1. Local boosters named the frontier mining camp on the South Platte River “Denver” after Kansas Territorial Governor James Denver in hopes of gaining political favor. Unfortunately, Denver had retired by the time they named the town. 2. Despite being warned by Indians not to build there, early settlers didn’t listen. In its first few years, Denver was destroyed twice, once by fire and once by flood. 3. Denver is one of the few cities in history that was not built on a road, railroad, lake, navigable river or body of water when it was founded. It just happened to be where the first few flakes of gold were found in 1858. 4. The biggest surprise for visitors to Denver is the climate. The arid conditions bring only 8 to 15 inches of annual precipitation and locals wake up to more than 300 days of sunshine a year. That’s more annual hours of sun than Miami and San Diego. 5. Winters are mild with an average daily high temperature of 45 degrees Fahrenheit and days reaching 60 degrees are not uncommon. Snow doesn’t stay on the ground long in Denver so golf courses and outdoor cafes are able to stay open all year. 6. In summer, Denver enjoys low relative humidity, making for beautiful, sun-filled days and cool, comfortable evenings. The average daily high temperature in August is a mild 86 degrees Fahrenheit. The mild weather is due in part to the city's altitude: 5,280 feet above sea leve, or exactly a mile high.
7. Housing To Buy: The average selling price of a single-family home is $216,337
8. Housing to Rent: The average rent is $631/month 9. Denver has a population of 576,842 (2005-2007) 10. Median age is 33.1 years old (US Census 2000) 11. Median household income is $50,007 (2005-2007) |