Denver International Airport: Bunkers, Murals and 'Blucifer'
Denver International Airport has been the subject of claims about secret underground bunkers, sinister murals, a 'demonic' horse statue and links to a 'New World Order.' The Denver Public Library's archivists have traced each claim to an ordinary explanation.
Verdict: Debunked. The weight of the evidence cited below contradicts this claim. How we rate stories
The Story
Denver International Airport replaced Stapleton International Airport, whose crowded concourses and tightly packed runways often disrupted flights nationally in bad weather. According to the Denver Public Library, conspiracy theories began even before construction started in September 1989. One claimed that the new airport was cover for building something far more sinister.
The project's problems, cost overruns and a badly timed metalworkers' strike fed the rumors. Some said the airport was built on an ancient Native American burial ground. The library notes that no tribe has ever made that claim, and that archaeological evidence suggests the site may have been a hunting ground, not a burial ground.
The 'New World Airport Commission' was real. It planned the opening festivities, and the library has 11 boxes of its files.
A dedication capstone bears a Masonic crest and lists the members of the 'New World Airport Commission.' To theorists, that sounded like the New World Order. The library holds 11 boxes of the commission's records. It was a real but temporary body, formed by Charles Ansbacher to organize the opening festivities. Ansbacher was a conductor for the Colorado Springs Symphony, and he named it after Dvořák's 'New World Symphony.'
Leo Tanguma's three-panel mural, 'Children of the World Dream of Peace,' drew the most attention. Its first panel shows a faceless soldier impaling a dove with a sword, among grieving parents and children sleeping in rubble. The second panel shows climate disaster, with dead animals and bodies in coffins. The library notes that the final panel shows people of all nations embracing, with weapons bundled up to be beaten into plowshares and the soldier's statue broken. The murals were removed and put into storage in 2018.
'Mustang,' the 32-foot blue horse nicknamed 'Blucifer,' gained more notoriety because its creator, Luis Jiménez, was killed when a piece of it broke loose and severed an artery in his leg. The library says the red eyes were a tribute to his father, who ran a neon sign shop. The blue reflects the horse he modeled it on, a Blue Roan Appaloosa named Black Jack.
Below ground, there are many tunnels. The library says that is to be expected for maintenance and baggage handling, but there is no evidence of a six-story-deep complex for 'elites,' and no evidence of a 90-mile tunnel to NORAD's Cheyenne Mountain. The library explains the 'swastika' runways as a pinwheel layout that lets several runways be used at once and reduces the chance of closing them all in strong winds.
Origins
According to the Denver Public Library, conspiracy theories about the airport began even before construction started in September 1989. They grew with the project's problems and cost overruns, and later with its unusual artwork and a dedication capstone bearing a Masonic emblem.
The Claims
- A vast underground complex will shelter 'elites' through an apocalypse.
- The murals foretell a genocidal New World Order.
- The 'New World Airport Commission' named on the capstone is a code for the New World Order.
- The runways form a swastika.
Key Evidence
- Some features are real: a capstone with a Masonic crest, dark imagery in Leo Tanguma's murals, a 32-foot blue horse with glowing red eyes, and many tunnels under the terminals.
- The sculptor of the horse, Luis Jiménez, was killed when a piece of it broke loose and severed an artery in his leg.
The Evidence Against
- The library holds 11 boxes of records from the New World Airport Commission. It was a real, temporary body that organized the opening festivities, and it was named after Dvořák's 'New World Symphony.'
- Tanguma's three panels move from war and environmental disaster to a final scene of 'hope and optimism for the future.'
- The library says a facility of that size needs extensive maintenance and baggage tunnels, but there is 'no evidence of a 6-story-deep complex.'
- The pinwheel runway layout lets several runways be used at once and reduces the chance of shutting all of them in bad weather.
Documents & Sources
- ArchiveA Local's Guide to DIA Conspiracy Theories (Denver Public Library Special Collections and Archives, Chris Root, 22 February 2023) history.denverlibrary.org ↗
Each link was checked for availability on Oct. 27, 2026. Links open in a new tab.