Library of Congress
The USA's 19th largest city (pop. 693,000, metro area 3.1 million), and at 5,280 feet (1,609 meters) its highest-altitude, has come a long way from its humble beginnings in 1859 as a gold-rush mining town. Sleepy at first, much of the "Mile-High City's" growth didn't pick up steam until the 1890s, with the real boom not kicking in till after World War II. Today, this dynamic, high-tech bastion is a major business, cultural, and sports power which trends young and cosmopolita