Denver

Denver (officially, The City and County of Denver) (/ˈdɛnvər/; Arapaho: Niinéniiniicíihéhe') is the capital and most populous municipality of the U.S. state of Colorado. As of 2014, Denver is also the most populous county in Colorado. Denver is located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver downtown district is located immediately east of the confluence of Cherry Creek with the South Platte River, approximately 12 mi (19 km) east of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Denver is nicknamed the Mile-High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile (5,280 ft or 1,610 m) above sea level, making it one of the highest major cities in the United States. The 105th meridian west of Greenwich, the longitudinal reference for the Mountain Time Zone, passes directly through Denver Union Station.

Denver (name)

Denver is the surname or given name of:

Denver (disambiguation)

Denver is the capital of the U.S. state of Colorado

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Union Station (Denver, Colorado)

Denver Union Station is the main railway station and central transportation hub in Denver, Colorado. It is located at 17th and Wynkoop Streets in the present-day LoDo district and includes the historic terminal building, a train shed canopy, a 22-gate underground bus facility, and light rail station. The building first opened on June 1, 1881 with its present-day structure completed in 1914. In 2012, it underwent a major renovation in order to redevelop it as the centerpiece of a new transit-oriented mixed use development on the site's former rail-yards. The building re-opened in the summer of 2014 with the addition of the Crawford Hotel, several restaurants and retailers, and a train hall.

History

19th century: Original structures

Denver's first train station was constructed in 1868 to serve the new Denver Pacific Railway, which connected Denver to the main transcontinental line at Cheyenne, Wyoming. By 1875, there were four different railroad stations, making passenger transfers between different railroad lines inconvenient. To remedy this issue, the Union Pacific Railroad proposed creating one central "Union Station" to combine the various operations. In February 1880, the owners of the four lines (the Union Pacific, the Denver & Rio Grande Western, the Denver, South Park & Pacific, and the Colorado Central) agreed to build a station at 17th and Wynkoop Streets. Architect A. Taylor of Kansas City was hired to develop the plans and the station opened in May 1881.