Online Encyclopedia

Search over 40,000 articles from the original, classic Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th Edition.

DENVER

Online Encyclopedia
Originally appearing in Volume V08, Page 55 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
» Make a correction to this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Spread the word: del.icio.us del.icio.us it!

DENVER , the See also:

capital of See also:Colorado, U.S.A., the See also:county-seat of Denver county, and the largest See also:city between See also:Kansas City, See also:Missouri, and the Pacific See also:coast, sometimes called the " See also:Queen City of the Plains." Pop. (1870) 4759; (188o) 35,629; (189o) 106,713; (1900), 133,859, of whom 25,301 were See also:foreign-See also:born and 3923 were negroes; (1910 See also:census) 213,381. Of the 25,301 foreign-born in 'goo, 5114 were Germans; 3485, Irish; 3376, Swedes; 3344, See also:English; 2623, English-See also:Canadian; 1338, Russians; and 1033, Scots. Denver is an important railway centre, being served by nine See also:railways, of which the See also:chief are the See also:Atchison, See also:Topeka & See also:Santa Fe; ' the See also:Chicago, See also:Burlington & See also:Quincy; the Chicago, See also:Rock See also:Island & Pacific; the Denver & Rio Grande; the See also:Union Pacific; and the Denver, See also:North-Western & Pacific. Denver lies on the See also:South See also:Platte See also:river, at an See also:altitude exactly 1 m. above the See also:sea, about 15 m. from the E. See also:base of the Rocky mountains, which stretch along the W. See also:horizon from N. to S. in an unbroken See also:chain of some 175 M. Excursions may be made in all directions into the mountains, affording beautiful scenery and interesting views of the See also:mining camps. Various peaks are readily accessible from Denver: See also:Long's See also:Peak (14,271 ft.), See also:Gray's Peak (14,341 ft.),'See also:Torrey Peak (14,336 ft.), Mt. See also:Evans (14,330 ft.), See also:Pike's Peak (14,108 ft.), and many others of only slightly less altitudes. The streets are excellent, broad and See also:regular. The parks are a See also:fine feature of the city; by its See also:charter a fixed percentage of all expenditures for public improvements must be used to See also:purchase See also:park See also:land. Architectural variety and solidity are favoured in the buildings of the city by a See also:wealth of beautiful See also:building stones of varied See also:colours (limestones, sandstones, lavas, granites and See also:marbles), in addition to which bricks and See also:Roman tiles are employed. The See also:State Capitol, built of native See also:granite and See also:marble (1887–1895, cost $2,500,000), is an imposing building.

Noteworthy also are the Denver county See also:

court See also:house; the See also:hand-some See also:East Denver high school; the Federal building, containing the See also:United States See also:custom house and See also:post See also:office; the United States See also:mint; the large Auditorium, in which the Democratic See also:National See also:convention met in 1908; a See also:Carnegie library (1908) and the Mining See also:Exchange; and there are various excellent business blocks, theatres, clubs and churches. Denver has an See also:art museum and a zoological museum. The See also:libraries of the city contain an aggregate of some 300,000 volumes. Denver is the seat of the Jesuit See also:college of the Sacred See also:Heart (1888; in the suburbs) ; and the university of Denver (Methodist, 1889), a co-educational institution, succeeding the Colorado See also:Seminary (founded in 1864 by See also:John Evans), and consisting of a college of liberal arts, a See also:graduate school, Chamberlin astronomical See also:observatory and a preparatory school—these have buildings in University Park—and (near the centre of the city) the Denver and See also:Gross College of See also:Medicine, the Denver See also:law school, a college of See also:music in the building of the old Colorado Seminary, and a Saturday college (with classes specially for professional men). DENVER The prosperity of the city depends on that of the See also:rich mining See also:country about it, on a very extensive wholesale See also:trade, for which its situation and railway facilities admirably See also:fit it, and on its large manufacturing and farming interests. The value of manufactures produced in 1900 was $41,368,698 (increase 1890-1900, 41.5 %). The value of the factory product for 1905, however, was 3.3 % less than that for 1900, though it represented 36.6 % of the product of the state as a whole. The See also:principal See also:industry is the smelting and refining of See also:lead, and the smelting See also:works are among the most interesting See also:sights of the city. The value of the ore reduced annually is about $1o,000,000. Denver has also large foundries and See also:machine shops, See also:flour and grist See also:mills, and slaughtering and See also:meat-packing establishments. Denver is the central live-stock See also:market of the Rocky See also:Mountain states. The See also:beet See also:sugar, See also:fruit and other agricultural products of the surrounding and tributary See also:section were valued in 1906 at about $20,000,000.

The assessed valuation of See also:

property in the city in 1905 was $115,338,920 (about the true value), and the bonded See also:debt $1,079,595. At Denver the South Platte is joined by See also:Cherry See also:Creek, and here in See also:October 1858 were established on opposite sides of the creek two bitterly See also:rival settlements, St See also:Charles and Auraria; the former was renamed almost immediately Denver, after See also:General J. W. Denver (1818-1892), ex-See also:governor of Kansas (which then included Colorado), and Auraria was absorbed. Denver had already been incorporated by a provisional See also:local (extra legal) " legislature," and the Kansas legislature gave a charter to a rival See also:company which the Denver See also:people bought out. A city See also:government was organized in See also:December 1859; and continued under a reincorporation effected by the first territorial legislature of 1861. This See also:body adjourned from Colorado City, nominally the capital, to Denver, and in 1862 See also:Golden was made the seat of government. In 1868 Denver became the capital, but feeling in the See also:southern counties was then so strong against Denver that See also:provision was made for a popular See also:vote on the situation of the capital five years after Colorado should become a state. This popular vote confirmed Denver in 1881. Until 187o, when it secured a See also:branch railway from the Union Pacific See also:line at See also:Cheyenne (See also:Wyoming), the city was on one See also:side of the transcontinental travel-routes. The first road was quickly followed by the Kansas Pacific from Kansas City (187o, now also See also:part of the Union Pacific), the Denver & Rio Grande (1871), the Burlington See also:system (1882), the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe (1887), and other roads which have made Denver's See also:fortune. In See also:April 1859 appeared the first number of The Rocky Mountain See also:News.

The same See also:

year a postal See also:express to Leavenworth, Kansas (ro days, letters 25 cents an See also:ounce) was established; and See also:telegraph connexion with See also:Boston and New See also:York ($9 for Io words) in 1863. A private mint was established in ,86o. In the 'seventies all the facilities of a See also:modern city—gas, See also:street-cars, See also:water-works, telephones—were introduced. Much the same might be said of a See also:score of cities in the new See also:West, but none is a more striking example than Denver of marvellous growth. The city throve on the freighting trade of the mines. In 1864 a tremendous See also:flood almost ruined it, and another flood in 1878, and a famous strike in Denver and See also:Leadville in 1879–188o were further, but only momentary, checks to its prosperity. As in every western city, particularly those in mining regions whose sites attained speculative values, Denver had See also:grave problems with " squatters " or " land-jumpers "in her See also:early years; and there was the usual gambling and See also:outlawry, sometimes extra-legally repressed by vigilantes. Settled social conditions, however, soon established themselves. In 188o there was a memorable See also:election See also:riot under the See also:guise of an See also:anti-See also:Chinese demonstration. In the See also:decade 1870—1880 the See also:population increased 648-7%. The 'eighties were notable for See also:great real See also:estate activity, and the population of the city increased 199.5% from 188o to 189o. In 1882–1884 three successive See also:annual exhibits of a National Mining and See also:Industrial Exposition were held.

After 1890 growth was slower but continuous. In 1902 a city-and-county of Denver was created with extensive See also:

powers of framing its own charter, and in 1904 a charter was adopted. The constitution of the state was framed by a convention that sat at Denver from December 1875 to See also:March 1876; various territorial conventions met here; and here W. J. See also:Bryan was nominated in 1908 for the See also:presidency.

End of Article: DENVER

Additional information and Comments

There are no comments yet for this article.
» Add information or comments to this article.
Please link directly to this article:
Highlight the code below, right click, and select "copy." Then paste it into your website, email, or other HTML.
Site content, images, and layout Copyright © 2006 - Net Industries, worldwide.
Do not copy, download, transfer, or otherwise replicate the site content in whole or in part.

Links to articles and home page are always encouraged.

[back]
DENTON 		[next]
DEODAND (Lat. Deo dandum, that which is to be given...

Site © 2006 - Net Industries