Arvada Colorado- Fun in the Mountains

Arvada, Colorado, is a suburb of Denver, to the Northwest of
the city. It is near the Denver International Airport,
the Downtown Denver business district, and mountain communities.
With three highways going through it, interstate highways I-70,
I-76 and I-25, it is easy to travel and commute to Denver, or
travel higher into the mountains. It is in the region between
the Denver plateau and the real mountains, sort of the Rocky
Mountain foothills. Arvada real estate
and its residents enjoy the lifestyle of
being fairly high up in altitude, and surrounded by mountains,
lakes, and valleys, close to ski areas and other mountain
recreations. Arvada is also known for its quality parks which
take up over 3,000 acres and link downtown Denver to the foothills.

Arvada is known to be one of the most progressive cities in the
Denver Metro area with a prominent interest in the arts. With an
estimated 103,400 population, in an area of just under 33 square
miles, Arvada homes and real estate are organized around several
planned communities, and the population of the city has more than
doubled since 1970.

The Arvada art center is now expanding. The expansion
planners have decided which areas of the Expansion Master Plan
will be completed in the first construction phase of the project.
A project construction budget of $5.3 million has been established
and includes: a new 200 seat Black Box Theater and General
Assembly, and a performing arts shop with rehearsal space, and
meeting space to allow for an additional 160 new seats. Also
planned are a new expanded history Museum Exhibit and new Exhibit
and Gallery Collections Storage Space. Recent exhibits have shown
paintings from an artist originally from Long Island, New York,
trying to compare the landscape of the Colorado Mountains with her
native water surrounded landscapes. Another exhibit shows the
work of a ceramic artist who has been working in the Arvada area
for over 20 years. Outside the art center there is a sculpture
garden with large, functional sculpture that can even interact
with children. For example, John Youngs piece, Flatirons is
a large structure of two picket-fence-like objects that are
tilted at about 30-degrees, and meet in the middle with a little
space between them.

Arvada had its start when Lewis Ralston discovered gold here in
1850, in what is now known as Ralston Creek. This was in the
beginning of the Colorado Gold rush. By the early 1860s, the
land was being farmed, with irrigation, since the yearly rainfall
is only about 20 inches, known as a semi-arid climate.
Agriculture dominated Arvada at that time, which at one point was
known as the "Celery Capital of the World." Today Arvada is
known for its planned communities and mountain communities.

Three examples are Westwoods Ridge, Fieldstone and Wyndham
Park. Westwoods Ridge is known as a unique community, with nature
walks and clubs. Wyndham Park is a mid-scale self contained
community. This is a very middle class area. Other communities
you may want to look at are, Arbor Estates, where a large home
recently sold for only $300,000, and Appleridge Estates, where a
comparable buy recently was sold.