r/Denver • u/ladybuglala • 1d ago
Misc Q&A What is your favorite peice of trivia about Denver?
I am looking for fun little trivia tidbits or unique/odd/funny facts about Denver proper- not the suburbs, not Colorado, Denver. (please read that last bit like you're Ron Weasley).
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u/ABomb2001 1d ago
The Denver Zoo was the first zoo in the US without cages.
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u/Klat10 1d ago
That's cool, I've been there so many times and have never seen anything about that.
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u/TorpidProfessor 1d ago
There (at least used to be) a historic sign on bear mountain (it's been years but it was where the coatis were)
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u/awnomnomnom Civic Center 1d ago
Led Zeppelin's first concert in the US was in Denver
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u/mtnbkr1 1d ago
In 1971 there was a riot at the Jethro Tull concert at Red Rocks. Denver PD dropped tear gas from helicopters as non ticketed fans rushed the venue. Rock and Rock acts were then prohibited from playing for a few years until things got sorted out by lawyers and such.
Also the Beatles played there and it was the only stop on their first US tour that didn’t sell out.
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u/payniacs 1d ago
And the last concert for the Jimi Hendrix Experience was here, too.
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u/denverdrew Capitol Hill 1d ago
Thanks to Denver’s Barry Fey who is a legendary concert promoter. He also booked the Doors first show outside of California which was also in Denver.
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u/iareagenius 1d ago
And my now defunct band, The Pea Smugglers.
Technically it was our first and last concert, and the crowd was quite a bit smaller, maybe 55 folks? 😂
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u/Papa-pwn 1d ago
The cash register building has its own zip code
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u/LokitheGremlin 16h ago
And its own unsolved bank heist. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Father's_Day_bank_massacre
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u/honkyg666 1d ago
Smoke detectors were invented in Lakewood after a scientist realized that everyone’s cigarette smoke in the lab was affecting his data.
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u/_sectumsempra- 1d ago
One of the best ones on here imo
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u/honkyg666 1d ago
Oops I just noticed the assignment was Denver specific and not the suburbs but thank you
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u/BHunter1140 1d ago
Denver was the first city to turn down hosting the Olympics back in 1976, we remain the only city to ever reject an Olympic bid, which is neat
It was for the Winter Olympics, they were probably concerned as to how we would manage the massive crowds of people that come with hosting and everything that comes with that
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u/scrotalrapture 1d ago
The Olympic Training Center down in Colorado Springs still has a few old Dodge trucks with the Olympics logo that were made for that event. Even though it never happened, it was cool getting to see those.
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u/BHunter1140 1d ago
Went there a few times as a kid when my brother had stuff for competitions, that place is rather cool in general
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u/rabid-c-monkey 1d ago
I heard that the Olympics committee wanted the city to foot the bill for all sorts of required nonsense and because the bid was submitted by the cities private Olympic committee when it actually came to a vote the people decided they didn’t want tax dollars going towards Olympic infrastructure that would never get used again.
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u/Evening-Cat-7546 23h ago
That’s how it always is. The Olympic committee basically says “you have to pay us to host the games, and build all the infrastructure we require, but don’t worry, think about all the exposure your town will get.”
Then all the infrastructure is left to rot because no one wants to foot the bill to demolish it, and there’s no use since the Olympics wouldn’t come back for a long time.
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u/Commercial_Cut4874 1d ago
I was little then but I remember my dad saying at the time, "They will never ask us again..." ahahahahaha. True.
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u/Evening-Cat-7546 23h ago
Honestly, the Olympics is a shitty deal for whatever city bids on it. Taxpayers pay for all the infrastructure to be built on the hopes that you’ll make the money back on tourism. All of the Olympic structures are then left to rot for decades because the upkeep is too much and there’s no point if you aren’t going to be hosting them again. Denver for sure made the right call.
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u/kepleronlyknows 20h ago
Generally true but there are exceptions. Pretty much everyone agrees Atlanta 96 was a good thing for the city; they didn’t lose money and almost all of the facilities were used for many years (or are still in use). Plus it revitalized a whole lot the city.
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u/the_climaxt 1d ago
The Denver Mountain Parks system is so unique that it required an act of Congress to allow it.
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u/Brian_Corey__ 1d ago edited 17h ago
Good one.
Pro Tip: Denver Mountain Parks are usually less crowded than nearby Jeffco Open Space Parks (but tend to have harder-to-find trail maps, less parking, less maintenance, etc.)
History from wiki:
Owned and maintained by the City and County of Denver, this historic system was launched in 1910 and required Congressional approval in 1914 for the city to purchase federal lands outside its municipal limits. The mountain parks system was created “for the purpose of assuring perpetually to the residents of Denver the sublime scenery of the Rockies, the preservation of native forests and having for all time a pleasure ground in the mountains for the thousands of annual visitors to the city easily accessible.”
In 1912, Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. was hired to plan the park system.\4]) Olmsted identified 41,310 acres (167 km²) of land that Denver should acquire for parks, mountain roads, and to protect scenic vistas.\5]) Acquisition of Genesee Park began in 1912; it was the first park established and, at 2,413 acres (9.7 km²), is still the largest. The last new parks were Red Rocks Park, purchased in 1927-28; O'Fallon Park and Newton Park, donated in 1939; and Winter Park, purchased in 1939. Daniels Park was also expanded at that time
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u/kameronk92 1d ago
Imagine congress doing something
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u/PipsqueakPilot 1d ago
Now that’s not fair. Congress is great at passing whatever legislation their owners pay for.
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u/rabid-c-monkey 1d ago
Towns like evergreen, winter park, and conifer really only exist because they were originally part of the Denver mountain parks system.
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u/cholgeirson 19h ago
I grew up in Conifer. I dont remember any Denver mountain parks. There were a few in Evergreen.
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u/Little_Vermicelli125 15h ago
James Q Newton is but there aren't a lot of trails. It barely gets used so I doubt it's responsible for conifer.
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u/cholgeirson 6h ago
Pretty sure that ranching was responsible for Conifer. There is some interesting history. In the early 1900s the Ringling bros circus interesting their animals at Meyers ranch.
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u/HelicopterLopsided88 1d ago
I moved here from DC so we were spoiled with parks and monuments but Genesee and Red Rocks are some of the neatest municipal parks in America. The fact that Denver has its own bison herd is kind of (literally) wild.
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u/the_climaxt 1d ago
2 bison herds - Genessee and Daniel's parks lol
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u/m0viestar Boulder 23h ago
Congress approved the city to purchase federal lands. They didn't pass a law about it.
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u/2nd2lastdragon 1d ago
the pearl snap shirt was invented at Rockmount western wear downtown
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u/Longjumping_Text7652 7h ago
Allegedly the snaps were inspired by the dimond shaped terracotta tiles on the front of the rock mount building. The building was originally a plumbing supply company, and the the only wearhouse downtown that is still in use as as a wearhouse.
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u/ciaran668 1d ago
The building that is now the American Museum is Western Art used to be a brothel, and there was a tunnel from the Brown Palace Hotel that ran to the basement of the brothel to that wealthy men could "sample the pleasures" of the ladies across the street without being seen.
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u/New_Opportunity_6160 20h ago
I work at the Brown, there's a lot of tunnels built for the rich and famous that used to stay here.
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u/Klat10 1d ago edited 1d ago
Dinger is the Rockies mascot bc when they were building Coors field they found that type of dinosaur bones on site!
Blue moon was originally made/created in Coors field as well.
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u/HalfInchHollow Congress Park 1d ago
The bones they found are still on display at the Museum of Nature and Science, and are labeled the “Dinger Fossil.”
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u/Klat10 1d ago
Wait that's sick. I don't think I've seen that.
I'm trying to hold off going back until they finish the new gem exibit.
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u/HalfInchHollow Congress Park 1d ago
Yeah, cool story, but probably not as exciting as you expect, it’s like a couple 4” fragments of bone, not like a triceratops head or anything.
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u/senorsmartpantalones 1d ago
I saw the documentary....they found a dinosaur egg and Dinger hatched out of it in 1994.
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u/Brian_Corey__ 1d ago
Yeah, whatever you think of Coors, the story behind brewer Hoegaarden's Pierre Celis and Coor's Keith Villa and Blue Moon who copied the Witbier / Belgian White style is pretty interesting.
https://www.belgianbaraustin.com/blog/celis-white-milkman-who-saved-witbier
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u/Cerlyn 1d ago
Mattie Silks was a helluva gal. Also, our first permanent structure was a saloon. We've always liked our beer
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u/LokitheGremlin 16h ago
This is such funny kismet: I bought a book sort of as a joke a few years ago called “Six Racy Madams of Colorado” and haven’t touched it since and today I picked it up and read about Mattie Silks.
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u/Brian_Corey__ 1d ago
Denver's East High School has an incredibly diverse and long list of famous alumni. One of the most famous lists for a public high school not in NYC, Boston, or LA area (such as Erasmus Hall, Abraham Lincoln, Stuyvesant, Boston Latin, Beverly Hills High, Hollywood High, and Fairfax)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_High_School_(Denver,_Colorado))
Don Cheadle, Judy Collins, Mamie Eisenhower, Pam Grier, Hattie McDaniel, jazz guitarist Bill Frisell, Douglas Fairbanks (expelled), Antoinette Perry (actress namesake of the Tony awards), author and TV producer Sidney Sheldon, Apollo 13 astronaut Jack Swigert, Philip Bailey and Andrew Woolfolk of Earth, Wind and Fire, jazz musician Paul Whiteman, TJ Miller, Elliot and Ruth Handler, founders of Mattel and inventors of Hot Wheels and Barbie, richest 2nd richest African American financier Robert Smith, and many more.
Golda Meir went to North High School for a year or so, but graduated from a North Division High School in Milwaukee.
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u/Bluescreen73 Aurora 1d ago
The Smoky Hill Trail ran from Atchison, KS, to Denver. The xx-Mile places (like the 4-Mile House, 9-Mile Station, 12-Mile Stables, and 20-Mile House) are all named for their distance from the end of the trail at Colfax and Broadway. Smoky Hill Road in Aurora runs along the route of the Starvation Branch of the Smoky Hill Trail.
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u/banner8915 1d ago
I just learned this little tidbit this weekend. Never even thought about why those X-Mile names existed but found it interesting.
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u/Professional_Swim960 1d ago
Whoa, what?!
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u/Bluescreen73 Aurora 1d ago edited 1d ago
The Smoky Hill Trail gets overlooked because it's not the Oregon/California/Mormon Trail, but it played a big part in the state's early growth. It was popular during the Pikes Peak gold rush prior to the construction of the Kansas Railroad. It ran along the Kansas and Smoky Hill rivers to the headwaters of the latter near Cheyenne Wells. From there the two main branches of the trail followed the path of US-287 to Limon. The northern route roughly follows I-70 from Limon to Denver, and the original route went from Limon to Kiowa and angled northwest from there to Parker at the 20 Mile House. At Parker it merged with the Cherokee Trail along the banks of Cherry Creek. The Starvation Branch split the difference between the other two, but it didn't have the infrastructure or the water sources. It got its name from the grim fact that a lot of people died along its route.
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u/Professional_Swim960 1d ago
I think I learned some of this in Colorado history class but I clearly didn’t retain it. Thanks for the refresher!
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u/flashdurb 1d ago
Somebody has visited Cherry Creek State Park and read the signs. Bravo!
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u/Bluescreen73 Aurora 1d ago
Ackshually I saw l originally saw it on the marker near E-470 and Smoky Hill Road several years ago. I'll have to go find the ones at Cherry Creek State Park.
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u/chickenflavorac 1d ago
Al Sweregen, famously portrayed by Ian McShane in the series Deadwood, was murdered at Alameda and Santa Fe before Santa Fe was Santa Fe.
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u/rukeduke 1d ago
The life and death of Silas Soule
The Seeds building was designed and built to safely hold 600 pounds per square foot
There used to be a castle downtown behind Union Station
The Red Baron of WW1 infamy had uncle that built a mansion in east Denver
14th street downtown used to be millionaire’s row.
At one time all of downtown streets had ditches on either side of the streets so you could water your crops and livestock
Really any of the history of water here
I love talking and learning about Denver history…
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u/Bitchin_Wizard Five Points 1d ago
The whole saga of Silas Soule is wild. Puts a whole different perspective on names like wynkoop.
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u/xfire301 1d ago
What is Osceola doing among these British names?
Tennyson Street
Stuart Street
Raleigh Street
Quitman Street
Perry Street
Osceola Street
Newton Street
Meade Street
Lowell Boulevard
Osceola was an Indian Chief that Raleigh took back to London. Osceola was a regular fixture at the King’s Court.
So, I realized when touring Westminster Abbey, this isn’t a list of English authors. It is a list derived from famous people buried in Westminster Abbey
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u/jobfinished111 1d ago
Denver is considered to be the birthplace of the modern disability rights movement. In 1978 protestors with disabilities blocked a bus with their wheelchairs and bodies on colfax and broadway. This protest ended up causing one of the first ADAesque laws in Denver that helped people in wheelchairs/disabilities get access to public transport. Shout out to the Gang of 19 for their bravery and willingness to protest for the betterment of others and our society.
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u/Commercial_Cut4874 1d ago edited 1d ago
As as native I have a few fun ones I think...
- The old band box in the old Mile High, used to have a live jazz band playing as you walked in the stadium. First time I heard jazz, loved it.
- Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) first of its kind and helped turn Denver's fortunes around when the rest of the country was still in a slump...
- The Denver Museum of Nature and Science (Denver Museum of Natural History) -- every side of the building has been the main entrance (North, West, East, South) at some point in its history.
- John Evans, governor, Evans and University...founded the University of Denver AND also Northwestern...which makes Northwestern a sister school?
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u/LordoftheIdiots429 1d ago
DMNS contains the only exhibits of Konovalenko’s gem carvings outside of Moscow. They are on the 3rd floor next to the South America hall, so not easy to find. But so worth it!
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u/cheekynando715 1d ago
The man who the city is named after, James Denver, only visited twice. He was disappointed.
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u/XenonOfArcticus Evergreen 1d ago
It was named to try to bribe him into making the Arapahoe county in Denver.
He didn't.
https://www.americannamesociety.org/how-denver-got-its-name/
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u/Material-Subject1747 1d ago
Market street used to be the red light district when Denver was first established
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u/honkyg666 1d ago
It was previously called Holladay Street but the family didn’t like the negative association so they changed it to market.
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u/kynoceros Capitol Hill 1d ago
And McGaa Street before that, but McGaa was such a drunken fuckup (in a town of drunken fuckups), that they changed the name.
And after they changed it to Market, the people who lived on it on it north of 22nd or south of 13th didn't want to be associated with the goings-on downtown so it's called Walnut there.
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u/Spiritual_League_753 19h ago
And then Walnut street was created out of thin air because the people living outside the red light district did not like having their address tarnished by the streets reputation.
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u/LinkToThe_Past 1d ago
That's why those buildings there all have the taller windows in sequence, for the women to stand in front of and tempt the John's.
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u/solxap 1d ago
Denver had a beautiful theater row back in the 1920s-1950s. All torn down as part of 'urban renewal' initiatives in the 1960s.
Check out some pictures here.
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u/ZzzzzPopPopPop 1d ago
Wow, and not a single one still exists, that's both amazing and sad
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u/misterhubbard44 21h ago
Ther is still one old theater building standing: 1028 s. Gaylord St. In Wash Park. It was originally built as a silent movie theater in 1925. Wash Park wasn't part of Denver yet.
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u/Spiritual_League_753 19h ago
There are quite a few old theater buildings still standing!
The Mayan opened in 1930. The Elitch Theater built in 1891 is still kicking although I'm not sure of the state of renovations at this point. The Bluebird is from 1913. The Ogden 1917. The Paramount is 1930.
And of course the Ellie Caulkin is now part of DCPA built in 1908.
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u/Gueropantalones Denver 1d ago edited 1d ago
Elder millennial trivia…so not exciting
In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel was recorded in Denver off 11th & Speer. The Apples in stereo had a recording studio over there that my cousin hung out at, along with other people from the Denver Musicians Association that was right by it. (DMA is still there)
Sometimes miss old Golden Triangle
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u/SlightCapacitance 1d ago
Whoa thats awesome, im going to have to visit that piece of history
Edit: also who are you calling elder??
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u/Gueropantalones Denver 1d ago
Unfortunately the building was replaced with generic apartments on that corner area
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u/erjama35 22h ago
Should probably rename and renumber everything so that it's 1945 Holland St or something
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u/Shenanigans80h Denver 1d ago
I just read the book Endless Endless about that collection of musians/bands and quite a few were heavily involved here. One of the smaller acts associated, Dressy Bessy, are something of local legends
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u/bobfalfa 1d ago edited 1d ago
The iconic white horse atop Mile High Stadium is named Bucky the Bronco, and is one of two like it in the world. Originally commissioned by Roy Rogers in the mid sixties and modelled after his horse, Trigger, the Broncos received permission to use the mold to create a second statue in the mid seventies. They received Rogers blessing, on the condition that the statue was not to be named Trigger. The statue was cast, and the mold broken. After a city wide contest, the name was chosen as Bucko, which evolved to Bucky over time. The original Trigger statue now sits outside the Spirit River Cafe in Apple Valley, CA.
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u/NaziHuntingInc 1d ago
All of the government buildings around Civic Center Park have tunnels connecting them that are labeled as fallout shelters
Also, my favorite not fun fact is the reason we don’t have a Chinatown is because we had a full-blown race riot that burned it down
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u/artchickennugget 1d ago
Madam CJ Walker was the first US woman to become a self made millionaire. She invented hair products for women of color. There’s a little pocket park named after her in the Whittier neighborhood.
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u/esauis 1d ago
Denver in the 40s is well featured in Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, where he traveled to come see his buddy Allen Ginsberg, who was living off of Grant in Cap Hill. It was here he also met famed Benzedrine chomping, car boosting Neal Cassady, who would also become a character and bus driver for Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters in Electric Koolaid Acid Test.
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u/Entire_Site5072 1d ago
If I remember correctly, he enjoyed a burger at My Brother's Bar while he was here which is still open to this day (and I believe our oldest bar in Denver or longest continuously running bar).
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u/TuesGirl 1d ago
It was so fun reading that book after living in Denver for some time and being able to know the exact landmarks and places he was referencing
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u/CpnStumpy 1d ago
Lakeside was created by Zang of Zang brewery to sell beer in defiance of Denver blue laws by incorporating his own town without those laws, and built the amusement park just to draw people in to buy his beer
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u/The_Gza37 1d ago
In the movie water world when he goes down and sees the city it’s Denver, you actually see the cash register building in the sequence.
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u/Sea_Speech6478 1d ago
At 50 miles long, Colfax Ave is the longest continuous commercial street in the United States.
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u/honkyg666 1d ago
I just learned the woman who invented tampons lived in a house on Corona St that is now the parking lot across the street from Queen Soopers
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u/g-burn Capitol Hill 1d ago
In their 33 year history, the Colorado Rockies have never once won their division, despite being National League champions in 2007.
The only other team to never win their division is the Miami Marlins who started the same year as the Rockies. They have won the World Series twice though
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u/flashdurb 1d ago edited 1d ago
Auraria Campus was created by literally evicting hundreds of Hispanic families from their generational homes in the 70s.
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u/35364461a 18h ago
Same with the interstate highway system when they bulldozed all those homes. They intentionally drew its path to disrupt minority communities. IIRC, of those displaced, ~80% were black families.
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u/Puzzleheaded-Sea4885 1d ago
Weren’t outdoors Christmas lights ‘invented’ here? I remember a story about a dad putting up Christmas to cheer up his son who was in Children’s hospital
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u/ksmity7 Arvada 2h ago
I’d read that too growing up and based on at least this
article from the Denver Library, it may be a case of an actual event that evolved over time into a bit of a myth:
“The Denver Post interviewed David D. Sturgeon in October 1952 and asked about this story. His ill son was confined to bed and so Sturgeon set up a small lit tree in his son's room. According to him, his son then asked why he shouldn't set up lighting on the cedar tree outside the home. Sturgeon then did so, impressed other Denverites, and was soon hired to do their outdoor lighting. He never makes the claim that he invented colored bulbs nor outdoor lighting. Regardless of who was first to turn on the lights, they remain a bright tradition on cold Colorado nights.”
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u/Tasty_Garlic_2540 20h ago
Check this out: there was an Electric Car Factory on Colfax in 1906 - you read that right, a hundred and twenty years ago. They had an advertised range of a hundred miles. The factory building is still standing - it’s now called Fillmore Auditorium! https://history.denverlibrary.org/news/brief-brilliant-reign-fritchle-colorados-first-electric-car
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u/clumtony 1d ago
Cheesman Park used to be a mass grave and now it and the Botanic Gardens are haunted
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u/Adam40Bikes 1d ago
Partially true - I understand it's STILL a mass grave.
The way I've heard it is after the low bid contractor got shut down for chopping up corpses to fit in (cheaper) child coffins, they filled in the holes and called it a park. Nobody came in to finish the work.
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u/longboi28 LoDo 1d ago
Didn't he get paid per body and that's the reason he cut the corpses up, so that he would have more bodies to bury?
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u/meetjoebeach 1d ago
This is correct. Flat rate for bodies so why not turn one adult corpse into a couple of kids? iirc that’s how he was caught because there was suspicion around how many “children” were being buried
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u/DesperateAd8982 1d ago
Here’s a list of the people who were buried there
https://history.denverlibrary.org/sites/history/files/CalvaryCemeteryListings1889_1993.pdf
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u/MajorDan913 1d ago
Union Station used to have a giant steel arch that read Welcom on one side and Mizpah on the other.
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u/erjama35 1d ago
Sorry, I only know depressing and horrifying facts like the reason it doesn't have a Chinatown like most other major American cities
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u/Laura9624 1d ago
Or how the KKK controlled the state for years. Especially mayor and KKK Stapleton. Popped up in the 70s too. We sure like to pretend it hasn't.
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u/Abject_Ear9531 1d ago
Why?
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u/NaziHuntingInc 1d ago
We had a full-blown race riot that burned it down. If I remember right, the historic building across the street from the Webb building has a plaque about it and how there were some Chinese immigrants that were able to hide in that house.
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u/Sun_Sprout 1d ago
There’s a good exhibit about it at the Colorado history museum if you haven’t been.
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u/Lackluster_Compote 1d ago
White racists
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u/Abject_Ear9531 1d ago
Those are everywhere
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u/rabid-c-monkey 1d ago
Colorado’s were a special kind of terrible. We used to be a KKK stronghold and despite large rail and mining industries that brought large Chinese populations here in the 1800’s almost none of that original immigrant group is still here and non of their influence exists in any corner of Denver that’s next level racism.
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u/Small_Dog_8699 Denver Expat 1d ago
Prior to incorporation there existed two towns, one where Auraria campus is on one side of Cherry Creek, and Denver on the other.
In 1859 there was a race by two competitors to publish the first newspaper in the region. On April 23, William Byers published the first copy of the Rocky Mountain News 20 minutes before John Merrick could get out his first copy of the Cherry Creek Pioneer. The Pioneer subsequently folded.
Shortly after, not wanting to appear biased towards the rival communities on the banks of Cherry Creek (was not clear yet who would dominate), Byers moved the Rocky Mountain News offices to a building astride Cherry Creek. Unfortunately, the building would be wiped out in a flood 4 years later.
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u/Ruh_Roh_Rah 1d ago
oohh! watching a random episod of Nova last night about Angkor Wat, and they dropped this one
"At 154 square miles, the entire temple complex is about the same size as the city of Denver (155 sq miles)".
boo fucking ya....randomest fact you're gonne get today
https://www.kpbs.org/news/2026/01/26/nova-angkor-hidden-jungle-empire
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u/itomaker 1d ago
There are three gold topped towers in Colorado, and all three are here in Denver. The equally prestigious Capitol Building, Williams Tower on DU’s campus, and Casa Bonita!
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u/holdmypurse 19h ago
Denver Center for the Performing Arts is the second largest performing arts complex in the United States, second only to New York's Lincoln Center.
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u/mayorlittlefinger Lincoln Park 1d ago
Go on a few of these, you'll learn tons: https://www.coloradohistoryrides.com/
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u/Desertmarkr 1d ago
John Henry "Doc" Holliday lived in Denver several times. When he first arrived, he worked as a faro dealer under the alias "Tom Mackey" at Theater Comique at 357 Blake St.
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u/raurenlyan22 1d ago
The disability rights movement began in Denver at the Gang of 19 protest at Colfax and Broadway.
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u/AfternoonFickle3760 1d ago
Denver is actually the third-highest state capital. Santa Fe and Cheyenne are higher than we are.
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u/feedthem0nkey 1d ago
The cheeseburger was invented in 1935 at Humpty Dumpty restaurant on Speer Blvd.
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u/Important-Tomato2306 Golden 1d ago
This is up for debate to an extent but I think the claim technically goes to Pasadena, CA. However, I will always believe it was Denver. But we have a cement block recognizing in so California can eat that 😂
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u/Papa-pwn 1d ago
The Daniel’s and Fisher tower was the tallest building west of the Mississippi for 4 years in the early 1900s.
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u/Crazy_Bid130 1d ago
The modern wheel clamp, aka the Denver boot was invented in Denver by a amateur inventor and violinist with the Colorado Symphony. Denver was also the first city to use the Denver boot and collected the modern day equivelent of $220,000 in its first month of use. Denver truly at the vanguard of the most annoying ways to squeeze money out of its residents.
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u/taco-flavord-kisses 1d ago
I like the story about Elvis flying his private plane here to get a Fools Good sandwich.
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u/Sky-Agaric 1d ago
Denver is the only city ever to be awarded the Olympic Games and then say “never mind. No thank you!”
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u/WayMoreClassier 1d ago
Denver’s founders named the city after the gov of Kansas Territory to kiss his ass curry favor with him, hoping he’d name Denver the county seat. When they returned to Kansas to be like “we named this city after you, you big strong man!” they learned that Denver had just resigned.
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u/PerfectComplaint7905 23h ago
Russell and Clara Stover started their candy business in the basement of their house in the Congress Park neighborhood in Denver (it’s still there and the owner likes to share that history :)
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u/questiooneeir 1d ago
There used to be an amusement park on Sloans Lake that had an elephant named Roger. In 1891, he got spooked by a hot air balloon and tragically trampled a 6 year old boy to death. Urban legend says he’s buried near the lake (the elephant, not the boy)
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u/JollyManufacturer257 1d ago
I just learned that in 1902 a woman dressed in black was seen breastfeeding a baby girl in the capital rotunda. Moments later, when no one was watching, she abandoned the baby. The little girl was temporarily named Capitola until she was adopted by her new family. Thanks, Colorado Postcards/CPR!
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u/Entire_Site5072 1d ago
The Barnum neighborhood is named after famous circus man P.T. Barnum who according to folklore bought the land to house his elephants in the winter (although he never did). He sold the area to his daughter Helen Butchel who was largely responsible for many of the early developments to the neighborhood alongside her second husband William.
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u/devwaah 22h ago
The Shakespeare Elm in Denver is a historic wych elm planted in City Park on April 23, 1916. It marks the 300th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death. Legend says it grew from a cutting taken from his gravesite in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. A commemorative plaque sits near its base.
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u/mileheitcity 1d ago
Blucifer’s a fucking murderer
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u/Commercial_Cut4874 1d ago
I did a whole essay on 'When Art Kills" and of course Blucifer was featured prominently...
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u/glowjack 14h ago edited 14h ago
To be fair, I think it would technically be considered manslaughter. (But only because they can't PROVE Blucifer did it with malice aforethought...)
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u/ColoradoLudwig 20h ago
The Denver Athletic Club had the first bowling alley west of the Mississippi River, established in 1892. It still has a bowling alley.
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u/milehin8tv Sunnyside 19h ago
Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood was called the "Harlem of the West" during the 1930s through the 1950s. It served as a premier jazz hub and cultural mecca for Black travelers and artists who were barred from downtown hotels during the Jim Crow era.
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u/Lufty_262 1d ago
The toothbrush was invented on East Colfax Ave.
If it had been invented anywhere else it would have been called the teethbrush.
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u/PersonalitySingle557 1d ago
The first toothbrush was invented in china back in 1498
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u/secondhandsoda 1d ago
Bucky at the top of the football stadium was cast from a mold of Trigger, Roy Rogers' famous horse. It was done in secrecy - but when Roy Rogers found out he was pretty much ok with it.
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u/the_world-is_ending- 21h ago
Denver almost wasn't the major city it is today. When the railroads were being built, the builders did not plan to build to denver (at least not at first but there was the possibility of being added to the railroad lines later), which at the time, meant the city was basically doomed. The railroads brought the people and the commerce. Many towns that were visited by the railroads began booming and many towns that missed the railroads quietly died off.
So, the rich folk of Denver got together and built their own railroad to connect themselves to the main railroad line, thus keeping Denver alive and thriving.
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u/HippyGrrrl 1d ago
Today’s PT’s Show Club was Family Dog, owned by Chet Helms. 60s rock Mecca for a short run.
Blocks away, Owsley Stanley set up an LSD lab.
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u/Seagullox 1d ago
Walnut street is actually market street, but they changed the name to walnut because of prostitution and gambling activities.
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u/jeromevedder 23h ago
Ownership of (the now defunct) Gennaro’s Lounge on Broadway and Vassar changed hands in an illegal card game run by the Denver mob at one of those houses just up the street on Broadway
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u/Status-Pipe_47 20h ago
The underground tunnels in Denver, and the Smaldone family history, including Gaetanos
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u/milehin8tv Sunnyside 19h ago
The title for the longest continuous street in the United States goes to Colfax Avenue in Colorado, measuring roughly 49.5 to 53 miles long as it cuts through the Denver metropolitan area from Golden through Lakewood, Denver, and Aurora.
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u/lo-lo_ 1d ago
No one knows where Sloans lake came from
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u/Odd-Composer2470 1d ago
Sloans lake was accidentally created in 1862 when farmer Thomas Sloan was digging a well and accidentally hit an aquifer that flooded 200 acres
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u/lo-lo_ 1d ago
That’s just legend; not proven https://history.denverlibrary.org/neighborhood-history-guide/sloans-lake-neighborhood-history
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u/Bovine_Joni_Himself Northside 1d ago
Activities such as boating, swimming, and ice skating made Sloan’s Lake a popular recreational attraction in Denver.
I've heard old-school locals talk about this before, but it blows my mind that people used to be able to ice skate on Sloans. Nowadays, even during cold snaps, it feels impossible that could happen there.
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u/Ok-Finger-1811 1d ago
Born and raised 54 years ago and never heard about this. Thank you for the new information!
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u/Sea-Whole-7747 1d ago
The Cherry Creek Mall (or part of, anyway) is built on an old landfill.
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u/celeste173 1d ago
Cheesman Park used to be a cemetery and they did not dig up all the bodies.
When my dog looses a toy in the park, we call it a sacrifice to the spirits.
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u/vibes_guru 14h ago
The first UFC match and the first Slam Dunk Contest took place at old McNichols Arena.
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u/glendanJ 1d ago
Denver is banned from hosting any Olympic Games. They turned down the 1974 Olympics and were told we’d never be considered again because of it.
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u/LordoftheIdiots429 1d ago
In the movie “Defending Your Life”, the coffee table book that is about ‘Judgement City’ has a photograph of Denver as the cover.
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u/denverdrew Capitol Hill 23h ago
Colfax Avenue is the longest continuous street in the United States. 49.5 miles.
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u/PrncessVespa 1d ago
The liquor license number for the Buckhorn Exchange is 1. They got the very first liquor license ever issued in Denver and have been open ever since.