Englewood, Colorado

History

The recorded history of Englewood began in 1858, when gold was discovered near the mouth of a creek (later named Little Dry Creek) by William Green Russell, a prospector from the State of Georgia. Two years later, Thomas Skerritt, considered to be the founder of the city, established a home in the area, which was called Orchard Place. Four years later, the first road connecting Denver and Orchard Place was built by Skerritt. In 1879, the first telephone arrived in the area. In 1883, the Cherrelyn horsecar path was laid. The Cherrelyn trolley became an important city icon, being carried up Broadway by horse, and down by gravity.

The Town of Englewood was incorporated on May 9, 1903, The next two years brought the establishment of the first newspaper in the city, soon to be named the Herald. In 1905, Swedish National Sanitorium was founded, soon to become the massive present-day Swedish Medical Center. The first pavement and street lights were installed in 1906 and, a year later, the police and fire departments were established. In 1908, the Cherrelyn horse trolley ceased operating.

A great period of change for the city occurred in 1948; 2500 acre on the Platte Canyon were purchased, and soon McLellan Reservoir was created. This ensured water independence from the powerful Denver Water, and in fact, Englewood provides water to most of the south metro area now due to its vast, early established water rights. Soon after, the city embarked on a huge building boom; most of the city was in fact built up by 1960.

In 1965, City Park was sold to make way for Cinderella City, the largest mall west of the Mississippi River and one of the largest in the world when it opened in 1968. The developer provided the funds to create a vast city park network to replace the single City Park on which the mall was built. About 30 years later, the city demolished the defunct mall to make way for a new, transit-oriented development that would also contain a new Civic Center, library, and the relocated city hall. The Denver Metro Area's transit agency, Regional Transportation District completed its southwest light-rail corridor in 2000, and established passenger rail transit in Englewood. This line, now known as the D Line stops at station within city limits. The D line runs from station to 18th & California station in the Central Business part of Denver.

In 2004, Englewood opened the Pirates Cove water park as part of a multimillion-dollar improvement package for the city parks system. In addition to Pirates Cove, many improvements were made to the South Platte River trail system and the Englewood Recreation Center, originally constructed in 1975.

Englewood is a full-service city with its own, independent park, library, and public works systems. It also provides snowplow service to neighboring municipalities.

Geography

Englewood is located in western Arapahoe County at coordinates and elevation 5371 ft.

At the 2020 United States census, the town had a total area of 17.229 km2 including 0.227 km2 of water.

Climate

Englewood features a climate very similar to that of Denver, but is slightly milder and more stable due to the city's location in a very low part of the South Platte River valley. Winds are very sparse throughout the city. The Köppen climate classification labels Englewood as having a cold, semiarid climate, BSk on climate maps.

|Jan record high F = 72 |Feb record high F = 75 |Mar record high F = 87 |Apr record high F = 89 |May record high F = 94 |Jun record high F = 105 |Jul record high F = 108 |Aug record high F = 104 |Sep record high F = 100 |Oct record high F = 96 |Nov record high F = 81 |Dec record high F = 76 |year record high F = 108 |Jan record low F = −32 |Feb record low F = −33 |Mar record low F = −25 |Apr record low F = −7 |May record low F = 13 |Jun record low F = 27 |Jul record low F = 36 |Aug record low F = 32 |Sep record low F = 15 |Oct record low F = −8 |Nov record low F = −21 |Dec record low F = −32 |year record low F = −33

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, 31,727 people, 14,392 households, and 7,469 families were residing in the city. The population density was 4,843.8 /mi2. The 14,916 housing units averagedf 2,276.4 /mi2. The racial makeup of the city was 87.8% White, 1.5% African American, 1.3% Native American, 1.9% Asian, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 13% of the population.

Of the 14,392 households, 23.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.7% were married couples living together, 10.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 48.1% were not families. About 37.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15, and the average family size was 2.88.

In the city, the age distribution was 20.3% under 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 35.9% from 25 to 44, 20.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,943, and for a family was $47,290. Males had a median income of $32,636 versus $28,480 for females. The per capita income for the city was $20,904. About 4.9% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 7.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood, is named after Englewood, but is not near Englewood. It is in unincorporated Jefferson County.

Civic Center

The Englewood Civic Center is located in the only remaining portion of the Cinderella City Mall. It contains the Englewood Public Library, The Museum of Outdoor Arts, and all city departments, including the courts. The Civic Center also contains the RTD Englewood light rail station.

The Englewood Public Library

The Englewood Public Library is a full service library. There are computers for public use, as well as printers and copiers. The Library also has a small section on Colorado and Englewood history, a microfiche collection, and an archive of local history. The Cherrelyn Horse Car can be viewed in front of the library.

Neighborhoods

Central Englewood can be roughly divided into quadrants, divided by Hampden Avenue and Broadway. The northwest is the oldest section of the city, containing the new City Center, downtown, and housing stock dating to the 1910s. This is also where the massive General Iron metal fabrication plant was located, which closed in the 1990s and has now been demolished, awaiting redevelopment and a new proposed light-rail station at Bates Avenue. The southwest section is home to a newer housing stock, as well as a significant percentage of Englewood's industrial and production facilities.[[Image:EnglewoodParkSign.jpg|thumb|right|Belleview Park]]

The southwest side also features Belleview Park, its largest park, and a small reservoir. The southeast section is almost purely residential, and is newer than the north and southwest sides. Finally, northeast Englewood is home to one of the largest hospital complexes in the metro area. Swedish Medical Center and Craig Hospital, a top-10, nationally ranked rehabilitation hospital for spinal cord and traumatic brain injury rehabilitation, comprise the hospital district, the backbone of the city economy. The Hampden Hills neighborhood hosts one of the largest conglomeration of apartment complexes in the metro area, and is also the newest developed part of the city, as well as the wealthiest.

Englewood also features some large annexed areas, such as the northwest annex that extends to Evans Avenue in Denver, which is chiefly manufacturing and industry. Finally, Englewood extends southeast to the Highline Canal, and southwest past Federal Blvd. approaching the town of Bow Mar.

Education

Most of the City of Englewood is served by the Englewood Public Schools. Small parts of the city are served by the Littleton Public Schools and the Sheridan Public Schools. Some of neighboring Cherry Hills Village is within the Englewood school district.

The Englewood district has two high schools: Englewood High and Colorado's Finest High School Of Choice. The two middle schools are Englewood Middle School and Englewood Leadership Academy. The four elementary schools are Bishop, Clayton, Charles Hay, and Cherrelyn.

The city is also home to a number of private schools, including the Saint Louis School, a large Catholic K-12 institution and All Souls School serving grades K-8. Also, the city used to host the Denver Seminary, an evangelical graduate-level religious school that has since relocated to Littleton. The former seminary site has been redeveloped into residential apartments and retail. Englewood is also the location of Humanex Academy, a private, alternative middle and high school for students who have learning disabilities and emotional and behavior disorders.

Economy

Top employers

According to the city's 2017 and 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports, the top employers in the city have been listed as:

Adjacent municipalities and unincorporated areas

The place name "Englewood" is assigned to four ZIP codes (80110, 80111, 80112, 80113) which covers areas adjacent to the city on the west and east, and an area southeast of the city that is much larger than the city itself. Thus, many addresses written as "Englewood, Colorado" are actually in the Arapahoe County cities of Sheridan, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village, or Centennial; or in Meridian in unincorporated Douglas County. This area includes part of the Denver Tech Center and the surrounding commercial development along the I-25 corridor, which is often erroneously attributed to Englewood; the city actually lies several miles west.

Notable people & points of interest

Main article: List of people from Englewood, Colorado

Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Englewood include missionary and archaeologist David Crockett Graham, civil rights activist Carlotta Walls LaNier, railroad executive Louis W. Menk, and former MLB pitcher Brad Lidge.

The Merrill Wheel-Balancing System, the world's first electronic dynamic wheel-balancing system, was invented in the town at the Merrill Engineering Laboratories.

In popular culture

The town was mentioned as the residence of the main character in the 2020 adventure video game Call of the Sea.

References

References

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