Encyclopedia
The
City and County of Denver is the
capital and largest city of the
U.S. state of
Colorado. It is located on the
plains just east of the
Rocky Mountains and forms the heart of the
Denver-Aurora metropolitan area. The central downtown district is on the east side of the
South Platte River, near its confluence with Cherry Creek, approximately fifteen miles from the foothills.
Denver is the county seat of, and shares the same borders with, Denver County — one of the few consolidated city-counties in the
United States. According to 2005
Census estimates , the city has a population of 557,917 and ranks as the
25th-largest in the
United States and the sixth-largest state capital. The population of the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area is about 2,330,146 According to Demographia, it is the 20th largest
metropolitan area in the United States by 2000 population . The city claims to have the tenth largest downtown in the United States .
Denver is nicknamed "
The Mile-High City" because its official elevation, engraved on the fifteenth step of the
state capitol building, is one
statute mile above sea level. The city's elevation, as surveyed at
Denver International Airport, is 5,431 ft .
Denver has also been known historically as the
Queen City of the Plains because of its important role in the agricultural industry of the plains regions along the foothills of the Front Range. Other nicknames that Denver has had include
The Rail City, for the city's importance as a North American rail hub, and
Capital of the Rocky Mountain Empire, for the city's preeminence in the Rocky Mountain region. Several
US Navy ships have been named USS
Denver in honor of the city.
History
Denver was founded in the
Kansas Territory in 1858. That summer a group from Lawrence, Kansas, arrived and established Montana City on the banks of the
South Platte River. This was the first settlement in what was later to become the city of Denver. The site faded quickly, however, and was abandoned in favor of Auraria and St. Charles City by the summer of 1859. The site is now Grant-Frontier Park and includes mining equipment and a log cabin replica.
Larimer Party
On November 22 of 1858, General William Larimer, a land speculator from eastern
Kansas, placed
cottonwood logs to stake a square-mile claim on the hill overlooking the confluence of the
South Platte River and Cherry Creek, across the creek from the existing mining settlement of Auraria.
The location was accessible to existing trails and had previously been the site of seasonal encampments of the
Cheyenne and
Arapaho. Larimer, along with associates in the Denver City Land Company, sold parcels in the town to merchants and miners, with the intention of creating a major city that would cater to new emigrants. The name "Denver City" was chosen to honor Kansas territorial governor
James W. Denver, in order to ensure that the city would become the county seat of then Arapaho County, Kansas. Ironically, when Larimer named it after Denver, he was unaware that the latter had already resigned as governor. After statehood, Denver remained the seat of
Arapahoe County until the creation of Denver County in 1902.
The Rail City
In the first few years, while the town grew, land parcels were often traded freely for grubstakes and in the course of gambling by miners in Auraria. The city was incorporated on November 7, 1861, several months after the formation of the
Colorado Territory. In 1865, Denver became the capital of the Colorado Territory, and in an 1881 state election, that distinction became permanent . The mid 1880s saw a huge rise in city corruption, as crime bosses, such as
Soapy Smith, worked side-by-side with elected officials and the police, to control the elections, gambling, and the bunko gangs. By 1890, Denver had grown to be the second largest city west of
Omaha, Nebraska, second only to
San Francisco. . It would lose the title at the turn of the century to Los Angeles, however.
In 1887, the precursor to the international charity
United Way was formed in Denver by local religious leaders who fundraised and cordinated various charities to help Denver's poor .
The era of the 1890s played an important role in Denver's history, as this is when the city began to take on a "big city" image. The 1908
Democratic National Convention was staged to promote Denver's prominence, and to signify the city's participation on the national political and socioeconomic stage.
Beat Generation and the Olympic Games
Denver was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics to coincide with Colorado's centennial anniversary, but Colorado voters struck down ballot initiatives allocating public funds to pay for the high costs of the games, so they were moved to
Innsbruck,
Austria. The movement against hosting the games was based largely on environmental issues and was led by then State Representative Richard Lamm. Lamm was subsequently elected as Colorado governor in 1974.
Denver was an important place for the "
beat generation." Beat icon
Neal Cassady was raised on Larimer Street in Denver, and a portion of
Jack Kerouac's beat masterpiece
On the Road takes place in the city, and is based on the beat's actual experiences in Denver during a road trip. Beat poet
Allen Ginsberg lived for a time in the Denver suburb of
Lakewood, and he helped found the
Buddhist college, Naropa University or the "Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa" in nearby
Boulder.
Geography
Denver is located at in the Colorado Front Range region, between the
Rocky Mountains to the west and the
Great Plains to the east. According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 401.3 km² , of which 4.1 km² , or 1.03%, is water.
Adjacent and Metro Area Counties
Climate
Denver has a semi-arid climate with four distinct seasons. While Denver is located on the
Great Plains, the weather of the city and surrounding area is heavily influenced by the proximity of the
Rocky Mountains to the west. The climate, while generally mild compared to the mountains to the west and the plains further east, can often be very unpredictable. Measurable amounts of snow have fallen in Denver as late as
Memorial Day and as early as Labor Day, and trace amounts have been recorded in every month of the year.
The average temperature in Denver is 50.1 °F , and the average yearly precipitation is 15.81 in . The season's first snowfall generally occurs around October 19, and the last snowfall is about April 27, averaging 61.6 in of seasonal accumulation. Although Denver's Convention and Visitor Bureau claims Denver receives over 300 sunny days a year , the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration places that figure at about 250 days of sunshine a year .
Denver's winters can vary from mild to cold, and although large amounts of snow can fall on the mountains just west of the city, the effects of
orographic lift dry out the air passing over the
Front Range, shadowing the city from precipitation for much of the season. Additionally, warm
chinook winds can occasionally be felt as air passing over the mountains heats as it descends. Nevertheless, winters are generally mild, with the coldest temperature ever recorded in Denver was recorded on January 9, 1875 at -29 °F , though the last time Denver recorded a temperature below -20 °F was in 1990.
Spring brings with it significant changes as Denver can be affected by air masses on all sides, whether arctic air from the north, which occasionally combines with Pacific storm fronts bringing snow to the city. In fact, March is Denver's snowiest month, averaging 11.7 in of snow. Additionally, warm air from the
Gulf of Mexico can bring the first
thunderstorms of the season, and continental warm air can bring summer-like warm and dry conditions.
Starting in mid-July, the
monsoon brings tropical moisture into the city and with it come frequent short late-afternoon thunderstorms. However, despite this tropical moisture, humidity levels during the day generally remain very low. The average high during the summer is 85 °F and the average low is 56 °F .
In the autumn, the tropical monsoon flow dies down and as arctic air begins to approach, it can combine with moisture from the
Pacific Northwest to bring significant snowfall to the city – November is Denver's second snowiest month, and Denver's greatest recorded snowfall from a single storm, 45.7 in , fell in late autumn from December 1 to December 6, 1913.
|
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|
| Extreme Daily Maximum | °F | 76 | 77 | 84 | 90 | 95 | 104 | 105 | 105 | 97 | 90 | 79 | 79 |
|---|
| Average Daily Maximum | °F | 43 | 47 | 54 | 61 | 71 | 82 | 88 | 86 | 77 | 66 | 52 | 44 |
|---|
| Average Daily Minimum | °F | 15 | 19 | 25 | 34 | 44 | 53 | 59 | 57 | 47 | 36 | 24 | 16 |
|---|
| Extreme Daily Minimum | °F | -29 |
|---|
19 | 30 | 42 | 40 | 17 | | Data recorded from Downtown Denver , Stapleton Airport , and Denver International Airport . Averages 1971-2000. |
>!
!!
!!Jan!!Feb!!Mar!!Apr!!May!!Jun!!Jul!!Aug!!Sep!!Oct!!Nov!!Dec
|-
!align=left|Average Precipitation
|align=center|in
| 0.51||0.49||1.28||1.93||2.32||1.56||2.16||1.82||1.14||0.99||0.98||0.63
|-
!align=left|Average Snowfall
|align=center|in
| 7.7||6.3||11.7||9.1||1.3||T||0.0||0.0||2.1||4.1||10.7||8.7
|-
|colspan=14 align=center bgcolor=#f0f0f0 style="font-size:67%;line-height:1em;"| Precipitation data recorded from Stapleton Airport , and Denver International Airport . Snowfall data recorded from Stapleton Airport . Averages 1971-2000. . Energy and mining are still important in Denver's economy today, with companies such as EnCana, Halliburton, Newmont Mining, Patina Oil and Gas, and Western Gas Resources.
Denver's west-central geographic location in the Mountain Time Zone also benefits the telecommunications industry by allowing communication with both North American coasts, South America, Europe, and Asia in the same business day. Denver's location on the 105th meridian at over 1 mile in elevation also enables it to be the largest city in the U.S. to offer a 'one-bounce' real-time satellite uplink to six continents in the same business day. Qwest Communications, EchoStar, Starz-Encore, and Comcast are just a few of the telecommunications companies with operations in the Denver area. These and other high-tech companies had a boom in Denver in the mid to late 1990s, but the technology bust in the new millennium caused Denver to lose many of those technology jobs. Recently the Denver area has started making a comeback, with the October 2005 unemployment at 4.7% the lowest since September of 2001 . Denver government and industry leaders are attempting to diversify the Denver economy so that it is less susceptible to boom and bust cycles.
- See also: List of companies with Denver area operations
Trade Shows
Denver's location at the center of what is considered the "Napa Valley" of craft-brewing has led the American Brewer's Association to hold its annual Great American Beer Festival at the Colorado Convention Center. Denver is also the site of the annual National Western Stock Show due to its ranching and agricultural roots.
Law and government
Denver is a consolidated city-county with a non-partisan elected mayor , a 13-member city council and an auditor. The Denver City Council is elected from 11 districts with two at-large council-members and is responsible for passing and changing all laws, resolutions, and ordinances, usually after a public hearing. They can also call for misconduct investigations of Denver's departmental officials.
Denver has a strong mayor/weak city council government. The mayor can approve or veto any ordinances or resolutions approved by the council, makes sure all contracts with the city are kept and performed, signs all bonds and contracts, is responsible for the city budget, and can appoint people to various city departments, organizations, and commissions. However, the council can override the mayor's veto with a nine out of 13 member vote, and the city budget must be approved and can be changed by a simple majority vote of the council. The auditor checks all expenditures and may refuse to allow specific ones, usually based on financial reasons.
All elected officials have four year terms, with a maximum of two terms. While Denver elections are non-partisan, Democrats have long held a virtual monopoly on Denver politics with all elected officials having Democratic Party affiliation. In federal elections, Denverites also tend to vote for Democratic candidates, voting for the Democratic Presidential nominee in every election since 1960 . The office of Denver's Mayor has been occupied by a Democrat since the municipal general election of 1963, including the current mayor, John Hickenlooper. Denver is represented at the federal level by congresswoman Diana DeGette, a Democrat representing Colorado's 1st congressional district, which includes all of Denver and parts of Arapahoe County.
Notable political action and events
During the 1960s and 70s, Denver was one of the epicenters of the Chicano Movement. The boxer-turned-activist Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales formed an organization called the Crusade for Justice, which battled police brutality, fought for bilingual education, and, most notably, hosted the First National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference in March of 1969.
In recent years, Denver has taken a stance on helping people who are or become homeless, particularly under the administrations of mayors John Hickenlooper and Wellington Webb. Denver's homeless population is considerably lower than many other major cities, but residents of the city streets have suffered during Denver's winters. Although mild and dry much of the time, Denver's winters can have brief periods of cold temperatures and varying amounts of snow. As a result, the city has set a national precedent on homeless services, with the creations of a ten-year plan to end homelessness , a task force and commission to end homelessness, and an expansion of human and civil services through the Denver area.
In 2005, Denver became the first major city in the U.S. to make the private use of less than an ounce of marijuana legal for adults 21 and older. The city voted 53.49%-46.51% in favor of the marijuana legalization measure. It should be noted that this initiative does not usurp state law, which currently treats marijuana possession in much the same way as a speeding ticket, with fines of up to $100 and no jail time .
Denver is competing with St. Paul/Minneapolis and New York to host the 2008 Democratic National Convention, which would coincidentally be the centennial of the city's first hosting of the landmark 1908 convention. It also hosted the G7 summit between June 20 and June 22 in 1997.
Media
Denver is served by a variety of media outlets in print, radio and television. Denver is the #18 market in the country for television, according to the
Television
Popular Radio
Denver is served by over 40 AM and FM stations, covering a wide variety of formats. Denver radio is the #22 market in the United States, according to Arbitron ratings.
Primary Newspapers
The Denver Newspaper Agency consists of the two main newspapers in Denver:
Secondary/Alternative Newspapers
- Westword
- Outfront Colorado
- Denver Daily News
Transportation
Grid system
Most of Denver has a straightforward street grid oriented to the four cardinal directions. Blocks are usually identified in hundreds from the median streets, identified as "0", which are Broadway and Ellsworth Avenue . Colfax Avenue, the major east-west artery through Denver, is 15 blocks north of the median. Avenues north of Ellsworth are numbered , while avenues south of Ellsworth are named.
There is also an older downtown grid system that was designed to be parallel to the confluence of the South Platte River and Cherry Creek. Most of the streets downtown and in LoDo run northeast-southwest and northwest-southeast. This system has an unplanned benefit for snow removal; if the streets were in a normal N-S/E-W grid, only the N-S streets would receive sunlight. With the grid oriented to the diagonal directions, the NW-SE streets receive sunlight to melt snow in the morning and the NE-SW streets receive it in the afternoon. The NW-SE streets are numbered, while the NE-SW streets are named. The named streets start at the intersection of Colfax Avenue and Broadway with the block-long Cheyenne Place. The numbered streets start underneath the Colfax and I-25 viaducts. There are 27 named and 44 numbered streets on this grid. There are also a few vestiges of the old grid system in the normal grid, such as Park Avenue, Morrison Road, and Speer Boulevard.
All roads in the downtown grid system are streets. Roads outside of that system that travel east/west are given the suffix "avenue" and those that head north and south are given the "street" suffix. . Boulevards are higher capacity streets and will travel any direction. Smaller roads are sometimes referred to as places, drives or courts. Most streets outside of the area between Broadway and Colorado Boulevard are organized alphabetically from the city's center.
Confusion may arise where the two grid systems meet, especially given downtown Denver's one way streets. The system can be easily navigated with the help of directional signs. The mountains to the west also offer a great compass-point for those attempting to drive in the Mile High City.
Highways
Denver is primarily served by the interstate highways I-25 and I-70. The intersection of the two interstates is referred to locally as "the mousetrap." I-70 runs east-west from Utah to Kansas. I-25 runs north-south from the New Mexico border through Denver to the Wyoming border. I-225 traverses neighboring Aurora and connects with I-25 in the southeastern corner of Denver. Additionally, I-76 begins from I-70 just west of the city in Arvada. It intersects I-25 north of the city and runs northeast to Nebraska where it ends at I-80. U.S. Route 6 connects downtown Denver to the suburb of Golden.
A highway expansion and transit project for the I-25 corridor, dubbed T-REX , will be completed in November 2006. The completed portion installed wider and additional lanes, easier and more efficient access, and better drainage. The project also included installing light-rail lines. The project spanned almost 16 miles, from Douglas County, Colorado to downtown Denver. Part of T-REX also encompassed the southern section of I-225, a major highway through Aurora, Colorado.
Mass transportation
Mass transportation throughout the Denver-Aurora metropolitan area is managed and coordinated by the Regional Transportation District . RTD currently operates more than 1,000 buses serving 10,000 bus stops in 38 municipal jurisdictions. Additionally, RTD operates two light rail lines with a total of 15.8 miles of track and serving 24 stations. Current RTD local fare is $1.50 with disabled residents who have an RTD disabled discount card being charged 75¢. FasTracks, an expansion project approved by voters in 2004, will allow light rail to serve cities such as Lakewood, Golden, and Aurora. Commuter rail lines will serve the northern section of the metropolitan area, in addition to Boulder, Longmont, and Denver International Airport.
Trains
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Denver, operating its California Zephyr daily in both directions between Chicago and Emeryville, California, across the bay from San Francisco. Additionally, there is the Ski Train operated by the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad, which takes passengers between Denver and the Winter Park Ski Resort. Denver's early years as a major train hub of the west are still very visible today. Trains stop in Denver at historic Union Station, where travelers can access RTD's 16th Street Free MallRide or use light rail to tour the city.
Airports
Denver International Airport , commonly known as DIA, serves as the primary airport for the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan area. It is the eleventh busiest airport in the world and ranks sixth in the United States, with 43.4 million passengers passing through it in 2005. It covers more than 53 square miles , making it the largest airport in the United States by land area. In the past, Denver has been home to other airports that are no longer operational. Stapleton International Airport was closed in 1995 when it was replaced by DIA. Lowry Air Force Base was a military flight training facility that ceased flight operations in 1966, with the base finally being closed in 1994.
Although not located within Denver's borders, Centennial Airport, Front Range Airport and Jef
