Auraria was a small mining settlement in the Kansas Territory in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Today it survives in its original location as a neighborhood of

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

, south of the confluence of Cherry Creek and the South Platte River.

Geography

Auraria is located in central Denver. It is just west of

downtown Denver Downtown Denver is the main financial, commercial, business, and entertainment district in Denver, Colorado. There is over of office space in downtown Denver, with 132,000 workers. The downtown area consists mostly of the neighborhoods of Uni ...

and is shaped roughly like a triangle. It borders

Colfax Avenue Colfax Avenue is the main street that runs east–west through the Denver metropolitan area in Colorado. As U.S. Highway 40, it was one of two principal highways serving Denver before the Interstate Highway System was constructed. In the local ...

on the south, Cherry Creek to the northeast, and South Platte River to the northwest.

History

On October 3, 1858, a group of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

prospectors led by Green Russell establish the townsite of Auraria south of Cherry Creek near the Cherry Creek Diggings, over a month before a group of Kansas Territory speculators led by William Larimer established the rival Denver City on the other side of Cherry Creek. Henry Allen, a surveyor, laid the town platte and was Auraria town company's first president. The town was named for the

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

mining settlement of Auraria, Georgia. On October 29, Charles H. Blake and A.J. Williams opened a mercantile business out of wagons in Auraria. Henry Allen was the first postmaster of Auraria. On January 18, 1859, the first

post office A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional ser ...

in the future State of Colorado opened in Auraria. On, April 15, 1859, ten delegates from six communities in the

Pike's Peak Country Pike's Peak Country was the name given to the gold mining region of the western United States near Pikes Peak during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858–1861. The Pike's Peak Country included the region of western Kansas Territory roughly west of ...

met in convention at Dick Wooton’s store in Auraria to pass resolutions to organize a Provisional State of Jefferson. On April 23, William Byers published the first edition of the Rocky Mountain News, the Rocky Mountain region's first newspaper, at Auraria. At an election on September 24, voters rejected the proposed state, but on October 24, voters approved the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson. Auraria ceased to exist as a separate town on December 3, 1859, when the Jefferson Territory granted a charter to the consolidated City of Denver, Auraria, and Highland, which would come to be known as just Denver City, the territorial capital and seat of Arrappahoe County. The Jefferson Territory was itself superseded on February 28, 1861, when U.S. President James Buchanan signed An Act to provide a temporary Government for the Territory of Colorado. Auraria suffered a devastating flood on May 19, 1864. In response, many businesses left the neighborhood for Denver proper. Some speculate that Auraria never truly recovered from this event. In the 1960s and 1970s, Auraria became the focal point for urban renewal in Denver. It was decided that the neighborhood would be converted to a campus to house the

University of Colorado Denver The University of Colorado Denver (CU Denver) is a public research university in Denver, Colorado. It is part of the University of Colorado system. History University of Colorado System Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado creat ...

Metropolitan State University Metropolitan State University (Metro State) is a public university in the Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota metropolitan area. It is a member of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system.

, and the

Community College of Denver Community College of Denver (CCD) is a public community college in Denver, Colorado. The main campus is at Auraria Campus and it has two other locations in the Denver metropolitan area. CCD focuses on underserved, first-generation, and minority ...

. Demolition of old Auraria began on March 10, 1973. A few buildings from old Auraria are still standing today. The name "Auraria" survives in Denver as the neighborhood along the west bank of Cherry Creek to the east bank of the South Platte River, bordered on the south by

. Auraria is easily confused with, but is entirely distinct from the City of

Aurora An aurora (plural: auroras or aurorae), also commonly known as the polar lights, is a natural light display in Earth's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic). Auroras display dynamic patterns of bri ...

, Denver's neighbor some six miles to the east.

Arts and culture

Attractions

Elitch Gardens Elitch Gardens was a family-owned seasonal amusement park, theater, and botanic garden in the West Highland neighborhood in northwest Denver, Colorado, United States, at 38th and Tennyson streets. For more than a century Elitch's was one of the m ...

* Auraria Campus * Ninth Street Historic Park * Emmanuel Shearith Israel Chapel - Denver's oldest church building *

Tivoli Student Union The Tivoli Brewery (now the Tivoli Student Union) is a historic building originally home to the Tivoli Brewing Company. It was designed by prominent Denver architect Frederick C. Eberley. The building is located in the Auraria Neighborhood of Den ...

* St. Cajetan’s Church - Historic Hispanic church * St. Elizabeth's Church - Only active church on the Auraria campus * Auraria Library *

Ball Arena Ball Arena (formerly known as Pepsi Center) is a multi-purpose indoor arena located in Denver, Colorado. It is situated at Speer Boulevard, a main thoroughfare in downtown Denver, and is served by two nearby exits off Interstate 25. A lig ...

Sports

Auraria contains the

arena, home of the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

, Denver Nuggets, and Colorado Mammoth, as well as the venue of concerts and other events.

Education

The neighborhood of Auraria is dominated by the Auraria Campus, which is home to three institutions of higher learning:

(CU Denver),

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, i ...

(MSU Denver), and

(CCD). Vestiges of the old neighborhood remain, however, in the Ninth Street Historic Park on the campus. The three institutions occupy the bulk of the Auraria Neighborhood, so there is very little permanent residence. The schools mainly serve commuter students, though housing has recently been developed at Campus Village Apartments (UCD), Auraria Student Lofts, and

Regency Student Housing Regency Student Housing is one of three student-housing communities for the Auraria Campus in downtown Denver, Colorado. Formerly the Regency Hotel, the building is privately owned by local investor and proprietor V. Robert (Rob) Salazar, who bou ...

Media

There are two student newspapers that are published in Auraria. The University of Colorado Denver's newspaper is called the "CU Denver Sentry" and Metropolitan State University's newspaper is "Met Media".

Transportation

Auraria is serviced by the Regional Transportation District. It has two light rail stations within its boundaries: the Colfax at Auraria station and the Auraria West station.

References

{{Neighborhoods of Denver Colorado Mining Boom Neighborhoods in Denver Former colonial and territorial capitals in the United States History of Denver Populated places established in 1858 1858 establishments in Kansas Territory