46 Fun Facts About Denver

Which range rises just west of Denver?

The Rocky Mountains' Mount Evans was renamed Mount Blue Sky in 2023 over its namesake governor's role in the 1864 Sand Creek Massacre.

Which disaster did Denver philanthropist Margaret 'Molly' Brown survive?

The Titanic sinking left her in Lifeboat 6, and aboard the rescue ship she organised a committee to help poorer survivors.

Where is the benchmark that fixes Denver's official one-mile elevation?

The State Capitol steps hold three mile-high markers, because later surveys placed the mile three steps higher in 1969, then on the 13th step in 2003.

Denver was founded where the South Platte River meets which waterway?

Cherry Creek's gold diggings drew prospectors in 1858, and the rival towns of Auraria and Denver City rose on its opposite banks.

Which peak named Denver's gold rush?

Pikes Peak had no major gold strike until the 1890s, but gold seekers heading west could see it from afar, so its name became their slogan.

James W. Denver, the city's namesake, was governor of which territory?

Kansas Territory's governor got the honour because, reportedly, the town's founders hoped his name would win them the county seat.

Who staked the Denver City claim with cottonwood logs in November 1858?

William Larimer took over a rival town claim, then boasted, 'I am Denver City.'

Which Denver neighborhood, famed for its jazz clubs, was called the 'Harlem of the West'?

Five Points' music scene faded by the 1960s, as residents moved to newer housing elsewhere and neighborhood businesses declined.

Which Wild West figure died in Denver in 1917 and was buried on nearby Lookout Mountain?

Buffalo Bill Cody's wife said he chose Lookout Mountain, but people in Cody, Wyoming, the town he helped found, wanted him buried there.

Which 1861 treaty saw tribal chiefs cede the land of modern Denver?

Fort Wise's signers were later said not to have understood its terms, and the dispute fed the conflict that led to the Sand Creek Massacre.

The first transcontinental railroad bypassed Denver for which Wyoming city?

Cheyenne got the main line, but Denver built its own rail link to it and went on to eclipse Cheyenne as the region's metropolis.

Which Leadville silver millionaire built Denver's grandest opera house in 1881?

Horace Tabor lost most of his fortune when silver prices crashed in 1893, and he went back to the mines as a labourer.

Which crime boss ran Denver's bunco gangs in the 1880s and 1890s?

Soapy Smith got his nickname from a street swindle, selling bars of soap that crowds hoped were wrapped in cash.

Which charity's forerunner did a woman, a priest, two ministers and a rabbi start in Denver in 1887?

United Way's forerunner, the Charity Organization Society, ran a single fundraising campaign for more than 20 local agencies.

Denver's Daniels & Fisher Tower was modelled on which famous bell tower?

St Mark's Campanile in Venice had collapsed in 1902 and was being rebuilt when Denver's copy went up.

Which US Secretary of State's father founded the University of Denver's international studies school?

Madeleine Albright's father, Josef Korbel, also mentored Condoleezza Rice, who studied under him and later became Secretary of State too.

Which centennial were Denver's 1976 Winter Olympics meant to celebrate?

Colorado's statehood came in 1876, yet in 1972 the state's voters refused to pay for the Games meant to celebrate it.

Which city took the 1976 Winter Games after Denver withdrew?

Innsbruck could take over quickly because it had hosted the 1964 Winter Games and already had the venues.

Who led the movement against hosting the 1976 Olympics and later became governor?

Richard Lamm was a young state representative, and the fight against the Games made him known across Colorado.

Denver's 1908 Democratic National Convention picked which nominee for his third White House run?

William Jennings Bryan later became Woodrow Wilson's Secretary of State, but resigned in 1915 over Wilson's tough notes to Germany.

Which nuclear weapons plant near Denver made plutonium pits until 1989?

Rocky Flats was demolished in a cleanup finished in 2005, and the site is now surrounded by a national wildlife refuge.

Which Denver sculpture killed its own artist when a section of it fell on him?

Blue Mustang was finally installed at the airport in 2008, and its glowing red eyes earned it the nickname 'Blucifer'.

Denver lies on the western edge of which region?

The High Plains' farms and ranches gave Denver a steadier living in food processing than the mining booms that built it.

Which Jack Kerouac novel's hero, Dean Moriarty, was modelled on Denver-raised Neal Cassady?

On the Road's real-life hero, Neal Cassady, later drove Ken Kesey's Merry Pranksters bus on its 1964 trip across America.

What does the neighborhood name LoDo stand for?

Lower Downtown lost about a fifth of its buildings to demolition in the 1960s and '70s, before a 1988 historic district protected the rest.

The former Stapleton neighborhood was renamed what in 2020?

Central Park replaced a name honouring Mayor Benjamin Stapleton, a Ku Klux Klan member, after residents voted for the change in 2020.

What delayed Denver International Airport's opening?

Its baggage system tossed and mangled bags, and it was finally scrapped in 2005 in favour of human baggage handlers.

Which airline has its headquarters and primary hub at Denver International Airport?

Frontier agreed in 2022 to merge with Spirit, but the deal fell apart when Spirit's shareholders would not back it over a richer JetBlue offer.

What do locals call the I-25/I-70 interchange?

The mousetrap was rebuilt after a truck carrying Navy torpedoes overturned there in 1984, forcing nearby evacuations.

Which east–west artery runs through Denver, Aurora, Lakewood and Golden?

Colfax Avenue was once a desirable address lined with mansions, before drugs and prostitution gave it a gritty reputation.

Which Colorado ski resort is owned by the city of Denver?

Winter Park's ski train from Denver shut down in 2009 over rising costs, then came back as Amtrak's Winter Park Express.

Which name did the Broncos' home stadium take in 2019?

Empower Field at Mile High got its name after Sports Authority went bankrupt, leaving the Broncos to find a new naming partner.

From where did the Avalanche relocate to Denver in 1995?

As the Quebec Nordiques the franchise never won the Stanley Cup, but it won the Cup in its first season in Denver.

Denver's NHL team of 1976 to 1982 moved east to become which club?

In 1983 Wayne Gretzky called the New Jersey Devils 'Mickey Mouse' after a 13–4 rout, and their fans answered by wearing Mickey Mouse ears.

Who was Finals MVP for the Nuggets' first NBA title?

Nikola Jokić had been only the 41st pick of the 2014 NBA draft, announced while ESPN was showing a commercial.

Which team swept Denver's baseball club in its first World Series, in 2007?

The Boston Red Sox swept a team that had won 21 of its previous 22 games, including every playoff game.

In which suburb do the Colorado Rapids play?

Commerce City's Dick's Sporting Goods Park hosted a 2013 World Cup qualifier played in a snowstorm, and Costa Rica's protest to FIFA after losing to the US failed.

What was Ball Arena called before its renaming?

Pepsi Center replaced McNichols Arena, which was then torn down to make way for the Broncos' new stadium complex.

Which Denver mountain park is famous for its natural amphitheatre?

Red Rocks hosted the Beatles in 1964, the only show on their first US tour that failed to sell out.

Which abstract expressionist's estate did Denver acquire in 2004 to build a museum?

Clyfford Still's will left his works only to an American city that would build a museum exclusively for them.

Which event brings brewers to Denver each fall?

The Great American Beer Festival called off its in-person festival in 2020 because of COVID-19 and held it online instead.

Which January event has brought ranchers and cattle to Denver since 1906?

The National Western Stock Show was started to show area stockmen better breeding and feeding techniques.

Which burrito chain was founded in Denver before moving its HQ to California in 2018?

Steve Ells opened the first Chipotle near the University of Denver with $85,000 from his family.

Which 1980s soap opera followed an oil family in Denver?

Dynasty's opening credits showed Filoli, a California estate, as the Carringtons' Denver mansion.

Which French city has been Denver's sister city since 1948, the second-oldest US link?

Brest's tie began after East High School students raised $32,000 to rebuild the children's wing of its hospital after World War II.

Denver became the first major US city to vote to legalise what?

Marijuana possession stayed illegal in practice, because, as the mayor warned, state law overrode the city's vote.