Denver
Neighborhoods
Downtown Denver is divided into four main districts. To the south lies the Civic Center Park area. The park, which is the locale for Denver's major annual festivities, is surrounded by museums and government buildings, and the state capitol building is located on a nearby hilltop.
The heart of Denver's business and theater districts is the 16th Street Mall, a mile-long pedestrian-only thoroughfare located a block away from Civic Center Park. A series of parks and shops line the mall, including Denver Pavilions, a recently completed entertainment complex whose attractions include a Hard Rock Cafe and 15 movie houses.
| City Fact Comparison | ||||
| Indicator | Denver | Cairo | Rome | Beijing |
| (United States) | (Egypt) | (Italy) | (China) | |
| Population of urban area1 | 1,687,000 | 10,772,000 | 2,688,000 | 12,033,000 |
| Date the city was founded | 1858 | AD 969 | 753 BC | 723 BC |
| Daily costs to visit the city2 | ||||
| Hotel (single occupancy) | $83 | $193 | $172 | $129 |
| Meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) | $40 | $56 | $59 | $62 |
| Incidentals (laundry, dry cleaning, etc.) | $24 | $14 | $15 | $16 |
| Total daily costs (hotel, meals, incidentals) | $125 | $173 | $246 | $207 |
| Major Newspapers3 | ||||
| Number of newspapers serving the city | 2 | 13 | 20 | 11 |
| Largest newspaper | The Denver Post | Akhbar El Yom/Al Akhbar | La Repubblica | Renmin Ribao |
| Circulation of largest newspaper | 341,554 | 1,159,339 | 754,930 | 3,000,000 |
| Date largest newspaper was established | 1892 | 1944 | 1976 | 1948 |
| 1United Nations population estimates for the year 2000. | ||||
| 2The maximum amount the U.S. Government reimburses its employees for business travel. The lodging portion of the allowance is based on the cost for a single room at a moderately-priced hotel. The meal portion is based on the costs of an average breakfast, lunch, and dinner including taxes, service charges, and customary tips. Incidental travel expenses include such things as laundry and dry cleaning. | ||||
| 3David Maddux, ed. Editor&Publisher International Year Book. New York: The Editor&Publisher Company, 1999. | ||||
The historic center of the city is the LoDo (short for Lower Downtown) district, a formerly run-down 26-block area where Victorian and late nineteenth-century buildings have been restored and converted into retail and dining establishments, galleries, and lofts. This revitalization was spurred by the 1995 completion of Coors Field, the new home of the Colorado Rockies baseball team, which brought crowds into the area and motivated entrepreneurs to develop it. Today the district is home to
To the northwest lies South Platte Valley, located on land reclaimed from a floodplain. It is home to an amusement park, a world-class aquarium, a children's museum, and the new Pepsi Center sports arena.
In addition to the existing downtown districts, a new area called Commons Park is being planned northwest of Union Station, as well as further development in the Golden Triangle south of Civic Center Park.
The metropolitan area spreads out in all directions from downtown Denver. To the north are the residential suburbs of Arvada, Northglenn, Westminster, and Thornton; Aurora is situated to the east; the western suburbs include Golden, Lakewood, and Wheat Ridge; and the southern suburbs include Cherry Hills, Greenwood Villages, Littleton, and Englewood.
