[ Diurnal temperature variation is typically large due to the high elevation and semi-arid climate. Daytime highs are generally cooler than those of most Colorado cities with similar elevations. However, Boulder's nighttime lows are mild, particularly during winter. The average January temperature of is the warmest of any city in the state.]
The highest recorded temperature of occurred most recently on June 25, 2012. The record low was on January 17, 1930. The coldest high temperature, , was recorded on February 4, 1989, while the warmest overnight low was recorded on July 20, 1998, with a temperature of
Demographics
Boulder is the principal city of the Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.
As of the 2010 census, there were 97,385 people, 41,302 households, and 16,694 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,942.7 inhabitants per square mile (1,524.0/km). There were 43,479 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the city was 88.0% White, 0.9% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.7% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 3.2% some other race, and 2.6% from two or more races. 8.7% of the population are Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...
or Latino of any race.
There were 41,302 households, out of which 19.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 32.2% were headed by married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 59.6% were non-families. 35.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% were someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.16, and the average family size was 2.84.
Boulder's population is younger than the national average, largely due to the presence of university students. The median age at the 2010 census was 28.7 years compared to the U.S. median of 37.2 years. In Boulder, 13.9% of the residents were younger than the age of 18, 29.1% from 18 to 24, 27.6% from 25 to 44, 20.3% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females, there were 105.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and older, there were 106.2 males.
In 2011 the estimated median household income in Boulder was $57,112, and the median family income was $113,681. Male full-time workers had a median income of $71,993 versus $47,574 for females. The per capita income for the city was $37,600. 24.8% of the population and 7.6% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 17.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Economy
The Boulder MSA had a gross metropolitan product of $18.3 billion in 2010, the 110th largest metropolitan economy in the United States.
In 2007, Boulder became the first city in the United States to levy a carbon tax.
In 2013, Boulder appeared on ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also r ...
'' magazine's list of Best Places for Business and Careers.
Top employers
According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers are:
Arts and culture
Bolder Boulder
Boulder has hosted a 10 km road run, the Bolder Boulder, on Memorial Day, every year since 1979. The race involves over 50,000 runners, joggers, walkers, and wheelchair racers, making it one of the largest road races in the world. It has the largest non- marathon prize purse in road racing. The race culminates at Folsom Field with a Memorial Day Tribute. The 2007 race featured over 54,000 runners, walkers, and wheelchair racers, making it the largest race in the US in which all participants are timed and the fifth largest road race in the world.
Music
Founded in 1958, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra
The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra, founded in 1958, is a professional symphony orchestra based in Boulder, Colorado. It is led by Music Director Michael Butterman. The Boulder Philharmonic’s season at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colo ...
is a professional orchestra under the leadership of its Music Director Michael Butterman.
Founded in 1976 by Giora Bernstein
Giora Bernstein (born 1933) is a conductor, classical violinist, and Professor Emeritus of Music at the University of Colorado.International Leo Kestenberg Society He was the founder of the Colorado Music Festival and its Artistic Director for 24 y ...
, the Colorado Music Festival presents a summer series of concerts in Chautauqua Auditorium.
Founded in 1981, the Boulder Bach Festival (BBF) is an annual festival celebrating the life, legacy, and music of J.S. Bach. The festival is led by Executive Director Zachary Carrettin
Zachary Carrettin is an American violinist, violist, conductor, and music educator. Carrettin is currently the Music Drector of Boulder Bach Festival.
Education
Mr. Carrettin holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees in violin performance from ...
and Artistic Director Mina Gajic.
Dance
Boulder is home to multiple dance companies and establishments. Boulder Ballet was founded by former American Ballet Theatre dancer Larry Boyette in the 1970s as part of the Ballet Arts Studios. Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet was founded in 2004 by Robert Sher-Machherndl, former principal dancer of the Dutch National Ballet and Bavarian State Ballet
The Bavarian State Ballet (german: Bayerisches Staatsballett) is a professional ballet company in Munich, Germany. It was founded in 1988 by Konstanze Vernon as an independent company. The ballet had previously been part of the ''Bayerische Staa ...
.
Conference on World Affairs
The Conference on World Affairs, started in 1948, is an annual one-week conference featuring dozens of discussion panels on a variety of contemporary issues.
''eTown''
The internationally syndicated radio program '' eTown'' has its headquarters at eTown Hall
eTown is a 501c3 non-profit broadcast organization. Based in Boulder, Colorado, eTown is a nationally syndicated multimedia, podcasting and events production company. The eTown radio broadcast can be heard on National Public Radio, community ra ...
, at the intersection of 16th and Spruce Streets, in downtown Boulder. Most tapings of this weekly show are done at eTown Hall.
Polar Bear Plunge
Beginning in 1983, hundreds of people head to the Boulder Reservoir
Boulder Reservoir is located in the northern part of Boulder, Colorado. It stores water for the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District — also called Northern Water — and for the City of Boulder. The reservoir is the centerpiece of the Bo ...
on New Year's Day to take part in the annual polar bear plunge. With rescue teams standing by, participants use a variety of techniques to plunge themselves into the freezing reservoir. Once the plunge is complete, swimmers retreat to hot tubs on the reservoir beach to revive themselves from the cold.
Naked Pumpkin Run
Starting in 1998, dozens of people have taken part in a Halloween run down the city's streets wearing only shoes and a hollowed-out pumpkin on their heads. In 2009, local police threatened participants with charges of indecent exposure and no naked runners were reported in official newscasts, although a few naked runners were observed by locals. Several illegal attempts, resulting in arrests, have been made to restart the run, but no serious effort has been mounted.
420
For several years on April 20, thousands of people gathered on the CU Boulder campus to celebrate 420 and smoke marijuana at and before 4:20 pm. The 2010 head count was officially between 8,000 and 15,000 with some discrepancy between the local papers and the university administrators (who have been thought to have been attempting to downplay the event). Eleven citations were given out whereas the year before there were only two. 2011 was the last year of mass 420 partying at CU as the university, in 2012, took a hard stance against 420 activities, closing the campus to visitors for the day, using smelly fish fertilizer to discourage gathering at the Norlin Quad, and having out-of-town law enforcement agencies help secure the campus. In 2013, April 20 fell on a Saturday; the university continued the 420 party ban and, again, closed the campus to visitors. In 2015 the government conceded and once again opened the park to visitors on April 20.
Boulder Cruiser Ride
The Happy Thursday Cruiser Ride is a weekly bicycle ride in Boulder Colorado. The Boulder Cruiser Ride grew from a group of friends and friends of friends in the early 90's riding bicycles around Boulder into the social cycling event it is today. Some enthusiasts gather wearing costumes and decorating their bikes; themes are an integral part of the cruiser tradition. Boulder Police began following the cruiser ride as it gained in popularity in the early 2000's. Issues with underage drinking, reckless bicycle riding, and other nuisance complaints led organizers to drop the cruiser ride as a public event. Returning to an underground format, where enthusiasts must become part of the social network before gaining access to event sites, the Boulder Cruiser Ride has continued as a local tradition. On May 30, 2013, over 400 riders attended the Thursday-night Cruiser Ride in honor of "Big Boy", an elk that was shot and killed on New Year's Day by an on-duty Boulder Police officer.
Parks and recreation
Boulder is surrounded by thousands of acres of recreational open space, conservation easements, and nature preserves. Almost 60%, , of open space totaling is open to the public.
The unincorporated community of Eldorado Springs, south of Boulder, is home to rock climbing routes. There are also climbing routes available in the city open space, including climbing routes of varying difficulty on the Flatirons themselves (traditional protection). Boulder Canyon (sport), directly west of downtown Boulder, also has many routes. All three of these areas are affected by seasonal closures for wildlife.
Government
Boulder is a home rule municipality, being self-governing under Article XX of the Constitution of the State of Colorado; Title 31, Article 1, Section 202 of the Colorado Revised Statutes.
Politically, Boulder is one of the most liberal and Democratic cities in Colorado when viewed from a Federal and State elections lens. , registered voters in Boulder County
Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder.
Boulder County comprises t ...
were 43.4% Democratic, 14.7% Republican, 1.6% in other parties, and 40.3% unaffiliated. By residents and detractors alike, Boulder is often referred to as the "People's Republic of Boulder".
In 1974, the Boulder City Council passed Colorado's first ordinance prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Boulder voters, however, repealed the measure by referendum within a year. In 1975, Boulder County Clerk Clela Rorex was the second in the United States ever to grant same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
licenses, prior to state laws being passed to prevent such issuance.
In July 2019, Boulder declared a "climate emergency" and established target dates for achieving 100% renewable electricity, a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions
Greenhouse gas emissions from human activities strengthen the greenhouse effect, contributing to climate change. Most is carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels: coal, oil, and natural gas. The largest emitters include coal in China and ...
from city organizations and facilities, an increase in local generation of electricity through renewable sources, and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from the community The city also created a community-centered process to focus on energy systems, regenerative ecosystems, circular materials economy, land use, and financial systems.
Education
Public schools
The Boulder Valley School District
The Boulder Valley School District No. Re2 is a school district in Colorado, headquartered in the BVSD Education Center in unincorporated Boulder County, near Boulder. The district serves Boulder, Gold Hill, Jamestown, Lafayette, Louisville, Ne ...
(BVSD) administers the public school system in Boulder, aside from a few areas in northeast Boulder where students attend the St. Vrain Valley School District.
Charter schools
Charter schools within the city of Boulder include Preparatory High School (9–12), Summit Middle School (6–8), and Horizons Alternative School (K–8).
Private schools
A variety of private high schools, middle schools and elementary schools operate in Boulder.
Colleges and universities
* University of Colorado Boulder, public university which contributes roughly 46,000 residents (30,000 undergraduate students, 7,000 graduate students and 10,000 staff/faculty) to the population.
* Naropa University is a private university based on Buddhist principles. It has approximately 400 undergraduate and over 600 graduate students.
* Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts
Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts is a private culinary school with campuses in Boulder, Colorado, Austin, Texas, and online. The school offers culinary arts, pastry arts, and plant-based programs. It is named after Auguste Escoffier ...
a culinary school group with campuses in Boulder and Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...
.
Science institutes
* Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) is a research institute that is sponsored jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and the Un ...
(CIRES)
* Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere
The Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) is a scientific research institution at Colorado State University (CSU) that operates under a cooperative agreement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Off ...
(CIRA)
* Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomy (CASA)
* Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research
The Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research (CCAR) is a renowned aerospace research center specializing in orbital mechanics and spacecraft navigation, located at the University of Colorado at Boulder. CCAR was established at the University o ...
(CCAR)
* Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research
The Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research (INSTAAR) is a scientific institute that is part of the University of Colorado Boulder. Its research mission is to " evelopscientific knowledge of physical and biogeochemical environmental processes at ...
(INSTAAR)
* JILA (Formerly Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics)
* Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)
* Geological Society of America
The Geological Society of America (GSA) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of the geosciences.
History
The society was founded in Ithaca, New York, in 1888 by Alexander Winchell, John J. Stevenson, Charles H. Hitch ...
, headquartered at 3300 Penrose Place.
* National Ecological Observatory Network
National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) is a large facility program operated by Battelle Memorial Institute and funded by the National Science Foundation. In full operation since 2019, NEON gathers and provides long-term, standardized da ...
(NEON)
* National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) / University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)
** High Altitude Observatory (HAO)
* National Institute of Standards and Technology
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is an agency of the United States Department of Commerce whose mission is to promote American innovation and industrial competitiveness. NIST's activities are organized into physical s ...
(NIST)
* National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditi ...
(NOAA)
** Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL)
** Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC)
* National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
* National Solar Observatory (NSO)
* National Telecommunications and Information Administration(NTIA) – Institute for Telecommunication Sciences Boulder
* Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI)
* Rocky Mountain Institute
* Southwest Research Institute Department of Space Studies
* Space Science Institute
* UNAVCO
UNAVCO is a non-profit university-governed consortium that facilitates geoscience research and education using Geodesy. UNAVCO is funded by the National Science Foundation ( NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA) to su ...
National Science Foundation's Geodetic Facility
* United States Geological Survey (USGS)
Media
Boulder's main daily newspaper, the '' Daily Camera'', was founded in 1890 as the weekly ''Boulder Camera'', and became a daily newspaper the following year. The '' Colorado Daily'' was started in 1892 as a university newspaper for CU Boulder. Following many heated controversies over ''Colorado Daily'' political coverage, it severed its ties to the university in 1971. In summer 1996, the ''Boulder Planet'', a free weekly competing with the ''Boulder Weekly
''Boulder Weekly'' is an alternative newsweekly that publishes every Thursday in Boulder, Colorado. The paper is a member of the Association of Alternative Newsweeklies (AAN) and is owned and published by Stewart Sallo.
Overview
Following the L ...
'', published its first issue; it ceased publication in February 2000. Newspaper conglomerate Scripps acquired the ''Colorado Daily'' in 2005 after its acquisition of the ''Camera'' in 1997, leaving the ''Boulder Weekly'' as the only locally owned newspaper in Boulder. Scripps relinquished its 50 percent ownership in both daily papers in early 2009 to Media News Group. ''Boulder Magazine'', a lifestyle magazine, was founded in 1978. ''Boulder Magazine'' is published three times per year.
Boulder is part of the Denver
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 ...
market for television stations, and it also receives many radio stations based in Denver or Ft. Collins. For cable television, Boulder is served by Comcast Cable. The city operates public service Boulder 8 TV on cable (high- and standard-definition), which airs, live-streams and archives council meetings; with its in-house video production facilities, it also produces news, talk and informational programming. Over-the-air television reception is poor in the western part of the city because of interference from mountains.
Non-commercial community radio
Community radio is a radio service offering a third model of radio broadcasting in addition to commercial and public broadcasting. Community stations serve geographic communities and communities of interest. They broadcast content that is popu ...
station KGNU
KGNU (1390 AM) & KGNU-FM (88.5 FM) are a pair of community radio stations licensed to Denver and Boulder, Colorado respectively. KGNU is owned by Boulder Community Broadcast Association, Inc.
History KFML
1390 AM was first licensed on April 4, ...
was founded in 1978 and commercial music station KBCO in 1977. KBCO programs an adult album alternative format and is owned and operated by iHeartMedia. KBCO moved its studios from Boulder to the Denver Tech Center in 2010 but still maintains the Boulder license and transmits from atop Eldorado Mountain
Eldorado Mountain is a mountain summit on the eastern flank of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The peak is located south by west ( bearing 196°) of downtown Boulder, Colorado, United States. The mountain is larg ...
south of Boulder.
KVCU, also known as Radio 1190, is another non-commercial radio station run with the help of university-student volunteers. KVCU started broadcasting in 1998.
NPR programming is heard over KCFC 1490 AM, operated by Colorado Public Radio, and simulcasting Denver station KCFR
KCFR-FM (90.1 MHz) is a radio station in Denver, Colorado, which is owned and operated by Colorado Public Radio and simulcast to several AM and FM stations throughout the state. The signals from some of these stations also extend into eastern ...
90.1.
KRKS-FM 94.7, owned and operated by Salem Media Group and affiliated with SRN News, offers a Christian talk and teaching
Christian radio is a Christian media radio format that focus on programming with a Christian message. Many such broadcasters play contemporary Christian music, though many programs include sermons, radio dramas, as well as news and talk program ...
format, and has its transmitter located on Lee Hill, northwest of Boulder.
The University of Colorado Press, a non-profit co-op of various western universities, publishes academic books. Paladin Press book/video publishers and ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine both have their headquarters in Boulder. Paladin Press was founded in September 1970 by Peder Lund and Robert K. Brown. In 1974, Lund bought out Brown's share of the press, and Brown moved on to found ''Soldier of Fortune'' magazine the following year.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Since Boulder has operated under residential growth control ordinances since 1976, the growth of employment in the city has far outstripped population growth. Considerable road traffic enters the city each morning and leaves each afternoon, since many employees live in Longmont, Lafayette, Louisville, Broomfield, Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, and Denver
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 ...
. Boulder is served by US 36
U.S. Route 36 (US 36) is an east–west United States highway that travels approximately from Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado to Uhrichsville, Ohio. The highway's western terminus is at Deer Ridge Junction, an intersection i ...
and a variety of state highways. Parking regulations in Boulder have been explicitly designed to discourage parking by commuters and to encourage the use of mass transit, with mixed results.
Over the years, Boulder has made significant investments in the multi-modal network. The city is now well known for its grade-separated bicycle and pedestrian paths, which are integrated into a network of bicycle lanes, cycle tracks, and on-street bicycle routes. Boulder also provides a community transit network that connects downtown, the University of Colorado campuses, and local shopping amenities. While the city has no rail transit, local and regional shuttle busses are funded by a variety of sources. Due in part to these investments in pedestrian, bicycle, and transit infrastructure, Boulder has been recognized both nationally and internationally for its transportation system.
In 2009, the Boulder metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked as the fourth highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who biked to work (5.4 percent). In 2013, the Boulder MSA ranked as the fourth lowest in the United States for percentage of workers who commuted by private automobile (71.9 percent). During the same time period, 11.1 percent of Boulder area workers had no commute whatsoever: they worked out of the home.
Transit
Boulder has an extensive bus system operated by the Regional Transportation District
The Regional Transportation District, more commonly referred to as RTD, is the regional agency operating public transit services in eight out of the twelve counties in the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in the U.S. state of Col ...
(RTD). The HOP, SKIP, JUMP, Bound, DASH and Stampede routes run throughout the city and connect to nearby communities with departures every ten minutes during peak hours, Monday-Friday. Other routes, such as the 204, 205, 206, 208 and 209 depart every 15 to 30 minutes. Regional routes, traveling between nearby cities such as Longmont (BOLT, J), Golden (GS), and Denver (Flatiron Flyer, a bus rapid transit route), as well as Denver International Airport (AB), are also available. There are over 100 scheduled daily bus trips on seven routes that run between Boulder and Denver on weekdays.
=Future transit plans
=
A 41-mile RTD commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are con ...
route called the Northwest Rail Line is proposed to run from Denver through Boulder to Longmont, with stops in major communities along the way. The Boulder station is to be north of Pearl Street and east of 30th Street. At one time this commuter rail service was scheduled to commence in 2014, but major delays have ensued. In 2016, an initial six-mile segment opened, reaching from downtown Denver to southern Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
at West 71st Avenue and Federal Boulevard. The remaining 35 miles of the Northwest Rail Line is planned to be completed by 2044, depending upon funding.
These future transit plans, as well as the current Flatiron Flyer Bus Rapid Transit route, are part of FasTracks, an RTD transit improvement plan funded by a 0.4% increase in the sales tax throughout the Denver metro area. RTD, the developer of FasTracks, is partnering with the city of Boulder to plan a transit-oriented development near Pearl and 33rd Streets in association with the proposed Boulder commuter rail station. The development is to feature the Boulder Railroad Depot
Boulder Station is a hotel and casino located in Sunrise Manor, Nevada on Boulder Highway. It is owned and operated by Station Casinos. Groundbreaking began on August 5, 1993. The project was built at a cost of $103 million, and opened on Au ...
, already relocated to that site, which may be returned to a transit-related use.
Cycling
Boulder, well known for its bicycle culture
Bicycle culture can refer to a mainstream culture that supports the use of bicycles or to a subculture. Although "bike culture" is often used to refer to various forms of associated fashion, it is erroneous to call fashion in and of itself a cult ...
, boasts hundreds of miles of bicycle-pedestrian paths, lanes, and routes that interconnect to create a renowned network of bikeways usable year-round. Boulder has 74 bike and pedestrian underpasses that facilitate safer and uninterrupted travel throughout much of the city. The city offers a route-finding website that allows users to map personalized bike routes around the city, and is one of five communities to have received a " Platinum Bicycle Friendly Community" rating from the League of American Bicyclists
The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education.
A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizatio ...
.
The headquarters of the free and non-obligatory hospitality exchange network for cyclists, Warm Showers
Warm Showers (WS) is a non-profit hospitality exchange service for people engaging in bicycle touring. The platform is a gift economy — hosts are not supposed to charge for lodging and are not bound. The legal form is a Colorado 501(c)(3) nonp ...
, is based in Boulder.
In May 2011, B-cycle bike-sharing opened in Boulder with 100 red bikes and 12 stations.
Airport
Boulder Municipal Airport
Boulder Municipal Airport is a public airport located northeast of the central business district of Boulder, a city in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. It is owned by the City of Boulder and used almost exclusively for general aviation ...
is located from central Boulder, is owned by the City of Boulder and is used exclusively for general aviation
General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...
, with most traffic consisting of single-engine airplanes and glider aircraft
A glider is a fixed-wing aircraft that is supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against its lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine. Most gliders do not have an engine, although motor-gliders ha ...
.
Notable people
* Albert Allen Bartlett
Albert Allen Bartlett (March 21, 1923 – September 7, 2013) was an emeritus professor of physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder, US. Professor Bartlett had lectured over 1,742 times since September, 1969 on ''Arithmetic, Population, ...
, emeritus professor of physics
* Jello Biafra, Dead Kennedys
Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run.
Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing ...
frontman
* Tony Boselli, five-time Pro Bowl offensive tackle
* Bill Bower
William Marsh Bower (February 13, 1917 – January 10, 2011) was an American aviator, U.S. Air Force Colonel and veteran of World War II. Bower was the last surviving pilot (e.g., aircraft commander) of the Doolittle Raid, the first air raid ...
, the last surviving pilot who took part in the Doolittle Raid
* Arleigh Burke
Arleigh Albert Burke (October 19, 1901 – January 1, 1996) was an Admiral (United States), admiral of the United States Navy who distinguished himself during World War II and the Korean War, and who served as Chief of Naval Operations during th ...
, United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
Admiral and Chief of Naval Operations
* Scott Carpenter, Project Mercury astronaut
* Alonzo Clemons
Alonzo Clemons (born 1958) is an American savant and sculptor from Boulder, Colorado. He suffered a severe brain injury as a child that left him with a developmental disability. He achieved fame for his ability to sculpt almost any animal in a r ...
, sculptor and autistic savant
* Jack Collom
John Aldridge "Jack" Collom (November 8, 1931 – July 2, 2017) was an American poet, essayist, and creative writing pedagogue. Included among the twenty-five books he published during his lifetime were ''Red Car Goes By: Selected Poems 1955–200 ...
, poet
* Kristin Davis, '' Sex and the City'' actress
* Joey "CoCo" Diaz was a resident of Boulder during the 1980s and 1990s
* John Fante, writer
* Justine Frischmann, British artist and former lead singer of Elastica
* Andrea Gibson
Andrea Gibson (born August 13, 1975) is an American poet and activist from Calais, Maine, who has lived in Boulder, Colorado since 1999. Gibson's poetry focuses on gender norms, politics, social reform, and LGBTQ topics.
Personal life
Gibson ...
, spoken word artist, poet, activist
* Allen Ginsberg
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...
, taught at Naropa University and lived much of his life in Boulder
* Michael Grab
Michael Grab is an artist specializing in rock balancing, photography, and videography. He was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and currently based in Boulder, Colorado, United States, and has worked professionally since 2008, creating precariou ...
, a Canadian-born artist specializing in rock balancing and photography
* Matt Hasselbeck
Matthew Michael Hasselbeck (born September 25, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Boston College and was drafted in the sixth r ...
, three-time Pro Bowl quarterback
The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...
* Carrie Ingalls
Caroline Celestia Ingalls Swanzey (; August 3, 1870 – June 2, 1946) was the third child of Charles and Caroline Ingalls, and was born in Montgomery County, Kansas. She was a younger sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder, who is known for her '' Litt ...
('' Little House on the Prairie'') lived in Boulder in 1905 – 1906
* Scott Jurek
Scott Gordon Jurek (born October 26, 1973) is an American ultramarathoner, author, and public speaker. Throughout his running career, Jurek was one of the most dominant ultramarathon runners in the world, winning the Hardrock Hundred (2007), t ...
, ultramarathoner, writer and public speaker
* Eagle Wynne McMahon
Eagle Wynne McMahon is an American professional disc golfer from Boulder, Colorado, sponsored by Discmania Golf Discs. He has 53 career wins (including two majors) and has been one of the highest rated players in the world for several years. At ...
, professional disc golf player
* Kimbal Musk
Kimbal Reeve Musk (born 20 September 1972) is a South African restaurateur, chef, and entrepreneur. He owns The Kitchen Restaurant Group, a collection of "community" restaurants located in Colorado, Chicago, and Indianapolis. He is the co-fou ...
, American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and restaurateur
* Chief Niwot or Left Hand, a tribal leader of the Arapaho, lived at the site of Boulder.
* Shane O'Neil, soccer player for the Seattle Sounders FC
* Chuck Pagano, former Indianapolis Colts head coach
* Phil Plait
Philip Cary Plait (born September 30, 1964), also known as The Bad Astronomer, is an American astronomer, skeptic, and popular science blogger. Plait has worked as part of the Hubble Space Telescope team, images and spectra of astronomical objec ...
, "The Bad Astronomer", astronomer, skeptic, writer and science blogger
* Jared Polis, Governor of Colorado
* JonBenét Ramsey, when she was murdered in December 1996.
* Larry Sellers, actor, had lived in the town
* Lidia Șimon, retired Romanian Olympic long-distance runner
* Evans Woollen III, architect
In popular culture
Woody Allen's film '' Sleeper'' (1973) was filmed on location in Boulder. Some houses and the Mesa Laboratory of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, designed by I. M. Pei, were used in the film.
Boulder was a setting for Stephen King's book '' The Stand'' (1978), as the gathering point for some of the survivors of the superflu. King lived in Boulder for a little less than a year, beginning in the autumn of 1974, and wrote '' The Shining'' (1977) during this period.
The television sitcom '' Mork & Mindy'' (1978–1982) was set in Boulder, with 1619 Pine St. serving as the exterior shot of Mindy's home. The New York Deli, a now closed restaurant in the Pearl Street Mall
The Pearl Street Mall (also referred to as Pearl Street, or Downtown Boulder) is a four-block pedestrian mall in Boulder, Colorado. The pedestrian area stretches from 11th Street to 15th Street along Pearl Street and is home to a number of busines ...
, was also featured prominently in the series.
In the American version of the television sitcom ''The Office
''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries.
The original ser ...
'', the character Michael Scott leaves the show in season 7 and moves with his fiancée to Boulder.
"Boulder to Birmingham" is a song written by Emmylou Harris and Bill Danoff which first appeared on Harris's 1975 album '' Pieces of the Sky''. It has served as something of a signature tune for the artist and recounts her feelings of grief in the years following the death of country rock star and mentor Gram Parsons.
The Comedy Central television show '' Broad City'' ends with the protagonist, Abby, moving to Boulder for an art fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher educatio ...
.
Sister cities
Boulder's sister cities are:
* Dushanbe
Dushanbe ( tg, Душанбе, ; ; russian: Душанбе) is the capital and largest city of Tajikistan. , Dushanbe had a population of 863,400 and that population was largely Tajik. Until 1929, the city was known in Russian as Dyushambe (ru ...
, Tajikistan (1987)
* Jalapa
Xalapa or Jalapa (, ), officially Xalapa-Enríquez (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Veracruz and the name of the surrounding municipality. In the 2005 census the city reported a population of 387,879 and the municipality of which ...
, Nueva Segovia Department, Nicaragua (1983)
* Kathmandu
, pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia
, coordinates =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...
, Nepal (2018)
* Kisumu
Kisumu ( ) is the third-largest city in Kenya after the capital, Nairobi, and the coastal city of Mombasa (census 2019). It is the third-largest city after Kampala and Mwanza in the Lake Victoria Basin.
Apart from being an important p ...
, Kenya (2008)
* Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhasa ...
, Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions ...
, China (1986)
* El Mante, Tamaulipas, Mexico (2000)
* Nablus, West Bank, Palestine (2016)
* Ramat HaNegev, Southern District, Israel (2018)
* Yamagata, Yamagata, Japan (1994)
* Yateras
Yateras is a municipality in the Guantánamo Province of Cuba. The municipal seat is located in the town of Palenque, in the northern part of the province. Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site is partly located in t ...
, Guantánamo Province, Cuba (2002)
Landmarks representing Boulder's connection with its various sister cities can be found throughout the city. Boulder's Sister City Plaza – dedicated on May 17, 2007 – is located on the east lawn of Boulder's Municipal Building. The plaza was built to honor all of Boulder's sister city relationships.
The Dushanbe Tea House is located on 13th Street just south of the Pearl Street Mall. Dushanbe presented its distinctive tea house as a gift to Boulder in 1987. It was completed in Tajikistan in 1990 and then shipped to Boulder, where it was reassembled and opened to the public in 1998.
A mural representing the relationship between Boulder and Mante, Mexico, was dedicated in August 2001. The mural, which was painted by Mante muralist Florian Lopez, is located on the north-facing wall of the Dairy Center for the Performing Arts.
See also
*Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...
**Bibliography of Colorado
The location of the State of Colorado in the United States of America
This is a bibliography of the U.S. State of Colorado.
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General history
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*Sibley, George. ''Water Wranglers - The 75- ...
**Index of Colorado-related articles
This is an alphabetical list of articles related to the U.S. State of Colorado.
0–9
* .co.us – Internet second-level domain for the State of Colorado
* 4 Corners
** 4 Corners Monument
* 6th Principal Meridian
* 10-mile Range
* 10th ...
** Outline of Colorado
* List of counties in Colorado
* List of municipalities in Colorado
*List of places in Colorado
A
B
C
D
E
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G-O
* List of places in Colorado G through O
P-Z
* List of places in Colorado P through Z
References
{{Reflist ...
*List of statistical areas in Colorado
The U.S. state of Colorado has twenty-one statistical areas that have been delineated by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Statistical areas are important geographic delineations of population clusters used by the OMB, the United States ...
** Front Range Urban Corridor
**North Central Colorado Urban Area
240px, An enlargeable map of the 13-county North Central Colorado Urban Area
The North Central Colorado Urban Area comprises the four contiguous metropolitan statistical areas in the north central region of the State of Colorado: the Denver–Au ...
** Denver-Aurora, CO Combined Statistical Area
** Boulder, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
*2013 Colorado floods
The 2013 Colorado floods were a series of natural disasters occurring in the U.S. state of Colorado. Starting on September 11, 2013, a slow-moving cold front stalled over Colorado, clashing with warm humid monsoonal air from the south. This res ...
References
Further reading
* Deloria, Philip J. "Drain the Lake! Tear Down the Butte! Build Paradise!: The Environmental Dimensions of Social and Economic Power in Boulder, Colorado, and Benzie, Michigan," ''Southern California Quarterly'' (2007): 65–88
in JSTOR
* Pettem, Silvia. ''Boulder: Evolution of a City'' (University Press of Colorado, 1994)
External links
City of Boulder website
CDOT map of the City of Boulder
{{Authority control
Busking venues
Cities in Boulder County, Colorado
Cities in Colorado
County seats in Colorado
Populated places established in 1858