Lakewood, Colorado Explained

Lakewood, Colorado
Settlement Type:Home rule municipality[1]
Pushpin Map:USA Colorado#USA
Pushpin Relief:yes
Pushpin Label:Lakewood
Pushpin Map Caption:Location of Lakewood in the
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Name1:Colorado
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Jefferson County[2]
Subdivision Type3:City
Subdivision Name3:Lakewood
Government Type:Home rule municipality
Leader Title:Mayor
Leader Name:Wendi Strom
Established Title:Platted
Established Date:July 1, 1889[3]
Established Title2:Incorporated
Established Date2:June 24, 1969[4]
Unit Pref:Imperial
Area Footnotes:[5]
Area Total Km2:115.635
Area Land Km2:112.595
Area Water Km2:3.040
Population As Of:2020
Population Total:155,984
Population Rank:5th in Colorado
167th in the United States
Population Density Sq Mi:3,588
Population Metro:2,963,821 (19th)
Population Blank1 Title:CSA
Population Blank1:3,623,560 (17th)
Population Blank2 Title:Front Range
Population Blank2:5,055,344
Timezone1:MST
Utc Offset1:−07:00
Timezone1 Dst:MDT
Utc Offset1 Dst:−06:00
Coordinates:39.7047°N -105.1172°W
Elevation Ft:5656
Postal Code Type:ZIP codes
Postal Code:Denver 80214-80215, 80227, 80226-80228, 80232, 80235-80236
Golden 80401
Littleton 80123
Area Code:Both 303 and 720
Blank Name:FIPS code
Blank Info:08-43000
Blank1 Name:GNIS feature ID
Blank1 Info:2411614

Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States.[1] The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census, making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Colorado and the 167th most populous city in the United States.[1] Lakewood is a suburb of Denver and is a principal city of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

History

The urban and suburban development of the community known as Lakewood was started in 1889 by Charles Welch and W.A.H. Loveland, who platted a 13-block area along Colfax Avenue west of Denver in eastern Jefferson County. Loveland, the former president of the Colorado Central Railroad, retired to the new community of Lakewood after many years of living in Golden.

Until 1969, the area known as Lakewood had no municipal government, relying instead on several water districts, several fire districts, and the government of Jefferson County. Lakewood was a community with policing provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff, several volunteer-staffed fire districts, and some neighborhoods without street lights or sidewalks. However, the community had already existed for about 80 years.

The City of Lakewood was incorporated in 1969 as Jefferson City. Soon after, an election was held and the city's name was changed to Lakewood, due to an overwhelming dislike of "Jefferson City" and the belief that it would be confused with existing communities in Colorado and Missouri.[6] At the time of incorporation, the city population was already over 90,000.

Lakewood never had a traditional downtown area. West Colfax Avenue served the metropolitan area as U.S. Route 40 and the main route joining Denver with the Rocky Mountains. As such, Colfax from Harlan west to Kipling and beyond had mostly commercial establishments. In addition to the Jewish Consumptives' Relief Society (JCRS) for tuberculosis patients, the small, frame Methodist Church, and telephone exchange, by the 1950s grocery and drug stores, gas stations, restaurants and taverns, several motels, branch banks, a movie theater, a roller rink, a bowling alley, and used car lots emerged there. Several multiple-business "shopping centers" developed followed by much larger centers at JCRS and Westland. The Villa Italia Mall on West Alameda Avenue, 20 blocks south of Colfax, reflected the southward expansion of the Lakewood settlement and housed a larger concentration of retail space. As the mall went into decline, the Lakewood City Council developed a plan to demolish the Villa Italia Mall and replace it with a new development called Belmar.[7]

In 2011, Lakewood was named an All-America City for the first time.

December 2021 rampage

On December 27, 2021, a Denver gunman killed three Denver residents and two Lakewood residents before being killed by seriously wounded Lakewood Police Agent Ashley Ferris.[8]

Geography

Lakewood is located at the junction of U.S. Route 6 and Colorado State Highway 121 in central Colorado, the city lies immediately west of Denver and 62miles north-northwest of Colorado Springs.[9] [10]

Lakewood lies in the Colorado Piedmont on the western edge of the Great Plains just east of the Front Range of the southern Rocky Mountains.[9] [11] [12] Green Mountain, a 6854-tallNaN-tall mesa, is located in the far west-central part of the city.[9]

The city is located in the watershed of the South Platte River, and several small tributaries of the river flow generally east through it. From north to south, these include Lakewood Gulch, Weir Gulch, Sanderson Gulch, and Bear Creek. Two tributaries of Lakewood Gulch, Dry Gulch, and McIntyre Gulch flow east through the northern part of the city. Turkey Creek, a tributary of Bear Creek, flows northeast through the far southwestern part of the city. In addition, Lena Gulch, a tributary of Clear Creek to the north, flows east then north through the extreme northwestern part of the city.[9]

Several small lakes and reservoirs are in Lakewood. The Soda Lakes lie in the extreme southwestern part of the city. East of them lies Bear Creek Lake, a reservoir fed by Bear Creek and Turkey Creek. Clustered near each other in central Lakewood are Main Reservoir, East Reservoir, Smith Reservoir, Kendrick Lake, and Cottonwood Lake. Northeast of them lies Kountze Lake. In the northwestern part of the city, Lena Gulch both feeds and drains Maple Grove Reservoir. In the extreme southern part of the city lies Bowles Reservoir No. 1 and, just outside the city limits to the reservoir's northeast, Marston Lake.[9]

At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 115.635km2, including 3.04km2 of water.[5]

As a suburb of Denver, Lakewood is part of both the greater Denver metropolitan area and the Front Range Urban Corridor.[13] It borders other communities on all sides, including Wheat Ridge to the north, Edgewater to the northeast, Denver to the east and southeast, Dakota Ridge to the south, Morrison to the southwest, and Golden, West Pleasant View, East Pleasant View, and Applewood to the northwest.

Climate

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Lakewood has a cold semi-arid climate, abbreviated Bsk on climate maps.

Demographics

2020 census

Lakewood, Colorado – Racial and ethnic composition
!Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)!Pop 2000[14] !Pop 2010[15] ![16] !% 2000!% 2010!
White alone (NH)113,755101,504style='background: #ffffe6; 103,35578.93%70.99%style='background: #ffffe6; 66.26%
Black or African American alone (NH)1,9101,924style='background: #ffffe6; 2,7331.33%1.35%style='background: #ffffe6; 1.75%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)1,085987style='background: #ffffe6; 1,1060.75%0.69%style='background: #ffffe6; 0.71%
Asian alone (NH)3,8544,347style='background: #ffffe6; 5,7982.67%3.04%style='background: #ffffe6; 3.72%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)112144style='background: #ffffe6; 2120.08%0.10%style='background: #ffffe6; 0.14%
Some Other Race alone (NH)175205style='background: #ffffe6; 7990.12%0.14%style='background: #ffffe6; 0.51%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)2,2862,402style='background: #ffffe6; 6,5581.59%1.68%style='background: #ffffe6; 4.20%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)20,94931,467style='background: #ffffe6; 35,42314.54%22.01%style='background: #ffffe6; 22.71%
Total144,126142,980style='background: #ffffe6; 155,984100.00%100.00%style='background: #ffffe6; 100.00%

2010 census

As of the 2010 census, 142,980 people, 61,986 households, and 35,882 families were residing in the city. The population density was 3334.4sp=usNaNsp=us. Its 65,758 housing units averaged 1,533.5 per square mile (591.9/km). The racial makeup of the city was 82.9% White, 3.1% Asian, 1.6% Black, 1.4% American Indian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 7.7% from other races, and 3.3% from two or more races. Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 22.0% of the population.[17]

Of the 61,986 households, 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.1% were not families. About 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27, and the average family size was 2.92.[17]

The distribution of the population by age was 20.8% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39.2 years. The gender makeup of the city was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.[17]

The median income for a household in the city was $52,960, and for a family was $66,947. Males had a median income of $46,907 versus $41,476 for females. The city's per capita income was $30,027. About 9.1% of families and 11.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 20.3% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.[17]

Economy

Lakewood's economy is diverse, while the largest employers are the government. Companies based in Lakewood include Einstein Bros. Bagels, FirstBank, and The Integer Group.

As of 2013, 67.3% of the population over the age of 16 was in the labor force. 0.1% were in the armed forces, and 67.3% were in the civilian labor force with 61.1% employed and 6.2% unemployed. The occupational composition of the employed civilian labor force was 38.6% in management, business, science, and arts; 25.9% in sales and office occupations; 16.9% in service occupations; 9.9% in production, transportation, and material moving; and 8.7% in natural resources, construction, and maintenance. The three industries employing the largest percentages of the working civilian labor force were educational services, health care, and social assistance (18.4%); professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (13.8%); and retail trade (11.9%).[17]

The cost of living index in Lakewood, compared to a U.S. average of 100, is 107.4.[18] As of 2013, the median home value in the city was $238,500, the median selected monthly owner cost was $1,546 for housing units with a mortgage and $442 for those without, and the median gross rent was $940.[17]

Top employers

According to the city's 2017 annual report, the top employers in the city are:[19]

Top employers by employee count
RankEmployerNumber of
employees
1Denver Federal Center8,000
2Jefferson County Public Schools4,010
3Terumo BCT2,320
4St. Anthony Hospital2,200
5First Bank1,261
6State of Colorado1,084
7HomeAdvisor1,070
8City of Lakewood900
9The Integer Group435
10Colorado Christian University431

Government

Lakewood maintains a council-manager form of government. Citizens elect a city council consisting of the mayor, who is elected at-large, and 10 city council members, 2 from each of the city's five geographical wards. The mayor and the council members assert the policies for the operation of the city government. The current City Manager, Kathleen Hodgson, is the longest-tenured City Manager in the State of Colorado.

The current mayor is Wendi Strom. The council members representing Ward 1 are Jeslin Shahrezaei and Glenda Sinks; Sophia Mayott-Guerrero and Isabel Cruz represent Ward 2; Roger Low and Rebekah Stewart represent Ward 3; Rich Olver and David Rein represent Ward 4; and Ward 5 is represented by Jacob LaBure and Paula Nystrom.

The City of Lakewood falls into Colorado House District 26, parts of House District 24, and House District 23. Lakewood is represented in the state house by Reps. Chris Kennedy, Kerry Tipper, and Monica Duran.[20]

Education

Lakewood is within Jefferson County School District R-1.[21]

Lakewood also houses Lakewood High School, Green Mountain High School, Bear Creek High School, Brady Exploration High School, Alameda International High School, and International Baccalaureate schools in Jefferson County, as well as the private Colorado Academy.

Lakewood is home to several colleges and universities, including Colorado Christian University, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, Red Rocks Community College, and the Colorado School of Trades.

The town is served by the Jefferson County Public Library.

Transportation

Highways

Nine highways run through the city of Lakewood:

Mass transit

Bus and light rail service within the city, and to other areas in the metropolitan area, is provided by the Regional Transportation District. Light rail service to Lakewood began on April 26, 2013, with the opening of the W Line. Seven light rail stations are located within the city, all of which are located along the W Line.

Intercity transportation is provided by Bustang. Federal Center station in Lakewood is along Bustang's West Line, which connects Denver to Grand Junction.[22]

Points of interest

Landmarks and historical points of interest include:

Notable people

See main article: List of people from Lakewood, Colorado. Notable individuals who were born in or have lived in Lakewood include:

Sister cities

Lakewood has four sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Active Colorado Municipalities. State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government. January 27, 2021.
  2. Web site: Colorado Counties. State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government. January 27, 2021.
  3. Web site: Historical Timeline: The 1880s . Jefferson County, Colorado.
  4. News: Aguilar . John . Lakewood marks 50th birthday, half a century after telling Denver “no” to annexation . . June 24, 2019.
  5. Web site: Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data. United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. September 4, 2021.
  6. News: Lakewood's come a long way . LeRoy . Standish . Colorado Community Media.
  7. News: After the mall: Retrofitting suburbia . The Christian Science Monitor . May 22, 2009 . The Christian Science Monitor.
  8. News: Lakewood police agent shot on Monday in exchange with the suspected killer is identified. The Denver Post. Nicholson. Kieran. December 29, 2021. August 25, 2022.
  9. Web site: Lakewood, CO . . March 4, 2015.
  10. Web site: Distance Calculator . Infoplease . March 4, 2015.
  11. Web site: Physiographic Provinces of Colorado [Map] ]. Colorado Geological Survey . March 4, 2015.
  12. Web site: General Map of Colorado . Colorado Life Zones . March 4, 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303222110/http://shelledy.mesa.k12.co.us/staff/computerlab/ColoradoLifeZones_Maps.htm . March 3, 2016 . dead .
  13. Web site: OMB Bulletin No. 13-01 . February 28, 2013 . March 4, 2015 . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20170207113057/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b-13-01.pdf . . . February 7, 2017 .
  14. Web site: P004 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2000: DEC Summary File 1 – Lakewood city, Colorado. United States Census Bureau.
  15. Web site: P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lakewood city, Colorado. United States Census Bureau.
  16. Web site: P2 Hispanic or Latino, and Not Hispanic or Latino by Race – 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) – Lakewood city, Colorado. United States Census Bureau.
  17. Web site: U.S. Census website. United States Census Bureau. March 4, 2015.
  18. Web site: Lakewood, Colorado . City-Data.com . March 9, 2015.
  19. Comprehensive Annual Financial Report . 2017 . City of Lakewood, Colorado . dead . March 2, 2019 . March 2, 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190302152503/http://www.lakewood.org/Documents/Finance/2017_CAFR.aspx .
  20. [Colorado] State House District 26 ]. COMaps . January 21, 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090212145553/http://comaps.org/district26h.html . February 12, 2009.
  21. Web site: 2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jefferson County, CO. U.S. Census Bureau. July 19, 2022. - Text list
  22. Web site: Bustang Schedules . RideBustang . CDOT.
  23. News: Briggs, Austin . July 29, 2015. Old explosives still being found at Lakewood's Green Mountain park . . Digital First Media . July 31, 2015.
  24. Web site: ArtLine . www.40westartline.org . org home page . February 5, 2020.
  25. Web site: Sol Katz Award for Geospatial Free and Open Source Software . . Beaverton, OR . OSGeo . April 15, 2016 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20160406005927/http://www.osgeo.org/solkatz . April 6, 2016.
  26. Marshall . Brandon . February 22, 2012 . Chris Broderick of Megadeth . There was definitely a metal scene in Denver back in 1988. . Westword . April 15, 2016.
  27. News: Groke . Nick . May 6, 2016 . December 30, 2009 . "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, famed wrestler, dies in Denver . . . April 15, 2016.
  28. Book: Varnell , Jeanne . 1999 . Women of Consequence: The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame . 93 . Big Earth Publishing . 1555662145 . Google Books.
  29. Book: Riley , Marilyn Griggs . 2006 . High Altitude Attitudes: Six savvy Colorado women . 64 . Big Earth Publishing . 1555663753 . Google Books.
  30. Web site: Dylan Klebold Biography . Biography.com . 2016-04-15.
  31. [German Timber-Frame Road|Stade is located on the German Timber-Frame Road]