Denver, Colorado Adventure Guide

In 1858 Denver was a small Indian village with buffalo to hunt on the plains to the east and a variety of game and fish in the mountains to the west. The tranquility of the area was permanently changed when Green Russell, a Georgian prospector married to a Cherokee Indian, found small amounts of placer gold on the banks of Cherry Creek where Denver now stands. That same year gold was also discovered near Dry Creek in what is now the Denver suburb of Englewood. Word of the finds spread eastward, and some 150,000 people began the trek across the wide plains in wagons and on foot. By 1859 the Gold Rush was in full swing. Denver soon had dry goods stores, blacksmith shops, real estate agencies, doctors and lawyers. Rich diggings were found, and the city continued to grow in size and culture. When the gold ran out, silver replaced it. Railroads and the cattle industry - and later tourism - guaranteed Denver's place as the hub of the West. The Colorado capital of today is a far cry from the cattle country of a generation ago. The growing city with a small-town ambiance has become a full-fledged metropolis. The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, for instance, is nearly as big as New York's Lincoln Center. Denver is the center of finance and commerce in the Southwest, the nation's fastest growing region. The new families have reclaimed old downtown neighborhoods, such as historic Capitol Hill; they restored the old brick and frame homes, and have made the area thrive again. Lovers of haute cuisine will find their pleasure in scores of restaurants. Denver boasts over one hundred named parks of various sizes and shapes that stretch in every direction. The Denver Performing Arts Complex is the second-largest performing arts center in America. The complex is entered under an 80-foot-high, block-long glass arch that leads to nine theatres offering over 9,200 seats. Highlights of the center include the 2,800-seat Buell Theatre, home to top Broadway road shows such as Phantom of the Opera; Boettcher Concert Hall, the first symphony hall in-the-round in the nation; and the Helen Bonfils Theatre Complex, which has four theatres and the West's largest resident acting company. This is just a start. The city of Denver boasts over one hundred named parks of various sizes and shapes. Begin with Denver's largest, City Park. Take the children to Monkey Island, where monkeys swing and leap all summer (in spring you'll find these critters still in the Primate House). A special glass edifice contains dozens of colorful chirping, singing, and talking birds. Other natural habitat areas are for polar bears, llamas, turtles, baby elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and more. Details are given about many of the other parks as well, as well as Denver's dozens of fascinating museums. All the places to stay and the restaurants are described, the walks and hikes, the adventures on water, the shops, the history and everything else you need to know.