It is the county seat of, and coextensive with, Denver County. As of the
2000 census, the population of the city was 554,636, and the CMSA population
was 2,581,506 (2000 census), making it the 19th-largest metropolitan area in
the United States.
Denver is nicknamed the "Mile-High City", because its official elevation,
measured on one of the steps on the state capitol, is 5,280 feet (1 mile)
above sea level. This step is marked by the fact that it is gold-coated,
rather than being solid stone like the other steps. (The elevation is 1655.4
m (5431 ft.), as surveyed at the Denver International Airport). Also, a row
of seats in the upper deck of Coors Field, home of Major League Baseball's
Colorado Rockies (NL), is distinctively marked in purple (one of the team's
colors) to indicate that the row is one mile above sea level.
The 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.
Several US Navy ships have been named USS Denver in honor of the city.
History
Denver was founded in the Kansas Territory in 1858. On November 22 of that
year, 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 site 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.
In the first few years, while the town grew, land parcels were often traded
freely for grubstakes and in during 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.
Denver was selected to host the 1976 Winter Olympics to coincide with
Colorado's centennial anniversary, but Colorado voters struck down allowing
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 Senator Richard Lamm. Lamm
was subsequently elected as Colorado governor in 1974.
On April 20, 1999, the Columbine High School massacre occurred at Columbine
High School, which is located southwest of Denver in an unincorporated area
in suburban Jefferson County; the school has a Littleton address.
Geography
Denver is located at 39°43'35" North, 104°57'56" West (39.726287,
-104.965486)1 in the Colorado Front Range region. It has 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 km˛ (154.9 mi˛). 397.2 km˛ (153.4 mi˛) of it is land and 4.1 km˛ (1.6
mi˛) of it is water. The total area is 1.03% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 554,636 people, 239,235 households, and
119,378 families residing in the city. The population density is 1,396.5/km˛
(3,616.8/mi˛). There are 251,435 housing units at an average density of
633.1/km˛ (1,639.6/mi˛). The racial makeup of the city is 65.30% White,
11.12% African American, 1.31% Native American, 2.81% Asian American, 0.12%
Pacific Islander, 15.59% from other races, and 3.75% from two or more races.
31.68% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 239,235 households out of which 23.2% have children under the age
of 18 living with them, 34.7% are married couples living together, 10.8%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 50.1% are non-families.
39.3% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.4% have someone
living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is
2.27 and the average family size is 3.14.
In the city the population is spread out with 22.0% under the age of 18,
10.7% from 18 to 24, 36.1% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% who
are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100
females there are 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there
are 101.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $39,500, and the median
income for a family is $48,195. Males have a median income of $34,232 versus
$30,768 for females. The per capita income for the city is $24,101. 14.3% of
the population and 10.6% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the
total people living in poverty, 20.3% are under the age of 18 and 9.7% are
65 or older.
Landmarks
Brown Palace Hotel, the city's oldest hotel
Buckhorn Exchange, Denver's oldest restaurant, a historic old-west
steakhouse
Colorado State Capitol
Confluence Park, where the city started at the confluence of the South
Platte and Cherry Creek.
D&F Tower, when it was built in 1910 the tallest building west of the
Mississippi
Four Mile House, an important stop on the Cherokee Trail and the oldest
standing residential building in the metropolitan area
Denver Mint
Molly Brown House, where Molly Brown lived in Denver
Richthofen Castle, a castle built by the uncle and godfather of the Red
Baron
Union Station, former rail hub and magnificent three-story building
Colleges and Universities
University of Denver
Metropolitan State College of Denver
University of Colorado at Denver
Johnson & Wales University
Sporting Teams
Denver Broncos of the National Football League (American football) (1960-)
Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association (1967-)
Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (1993-)
Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (1996-)
Colorado Rapids of Major League Soccer (1996-)
Colorado Crush of the Arena Football League (2003-)
Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (2003-)
Denver Bears former minor league (AAA) baseball team (1948-1992)
Denver Zephyrs originally, the Denver Bears (moved to New Orleans, 1992)
Denver Spurs former World Hockey Association team (1975-76)
Colorado Rockies former National Hockey League team (1976-82); now known as
the New Jersey Devils
Denver Gold former United States Football League team (1983-1985)
Denver Dynamite former Arena Football League team (1987, 1989-1991)
Denver Grizzlies former International Hockey League team (1994-1995)
Hostels
Denver International Youth Hostel
InnKeeper of the Rockies
Melbourne International Hotel & Hostel
Airports
Denver International Airport
Centennial Airport
former Stapleton International Airport (replaced by Denver International
Airport and closed in 1995)
former Lowry Air Force Base (flights stopped around 1965)
Famous Denverites
Tim Allen
Richard Butler (born in Bennett, Colorado)
Pat Hingle
Karl Rove
Paul Whiteman
Famous non-native residents
John Elway
Pat Oliphant
