9NEWS.com | Community | Colorado Resource Guide

Even by American standards, Denver is a young city. The gold strike that launched it occurred just 140 years ago. Denver and Colorado didn't join the Union until 1876, the same year Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone and baseball's National League held its first pennant race.

By the time the local population reached a million, NASA was on the brink of putting men on the moon. But what Denver may lack in 17th-century history, it makes up for in youthful vigor. Denver is full of energy and you can feel it. Since 1990 it has built a brand-new airport, baseball stadium, central library, downtown amusement park and light-rail system. That much change might unsettle an older town, but Denver has absorbed the additions and the city's national profile is on the rise. In 1993 Pope John Paul II came here for the World Youth Conference and in the summer of 1997 President Clinton and leaders from Europe and Asia convened in Denver for the Summit of the Eight.

Denver has long strived to acquire the trappings of a grown-up metropolis, and the results of those efforts are seen everywhere. In addition to great museums, thriving neighborhoods, a flourishing arts scene and an ethnically diverse population, Denver boasts a happening downtown core full of restaurants, clubs, boutiques, galleries and packed sidewalks. Thankfully, though, the city remains in touch with its "inner child" - the enterprising, occasionally reckless frontier town of not so long ago. Historic buildings and preservation districts abound. Denver's commitment to maintaining open space can be seen in its outstanding park system.