1. Denver lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger - The trademark for the name Cheeseburger was awarded on March 5, 1935 to Louis Ballast. His Humpty Dumpty restaurant at 2776 North Speer Blvd. is pictured. It’s now a Key Bank. (Courtesy of Rocky Mountain News)
Here are some fun facts about the Centennial State.
1. Denver lays claim to the invention of the cheeseburger – The trademark for the name Cheeseburger was awarded on March 5, 1935 to Louis Ballast. His Humpty Dumpty restaurant at 2776 North Speer Blvd. is pictured. It’s now a Key Bank. (Courtesy of Rocky Mountain News)2. Colorado is the only state in history to turn down the Olympics – In 1976 the Winter Olympics were planned to be held in Denver. Voters chose not to host the Olympics because of the cost, pollution and population boom it would have on the state of Colorado, and the city of Denver. (Denver Public Library via Westword)3. The world’s first rodeo was held on July 4th, 1869 in Deer Trail – Santa Fe, N.M., Pecos, Texas and Prescott, Ariz. all claim to have held the first rodeo as well. We’ll stick with Deer Trail. (Deer Trail Rodeo Facebook page)4. Truly a mile high – The 13th step of the state capital building in Denver is exactly one mile high above sea level. (Denver Metro Convention and Visitors Center)5. The Eisenhower Tunnel is the highest auto tunnel in the world – The Dwight Eisenhower Memorial Tunnel between Clear Creek & Summit counties is the highest auto tunnel in North America. Bored at an elevation of 11,000 feet under the Continental Divide, it is 8,960 feet long and the average daily traffic exceeds 26,000 vehicles. (Associated Press)6. The federal government owns more than 1/3 of Colorado land – In this map national forests are in red, national grasslands are in light green, Bureau of Land Management land is yellow, national parks are dark green, national monuments are brown and native-American reservations are pink. (David Benbennick via Wikipedia)7. You can be in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and Utah all at the same time – Colorado’s southwest corner borders Arizona, New Mexico and Utah and is the only place in America where the corners of four states meet. (Jerilee Bennett, The Gazette)8. Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous street in America – At 26.5 miles long, Colfax Avenue in Denver is the longest continuous commercial street in America. (Bruce McAllister via Wikipedia.)9. The world’s largest natural hot springs pool is located in Glenwood Springs – The two-block long pool is across the street from the historic Hotel Colorado, a favorite stop of former president Teddy Roosevelt. (Glenwood Hot Springs, Courtesy photo)10. Pikes Peak Cog Railway is the highest railway train in the world – The Pikes Peak Cog Railway runs on cog wheels and special track with “teeth” that allow the train to climb the mountain. (Gazette file photo)11. Colorado once had 3 Governors in a single day – On March 17, 1905, Democrat Alva Adams, left, was forced to resign because of election improprieties (one district had 717 votes for Adams but only 100 registered voters). He was replaced by Republican James H. Peabody, center, who had run against him in the election, on the condition that he immediately resign. He did so, yielding to his Lieutenant Governor, Jesse F. McDonald, right. (Courtesy photo)12. We have the world’s largest flat-top mountain – The world’s largest flat-top mountain is the Grand Mesa near Grand Junction. (skez via Wikimedia Commons)13. Leadville sits at 10,152 feet, making it the highest city in the U.S. – Because there were lots of “silver” named towns at the time, the founding fathers suggested Leadville. (Courtesy photo)14. The highest paved road in North America is the Mount Evans Scenic Byway – Right off of I-70 near Idaho Springs, the Road climbs up to 14,258 Ft. above sea level. Pictured is the parking lot, Crest House and Meyer-Womble Observatory. (Daniel Schwen via Wikipedia)15. The Park Theater in Estes Park was the state’s first place to catch a movie – Built in 1913, the Park Theater in Estes Park is the oldest movie theater in Colorado and among the oldest worldwide. (Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)16. Rocky Ford is the “melon capital of the world.” – Located in the Arkansas Valley, Rocky Ford has been dubbed the “melon capital of the world.” Their high school mascot is the Meloneer. (Teresa Farney, The Gazette)17. The highest suspension bridge in the world is over the Royal Gorge – The Royal Gorge Bridge spans the Arkansas River at a height of 1,053 feet. (Gazette file photo)18. The Great Sand Dunes National Park is home to the tallest dune in North America – The tallest sand dune in North America is the Star Dune in Great Sand Dunes National Monument outside of Alamosa. It rises approximately 750 feet above the floor of the San Luis Valley. (Gazette file photo)
