Property Trivia

Cherry Creek Trivia

The Cherry Creek neighborhood dates back to settlers who arrived from the Cherokee/Smoky Hill Trail. Denver's history as a boom and bust town began with the desire for a simple precious metal: gold. In 1858, a group of prospectors were exploring the Kansas Territory, which then encompassed what is now Colorado, and discovered piles of the almighty metal at the confluence of the Platte River and Cherry Creek. One of the prospectors, William Larimer, established Denver City in an area then populated by the Arapaho tribe, who camped along the banks of Cherry Creek while hunting and gathering. Over the next two years, a new gold fever penetrated the pulse of the eastern states. One-hundred-thousand hopefuls pioneered across the harsh landscape to the territory, seeking instant prosperity. The influx uprooted the Native Americans and forced them to move on, while the settler population soared, causing the federal government to create the Colorado Territory. So began Denver's first boom, inspiring its mythical image as a Wild West town ruled by material obsession.

In 1859, at the peak of the rush, Denver's first notable figure strolled into town with a vision well beyond the price of gold. William N. Byers moved to Denver from Ohio, via Omaha, and founded the Rocky Mountain News. Through the newspaper, he tried to calm the hysteria and instability associated with the gold rush, by promoting settlement on the high desert frontier. Byers proceeded to create an illusion of Denver, proclaiming the city to be the "Queen City of the Plains" and the new steamboat capitol of the West, ready for a river full of industry. Unfortunately, the small, shallow Platte River could not live up to Byers' grand words. The ports of wealth never materialized, and the even smaller Cherry Creek soon declined into a cesspool of mining pollution. Despite this failure, Byers, who also founded the city's Chamber of Commerce, was streamlining himself for a great career in politics. His chances dissipated, however, during an adulterous scandal which culminated in a typical Wild West shootout scene in the middle of a downtown street.

Who could imagine that an area once the location for a buffalo hunting ground, a city dump, a hippie colony and a bedroom community, would evolve into a sophisticated urban hub for unique and upscale shopping, city dwelling and commercial activity?