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Denver @ 150: History sifts fact from fable

An early photograph of 16th Street before it was a mall, taken from Champa Street in 1939.

"History would be a wonderful thing," Leo Tolstoy once observed, "if it were true." Still, the untidy collision of fable and fact — punctuated by violence and greed, folly, vision and heroism — that comprises the 150-year history of Denver is splendid to behold. Even in miniature. Above, a view of the 16th Street Mall taken from Champa Street in 1939.

Denver still wrestling with city's cow-town image

Denver Mayor Wellington Webb talks to 'Big' Al Richardson during a walking tour down Welton Street in Five Points in 2002.

Do Denverites still fret about what the world thinks of them? Yes, says state historian Bill Convery. Always have. Always will. Self-consciousness has been a part of Denver's mind-set since the beginning, he says. It's a plague of perceived inferiority, rooted in the old 19th century dependence on Eastern capital and imported labor. Will we never measure up?

By hook or crook, Denver scores

Newsboys pose for a photograph in downtown Denver around 1900.

Happy birthday, Denver! Tomorrow. Generally, I'm not one to assume anything. But looking back over the past 149 years, the odds seem good the city of Denver will have no problem turning 150 years old Saturday. After all, Denverites have always seemed to find a way.

 


In celebration of its 150th birthday on Nov. 22, 2008, the city and county of Denver has selected 150 of its citizens to honor as "unsung heroes" -- ordinary people who have done extraordinary things to help make our city a better one for this and future generations.

The city is hosting a private reception at the Colorado history Museum honoring these unsung heroes, Denver's 150. But you can read about them now, by clicking the links below.

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Influential People and Events
in Denver History

Click on the categories below to read about some of the more influential figures and events throughout Denver's history.

Founders
Industrialists
Writers
Disasters
Inspirational women
Villains
Saints
Heroes
Events
Entrepreneurs
Actors
Musicians

More Denver history

Multimedia

From the Editors

Denver's timeline

June, 1858: The William Green Russell party from Auraria, Ga., discovers gold in the South Platte River near Cherry Creek.

Nov. 22, 1858: Denver City Town Company founded by William H. Larimer party from Leavenworth, Kansas Territory.

1861: Colorado Territory created.

1870: The Denver Pacific, Kansas Pacific and Colorado Central Railroads reach Denver, ending the town's isolation and stagnation.

1871: First Denver streetcar line built from Auraria to Five Points.

1876: Colorado becomes the 38th state.

1880s: Colorado's first great boom, propelled by mining and railroads, takes Denver's population to 106,713 in 1890.

1893: Silver crash sends Denver into depression.

1902: City and County of Denver carved out of Arapahoe County.

1904-1918: Mayor Robert W. Speer works to transform Denver, following the national "City Beautiful" movement

1908: The Democratic National Convention is held from July 7-10 at the Denver Auditorium Arena. The delegates nominate William Jennings Bryan, of Nebraska, for president.

1920s: Ku Klux Klan comes to power with the elections of klansmen Clarence Morely as governor of Colorado and Ben Stapleton as mayor of Denver.

1929: Denver Municipal (Stapleton) Airport opens.

1930s: Denver develops its mountain parks system, including Red Rocks Amphitheater and Winter Park Ski Area.

1947-1955: Mayor Quigg Newton modernizes Denver, installing Dr. Florence Sabin as head of Health and Hospitals; Hank Barnes sets up one-way streets and "The Barnes Dance" (diagonal pedestrian crossings downtown).

1976: Auraria Higher Education Center opens in Denver's oldest neighborhood; Denver celebrates Colorado Centennial and U.S. Bicentennial by opening its Platte River Greenway at Confluence Park.

1983: Federico Peña becomes Denver's first Spanish-surnamed mayor.

1991: Wellington Edward Webb becomes Denver's first black mayor.

1994: Regional Transportation District opens first light-rail line, from Auraria to Five Points

1995: Denver International Airport opens; Denver builds a new public library, incorporating the original 1955 landmark building, and restores historic branch libraries. Coors Field opens.

1998: On Jan. 25, Terrell Davis leads the Broncos to their first Super Bowl victory. The Broncos repeat as champions the next year.

1999: Pepsi Center opens.

2001: Invesco Field at Mile High opens

2004: The Colorado Convention Center boasts 2.2 million total square feet after a $310 million expansion, which backers say makes it big enough to host 95 percent of all conventions.

2006: The Denver Art Museum opens its $110 million addition, designed by Daniel Libeskind, during an October weekend that attracts 35,000.

2008: The Democratic National Convention returns to Denver in August at the Pepsi Center, concluding with nominee Barack Obama's acceptance speech at Invesco Field at Mile High.

SOURCES: Denver.gov and Rocky Mountain News