He was able to build the permanent stage in 1941 after hiring architect Burnham Hoyt, who modeled it on the Theatre of Dionysus at the Acropolis in Athens. In 1928, when Denver purchased the park and it was renamed to its current name, entrepreneur John Brisben Walker had the idea to create a stage to accommodate artists performing in this acoustic wonderland. The natural amphitheater in which the music venue is located began to take shape more than 200 million years ago when sediment-spreading alluvial fans deposited the rocky monoliths that form the park.