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Denver's
Population:
The
six-county metro area has a population of 2.4 million. Denver's
metro population has increased by 29.8% since 1990. Denver
is the 20th largest metro area in America, and has the 10th
largest downtown area. All of Colorado is experiencing a population
boom with over 1,000,000 people moving to the state in the
last decade. Colorado's population grew 30.5% from 1990 to
2000 with a current total of 4,301,261 residents. It was the
third fastest growing state in the last decade.
Highest
Educated City: Denver is the most educated city in
the U.S. Denver has the greatest percentage of college graduates
of any major metropolitan area in the U.S.; 92.1% of the population
in the metro area have high school diplomas and 35% have at
least a bachelor's degree, according to the U.S. Census. The
national average is 81.7% for high school diplomas and 23%
with a college degree.
Baby
Boomer Capital: Denver also is the nation's baby
boomer capital, with the highest percentage of boomers of
any major city, according to the 1998 U.S. Census. One third
of the city is between age 35 and 54. Including small cities,
only two had a higher percentage than Denver -- Santa Fe and
Anchorage. Among major cities, percentage of boomers is: Denver
32.8%; Seattle 31.5%; Atlanta 31.4%; Washington 31.4%; Portland
OR 31.4%; San Francisco 30.8%.
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Denver's
Location
Contrary
to popular belief, Denver is not in the mountains -- it is
near them. The "Foothills" (a gentle series of peaks
ranging from 7,000 to 11,000 feet high) start to rise 15 miles
(24 kilometers) west of the city. Slightly beyond that is
the Continental Divide and a series of peaks soaring to heights
of 14,000 feet known locally as the "Front Range."
Denver itself is located on high, rolling plains.
Although
considered "Western" in character, Denver is actually
located in the center of the country, just 346 miles (557km)
west of the exact center of the continental United States.
With the exception of Kansas City, Denver is closer to the
exact center of the nation than any other metropolitan area.
The 15th step on the west side of the State Capitol Building
is exactly 5,280 feet (1,609 m) -- one mile -- above sea level.
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Denver's
Transportation
Aviation
history was made when the $4.3 billion Denver International
Airport opened on February 28, 1995. Covering 53 square miles
(137 square km, twice the size of Manhattan), Denver International
Airport has six full-service runways and has established a
landing rate of 120 planes an hour in good weather--36% higher
than the good weather rate of 88 planes an hour at Denver's
previous airport, Stapleton International. DIA can be expanded
to 11 runways capable of serving 110 million passengers a
year.
Currently
Denver International Airport is the fifth-busiest airport
in the United States and the 10th busiest in the world, offering
1,400 daily flights including non-stops to 126 American cities
and according to the Federal Aviation Administration, for
the past three years, DIA had the fewest delays of any of
the nation's 15 busiest airports.
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Description
of Denver
Denver
is a clean, young and green city with over 200 parks and dozens
of tree-lined boulevards. The architecture reflects the city's
three boom periods: Victorian, when silver was discovered
in Leadville; turn-of-the-century, when gold was discovered
in Cripple Creek; and contemporary, when the energy boom added
16 skyscrapers to the downtown skyline in a three year period,
1980-1983.
Unlike
some Western cities, Denver has a central downtown area. Here,
within easy walking distance, are 5,300 first class hotel
rooms with an additional 1,100 room hotel that is currently
under construction in the downtown corridor, which will open
in late 2005, the city's convention complex, performing arts
complex, and a wide variety of shops, department stores, restaurants
and nightspots.
Also
within easy walking distance are some of the city's top attractions
including the Denver Pavilions, Denver Art Museum and Colorado
History Museum. A mile-long pedestrian mall cuts through the
heart of downtown Denver and is surrounded by a series of
parks and plazas that soften the towering skyscrapers and
provide viewpoints from which to see and appreciate modern
architecture.
Lower
Downtown (called "LoDo" by locals) is on the northern
edge of downtown Denver and offers one of the nation's greatest
concentrations of Victorian buildings and warehouses, many
of which have been refurbished to house restaurants, art galleries,
offices and shops. Downtown is also the home of Auraria Campus
where three colleges have over 30,000 students. Another large
attraction in this area is Colorado's Ocean Journey, a large
aquarium that features salt and fresh water animal life.
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Denver's
Climate
Nothing
about Denver is more misunderstood than the city's climate.
Located just east of a high mountain barrier and a long distance
from any moisture source, Denver has a mild, dry and arid
climate. The city receives only 8-15 inches (20.3 - 38cm)
of precipitation a year (about the same as Los Angeles), and
records 300 days of sunshine a year -- more annual hours of
sun than San Diego or Miami Beach.
Winters
are mild with an average daily high of 45 degrees Fahrenheit,
7 degrees Celsius in February, warmer than New York, Boston,
Chicago or St. Louis. Snow does fall, but it usually melts
in a short time. Golf courses remain open all year and have
been played on as many as 30 days in January. Chinook winds
can bring 60 degree F (16 degrees C) weather to Denver at
any time throughout the winter.
In
summer dry, relative humidity makes Denver feel cool and comfortable,
offering natural air conditioning. Fall is a particularly
delightful time to visit the city and make day excursions
to the mountains to view the colorful changing of the aspens,
and event that takes place from mid-September until mid-October.
|
Average
High
Temperature
(Fahrenheit) |
Average
%
Humidity
(am/pm) |
Average
Precipitation
(inches) |
July |
88.2 |
68/34 |
1.91 |
August |
85.5 |
69/35 |
1.51 |
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Denver's
Museums and Attractions
Denver
has some of the finest museums in the West with a wide variety
of historical, western, artistic and horticultural emphasis.
The
Black American West Museum tells the forgotten
story of African American cowboys, who made up as many as
one third of all the cowboys on the great cattle drives. Housed
in the home of Dr. Justina Ford, Denver's first African American
doctor, the museum has exhibits, historic photos and artifacts
that tell the story of the many contributions made by Blacks
in settling the West.
Buffalo
Bill's Grave & Museum is filled with memorabilia
honoring the famous frontier scout, showman and Pony Express
rider, William F. Cody. Gun collections and posters from the
Wild West Show are some of the items found here. A beautiful
view of the mountains and the plains is visible from his gravesite.
The
Colorado History Museum offers a series of dioramas
and exhibits that trace the colorful history of the Indians,
explorers, gold miners, cowboys and pioneers that have called
Colorado home. Exhibits include an outstanding collection
of William Henry Jackson photos and a large diorama of Denver
as it appeared in 1860.
Colorado
Ocean Journey, which opened in June 1999, is
a world-class aquarium that immerses visitors on two journeys,
from the Continental Divide in Colorado to Mexico's Sea of
Cortez, and the other from an Indonesian rain forest to the
Pacific Ocean. The Rocky Mountain West's only aquarium will
also show visitors how all water and water life are inter-related.
The
Colorado State Capital stands a mile above sea
level with a plaque on the 15th step to mark the spot that
is 5,280 feet (1,609 m) high. The dome is covered with 200
ounces of pure gold and offers a beautiful view from the rotunda
of the entire Front Range, from Pikes Peak, all the way north
to the Wyoming border, a distance of over 150 miles (241 km).
Denver
Art Museum has what is considered to be the finest
collection of American Indian art works in the world covering
all tribes, as well as 30,000 other art objects in seven curatorial
departments. The museum celebrated its 100th Anniversary in
1993 with newly remodeled Asian, Pre-Columbian and Spanish
Colonial galleries and renovated African and Oceanic galleries.
It is the largest art museum between Kansas City and the West
Coast.
The
Denver Botanic Gardens has a large conservatory,
an alpine garden with rare tiny flowers, a Japanese tea garden,
as well as a water garden with hundreds of water lillies that
bloom in late summer. It is just one of 506 public gardens
in Denver where over 240,000 flowers are planted each year.
The
Denver Museum of Nature & Science is the
Rocky Mountain Region's leading resource for informal science
education. A variety of engaging exhibits, discussions and
activities help Museum visitors celebrate and understand the
natural wonders of Colorado, Earth and the universe. During
adventures at the Museum, you'll learn about current science
topics in the news. Prehistoric Journey transports you back
in time to when dinosaurs ruled the planet. The Museum is
also famous for its interactive children's discovery centers,
Egyptian mummies, wildlife exhibits, colorful gems and minerals,
the Hall of Life health center, awe-inspiring IMAX® films,
dynamic temporary exhibits, new scientific discoveries and
visionary speakers.
The
Denver Museum of Nature & Science's new permanent exhibition,
Space Odyssey, opened on June 13, 2003. Here, you can learn
about the latest discoveries in space science, experience
a stunning close-up view of Mars and talk with an "astronaut"
conducting research on the surface. Visitors can also maneuver
a Mars rover and dock the space shuttle. Also on-site is Gates
Planetarium. The most sophisticated planetarium in the world
includes The Cosmic Atlas™, a new digital technology
developed by the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. It
is the most accurate 3-D map of the cosmos ever created.
The
Denver Zoo is consistently rated as one of the
top 10 in America with 3,500 animals in lovely spreading grounds
in City Park. "Tropical Discovery," is a 1.5 acre
rainforest under glass in which visitors feel the sensation
of walking through a jungle teeming with wildlife. Other highlites
of the Zoo include "Northern Shores" where you can
watch polar bears swim underwater and Primate Panorama, where
visitors can get as close as 10 feet to over 29 species of
monkeys. The Zoo celebrated its 100th Anniversary in 1996.
The
U.S. Mint is where over five billion coins are
made each year and there are free 20-minute tours on weekdays.
It is also the second largest storehouse of gold bullion in
the U.S. after Fort Knox. The gift shop has many unique coins
not available anywhere else, and there is a small museum on
the history of money.
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Denver's
Cultural Facilities & Entertainment
With
eight theaters offering 10,800 seats, the Denver Performing
Arts Complex is the second largest performing arts center
in the nation (after Lincoln Center in New York) in seating
capacity and the largest in the world under one roof. Located
downtown, the four-square block center features: Boettcher
Concert Hall, the nations first symphony hall in-the-round.
The Denver Center Theatre Company which won a Tony Award in
1998 for best regional theatre acting company; the Temple
Buell Theatre, a new 2,800 seat Broadway theater that opened
in 1991 with Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit musical, "Phantom
of the Opera" and hosts other top road attractions such
as "The Full Monty," "Lion King," "Mama
Mia" and " Sunset Boulevard," as well as the
world's first voice research laboratory. The center is entered
under a block-long glass arch and is noted for its unusual
and striking architecture.
According
to Performance Magazine, in 1997 more people attended performances
at the Buell Theatre than at any other 3,000 seat or smaller
theatre in the nation. Over 600,000 people paid to see productions
in 1997. The Performing Arts Complex had three of the nations
top 15 theatres in 1997, with the Auditorium Theatre placing
8th and Boettcher Concert Hall placing 12th. And in 1998,
the Denver Center Theatre Company won a Tony Award for best
regional theatre.
The
League of American Theatres and Producers in New York declares
Denver to be the 7th best market in North America for gross
revenues from touring Broadway shows after Toronto, Los Angeles,
Chicago, Washington, San Francisco and Boston.
Denver
has 30 other theatres and over 100 cinemas and has always
had a long love affair with the arts. When Denver was a wild
gold rush town in the 1870's, it boasted a theatre with sold
out performance of MacBeth, long before it had either a school
or a hospital.
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Denver
Dining
Denver
has over 2,000 restaurants serving all varieties of cuisine.
Area specialties include Rocky Mountain Trout, fresh Colorado
beef, and lamb (Colorado is the fourth largest producer of
lamb in the U.S.).
Another
popular local dish is buffalo. High in protein, lower in fat,
calories and cholesterol than chicken, buffalo is gaining
popularity among health conscious diners and is offered at
numerous restaurants in Denver. Among the restaurants serving
buffalo is the historic Buckhorn Exchange, the oldest saloon
and restaurant in the city with a unique dining room covered
with 500 stuffed animal heads and The Fort, which is housed
in a reproduction of Bent's Old Fort, a fur trapper's post
on the Santa Fe Trail. Local residents also enjoy Mexican
and Southwestern dishes, served at dozens of local neighborhood
pubs and taverns.
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Denver
Shopping
As
the largest city in a 600 mile (966km) radius, Denver has
always been the shopping capital of the Rocky Mountain West.
The city features the largest sporting goods store in the
world (Gart Brothers Sport Castle) and the largest independent
bookstore in America with over 400,000 volumes (the Tattered
Cover).
The
16th Street Mall is a mile-long pedestrian promenade
through the heart of downtown Denver, lined with shops, department
stores and outdoor cafes. Free buses leave either end as often
as every 90 seconds, making this the best spot for "people
watching" in the city. In summer, the Mall is decorated
with 25,000 flowers including 8,400 impatients, 6,528 petunias,
648 snapdragons and 370 geraniums.
Cherry
Creek North is an eclectic mix of galleries,
restaurants, shops, clothing designers and cafes, all on pleasant
tree-lined streets directly adjacent to the Cherry Creek Shopping
Center.
Cherry
Creek Shopping Center is the largest in the Rocky
Mountain region with 140 upscale stores including Saks Fifth
Avenue, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor and Foley's. Beautiful
restaurants, architecture and events make this a premiere
shopping experience.
Larimer
Square is a restored section of Denver's oldest
street where the beautiful Victorian buildings have been restored
to house a collection of art galleries, clothing stores, restaurants,
cafes and nightclubs.
The
Shops at Tabor Center is a modern complex on
the 16th Street Mall with 80 shops and restaurants in a three-story,
glass-covered, greenhouse-like building that offers festive
views of downtown and the mountains.
Park
Meadows is one of Denver's newest additions to
the shopping scene. Featuring a Nordstrom, Dillard's, Foley's
and Joslins the shopping center was created to resemble a
ski lodge, complete with a huge center fireplace.
Denver
Pavilions opened in November 1998 and features
a Wolfgang Puck Cafe, Maggiano's Little Italy, Virgin Records
Megastore and Barnes & Noble Superstore.
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Denver
Recreation & Sports
With
300 days of sunshine a year, Denver is a sports capital. The
city offers over 450 miles (720 km) of paved, designated bike
paths, including two beautiful stretches through downtown
along Cherry Creek and along South Platte River. There are
over 70 golf courses in the area, and more than 143 free tennis
courts.
Within
an hour and a half drive from Denver, there are opportunities
for skiing, river running, hiking, fishing, camping, horseback
riding, sailing or mountain biking.
A
2004 survey by SportsBusiness Journal ranked Denver's sports
fans as the most loyal and enthusiastic of America's top 41
sports cities and in June 1997, The Sporting News declared,
"The Best Sports City in 1997 is Denver, where the sun
shines 310 days a year and the sports possibilities are cloudless
year-round...Denver comes together as a unique setting for
sports of all kinds. In addition to outstanding collegiate
and professional sports, there is every kind of participatory
opportunity imaginable."
Denver
has a full compliment of professional sports teams including
the National Football League's Denver
Broncos, the National Basketball Association's Denver
Nuggets, Major League Baseball's Colorado
Rockies, and the National Hockey League's Colorado
Avalanche. Denver also has a professional lacrosse team,
Colorado
Mammoth, and an arena sports team, the Colorado
Crush. The Rockies are typical of Denver's great sports
following: their opening game in April 1993 had the highest
attendance in baseball history and they went on to break 11
Major League attendance records, becoming the most popular
team ever with 4,483,350 paying fans.
Other
spectator sports include the world's largest rodeo held each
year at the National
Western Stock Show in January and pari-mutuel dog and
horse racing.
Half
of Colorado is public land open to all forms of recreation
with two national parks, six national monuments, 11 national
forests, three national recreation areas and 30 state parks.
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