Their geographic locations could not be more different. Denver is located 5,280 feet above sea
level on high rolling plains at the base of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Seattle is located in one of the most
spectacular natural harbors of the world. But despite these physical
differences, Denver and Seattle actually share much in common.
Denver Seattle
•Founded in 1858
as gold mining camp • Founded
in 1851 as logging and fishing
center
•2012 population:
634,264, 23rd largest in •2012
population: 634,535, 22nd
largest in
U.S. U.S.
•When bypassed by the transcontinental railroad, •When
bypassed by the transcontinental
Denver built its own connecting railroad railroad,
Seattle forced its own connecting
in 1869 railroad
in 1883
•Was rescued from a deep depression by •Was
rescued from a deep depression by
the discovery of gold nearby in Cripple the
discovery of gold nearby along the
Creek in 1890 Klondike
River in Canada in 1897
•Has a history of boom & bust economies •Has
a history of boom & bust economies
and is currently booming with eight new and
is currently booming with aerospace,
downtown skyscrapers, 1,500 hotel rooms computer
software, biotech, e-commerce,
and a rail line from downtown to Denver and
international trade
International Airport all under construction
•From the late 19th to mid 20th
Century, •From
the late 19th to mid 20th Century
Denver was known as “The Queen City Seattle
was known as “The Queen City”
of the Plains”
•Has a skyline view of mountains, including •Has
a skyline view of mountains, including
three 14,000-foot peaks (Pikes, Evans and one
14,000-foot peak (Rainier)
Longs)
•Has a national reputation for beer, including •Has
a national reputation for beer, including
Coors, Great Divide, Breckenridge, Wynkoop Red
Hook, Pike and Pyramid
Has spawned many national musicians and Has
spawned many national music groups
groups
including Judy Collins, the Lumineers,
including
Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Pearl Jam
The Fray, One
Republic, and the Flobots and
Macklemore
•Has an REI Flagship store and is known as •Has
an REI Flagship store and is known as
an outdoor center for hiking, biking, fishing an
outdoor center for hiking, biking, fishing,
kayaking, climbing and camping kayaking,
climbing and camping
•The cartoon South Park takes place near •The
comic strip Doonesbury takes place
Denver and frequently features Denver in
Seattle and frequently features Seattle
landmarks landmarks
•Denver is home
to first Chipotle and the •Seattle
is home to the first Starbucks,
first Quiznos,
both of which started here Nordstrom,
Boeing and Amazon.com, which started here
•Favorite city movie
titles: •Favorite
city movie titles:
Things To Do In Denver When You’re Dead Sleepless
in Seattle
•Actors from Denver: •Actors
from Seattle
Amy Adams, Don Cheadle, Keri Russell, Anna
Farris, Raine Wilson, Tom Skerritt,
AnnaSophia Robb, Matt Stone, Trey Parker Bruce
Lee
•Seattle and Denver
Both Placed in the Top 10 cities
in the Travel +
Leisure 2013 Survey of Cities for:
Athletic/active
Intelligent
Tech-savvy
Pet-friendly
Wine bars
Micro-brew beer
Environmentally friendly
Public Parks
