From the infamous Sand Creek Massacre to the building of Coors Field, It Happened in Denver gives readers a unique look at some of the most intriguing people and episodes from the history of the Mile-High City. Discover why Denver nearly burned down in 1863 and why it was flooded a year later. Learn how wine barrels helped lay a foundation for the ski industry. And meet David Moffat, the man most responsible for building a rail line across the Rocky Mountains. In an easy-to-read style that's entertaining as well as informative, author Stephen Grace recounts some of the most famous (and infamous!) moments in the history of Colorado's largest city.
"Denver boasts two pretty good rock songs in Warren Zevon's 'Things to do in Denver when you're Dead' and Bob Seger's 'Get out of Denver,' several forgettable movies, a big blue bear, and a maniacal-looking horse at the airport. I learned in Stephen Grace's It Happened in Denver that our Mile High City is the only major metropolis that's ever relocated its international airport. That they moved it nearly to Kansas is another story altogether. We're also the only city on record to ever turn down an Olympic games. Can you imagine that kind of offer today?
"Hey, how would you guys like to host the Olympics?"
"Uh, no thanks, we're good. But thanks for asking."
We've recently been reminded in Denver that our snow totals can be measured in feet rather than inches. In the great blizzard of 1913, they had so many feet of fallen snow that buildings throughout town were flatted by its weight. And what about that trickle of water that runs through town, the less than imposing Cherry Creek? Why, in 1864, after a few hard mountain rains, a twenty foot wall of water came crashing through the city washing away several homes and businesses along with a few unfortunate souls. Never turn your back on the sea, so they say.
What I like about It Happened in Denver is that it says so much in such a few pages (approx. 130). You learn all about the good, the bad, and the ugly, and you'll never see the city in the same way again. When you're on Market Street, for instance, you'll find out why it's named that and what came before. You'll see that Red Rocks has been jamming much longer than most would believe. You read how everything changed when Jack Kerouac and his Beats buzzed into town joining Denver's own Neil Cassady. How Coors Field became, in my opinion, the best place in the country to watch a baseball game. Then there's the Denver Mint robbery of 1922, still unsolved. One of the only clues was a bullet-riddled body found in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. I guess some things never change.
Read this fun, little book and fall in love with Denver (The Queen City of the Plains -- or, to you young whippersnappers, The Mile High City) all over again."
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