborhood has since been redeveloped and renamed Central Park in 2020, after years of objections from marginalized communities.
Efforts are now being made to honor the victims of Flight 629. The Denver Police Museum is leading the charge in organizing and fundraising for a memorial. They have reached out to the families of the victims and invited them to the upcoming events. In addition, another organization, the Flight 629 and Unsung Heroes Across America Committee, is raising money for a meditation garden to honor the victims in Weld County, where the crash occurred.
For Michael Hesse, president of the Denver Police Museum, it is important to provide justice and a proper memorial for the victims of this tragic event. With plans in place for both a physical memorial and commemorative events, the memory of those lost on Flight 629 will never be forgotten.
As the grand opening of FlyteCo Tower in northeast Denver approached in August 2022, owner Morgan O'Sullivan discovered a dark piece of history tied to the site. It was revealed that this location was the site of the first bombing of a large commercial airliner in the United States. The three-story establishment, which housed a brewery, bar, restaurant, and arcade, was located in the former Stapleton International Airport air traffic control tower. The daughter of a pilot who was killed in the tragic 1955 explosion, Marian Poeppelmeyer, reached out to O'Sullivan and asked if she could visit the tower, stating that this was where her late father's final flight had taken off from.
O'Sullivan shared that as they began to learn more about the building they were occupying, they realized that it had a story of its own that was even more significant than their business. This was the brand's second location and they wanted to honor the victims of United Airlines Flight 629, as well as the first responders on the ground. They decided to install a granite memorial next to the tower's front entrance, which would be unveiled to the public on November 1st, the 70th anniversary of the attack. Additionally, a symposium and memorial dinner were planned for October 31st, and History Colorado would be putting up a display about the bombing in the fall.
The mass murder occurred on the evening of November 1st, 1955, when United Flight 629 took off from Stapleton on its way to Portland, Oregon. However, the flight never reached its destination, as it exploded near Longmont, tragically taking the lives of all 39 passengers and 5 crew members. The culprit behind this heinous act was John "Jack" Gilbert Graham, a Denver resident who was already on the district attorney's radar for forgery. Graham had taken out a travel insurance policy on his mother, Daisie E. King, who was a passenger on the flight. He then planted a homemade time bomb in her luggage, with the intention of collecting the insurance money.
In a 2005 news article, it was described how Graham woke up from a nap on November 1st, 1955, and opened his mother's suitcase. Inside, he replaced her belongings with a bundle of explosives, along with a timer and battery. Graham eventually confessed to his crime and was put to death in 1957. This tragedy led to the creation of a federal law that criminalized the bombing of airlines and buses. It also set a new standard for news coverage of court proceedings, as it was the first court trial in the United States to allow television coverage.
Just four years prior to this tragic event, Colorado experienced its deadliest plane crash on June 30th, 1951. United Flight 610 was on its way from Salt Lake City to Denver when it crashed into a mountainside near Fort Collins, killing all 50 people on board. The remains of the plane can still be found on Crystal Mountain. The former Stapleton International Airport was eventually closed in 1995 and replaced by the brand-new Denver International Airport. The surrounding area was redeveloped and renamed Central Park in 2020, after decades of pushback from residents due to its previous name honoring a former Denver mayor and Ku Klux Klan member, Benjamin Stapleton.
The control tower of the former Stapleton Airport is one of the few remaining structures that offer a glimpse into its past. Organizations such as the Denver Police Museum and the Flight 629 and Unsung Heroes Across America Committee have taken the lead in organizing and fundraising for a memorial to honor the victims of Flight 629. The Denver Police Museum has been working on the project for several years and has raised $2,000 out of the $6,000 needed for the memorial. The museum's volunteers have also reached out to relatives of the victims to invite them to next year's events.
In Weld County, where the crash occurred, the Flight 629 and Unsung Heroes Across America Committee is also working to raise funds for a meditation garden to honor the victims. So far, they have only raised $3,600 out of the estimated $1 million needed for the project. As Michael Hesse, the president of the Denver Police Museum, stated, there were unfortunately no survivors in this tragedy, but it was important to provide justice and remember those who lost their lives. In a photo taken on November 28th, 1955, John Gilbert Graham is seen being escorted to court to face charges for the murder of his mother and the 43 other victims of the United Flight 629 plane crash.
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