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Climate
Fort Collins has a semi-arid climate
A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi ...
(Köppen climate classification
The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...
'' ''BSk''''). Its climate is characterized by warm to hot summers and long and moderately cold winters (with frequent warm spells due to downslope winds, and somewhat less common intervals of severe cold). Due to its annual precipitation of over 15 inches, Fort Collins' climate can sometimes be categorized as humid continental. The average temperature in December, the coldest month, is . Annual snowfall averages , and can occur from early September through the end of May. Average precipitation overall is .
Demographics
Fort Collins is the fourth most populous city in Colorado and the 156th most populous city in the United States. The Census Bureau estimates that the city's population was 161,175 in 2015, the population of the Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area
A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''face ...
was 310,487 ( 151st most populous MSA), and the population of the Front Range Urban Corridor was 4,495,181.
As of the census of 2000, there were 118,652 people, 45,882 households, and 25,785 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 47,755 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.4% White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...
, 3.01% Black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...
or African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
, 0.60% Native American, 2.48% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/ racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...
, 3.61% from other races, and 2.53% from two or more races. 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 residents of any race were 10.79% of the population.
There were 45,882 households, out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.8% were non-families. 26.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.5% under the age of 18, 22.1% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 17.0% from 45 to 64, and 7.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 100.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $64,459, and the median income for a family was $110,332. Males had a median income of $60,856 versus $48,385 for females. The per capita income for the city was $32,133. About 5.5% of families and 14.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.3% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
Major industries and commercial activity
Fort Collins' economy has a mix of manufacturing and service-related businesses. Fort Collins manufacturing includes Woodward Governor, Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
, Walker Mowers, and Otterbox. Many high-tech companies have relocated to Fort Collins because of the resources of Colorado State University and its research facilities. Hewlett Packard, Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California. It is the world's largest semiconductor chip manufacturer by revenue, and is one of the developers of the x86 ser ...
, AMD, Broadcom, Beckman Coulter
Beckman Coulter Inc. is a Danaher Corporation company that develops, manufactures, and markets products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing. It operates in two industries: Diagnostics and Life Sciences. For more than ...
, Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washi ...
, Rubicon Water and Pelco
Pelco Incorporated is a U.S.-based security and surveillance technologies company, founded in 1957 and headquartered in Fresno, California. Pelco is a provider of security cameras, recording and management systems, software, and services. Pelco p ...
all have offices in Fort Collins. Other industries include clean energy, bioscience, and agri-tech businesses.
According to the city's 2020 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers are:
Regional economic development partners include the City of Fort Collins Economic Health Office, Northern Colorado Economic Development Corporation, Small Business Development Center, and Rocky Mountain Innovation Initiative (RMI2).
Retail
The city's major shopping mall is The Shops at Foothills
The Shops at Foothills, formerly Foothills Fashion Mall and Foothills Mall, is a shopping mall in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. Opened in 1972, the mall was developed by EverWest, a joint venture of Everitt Enterprises and Westcor. Origina ...
.
Sustainability programs
FortZED was a zero energy district encompassing the Downtown area of Fort Collins and the main campus of Colorado State University. The district's public-private partnerships employed smart grid
A smart grid is an electrical grid which includes a variety of operation and energy measures including:
*Advanced metering infrastructure (of which smart meters are a generic name for any utility side device even if it is more capable e.g. a f ...
and renewable energy technologies to manage the local use and supply of energy. FortZED relied upon energy demand management techniques to encourage use of energy at the most efficient times.
Federal, state, and local funding made the project a reality. The U.S. Department of Energy contributed $6.3 million and the Colorado Department of Local Affairs provided $778,000. Locally, private companies and foundations committed nearly $8 million.
The program ended in 2017 after a majority of its projects had been completed.
Brewing
Fort Collins has over 20 breweries. Notable breweries in the city include Anheuser-Busch
Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple ...
, New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company is a nationally distributed brewery in the United States. The brand produces Fat Tire Amber Ale, Voodoo Ranger IPA, Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza, and La Folie Sour Brown Ale, among other regular and seasonal beer varieti ...
, and Odell Brewing Company
Odell Brewing Company is an independent craft brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. It's the 23rd largest U.S. craft brewing company by the Brewers Association (based on 2018 beer sales volume). Odell Brewing is known for their hop-forward and balanc ...
. The local chamber of commerce estimates that in 2010, the industry generated $309.9 million in output, 2,488 jobs and $141.9 million of local payrolls in Larimer County.
Arts and culture
Much of Fort Collins's culture is centered around the students of Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
. The city provides school year residences for its large college-age population; there is a local music circuit which is influenced by the college town atmosphere and is home to a number of well known microbreweries. The Downtown Business Association hosts a number of small and large festivals each year in the historic Downtown district, including Bohemian Nights at NewWestFest in late summer, which features local cuisine, music, and businesses. The Fort Collins Lincoln Center
Situated in the heart of Fort Collins, The Lincoln Center is the premier multi-venue performing and visual arts center in Northern Colorado. It was founded in 1978 through a community initiative called “Designing Tomorrow Today” that resulted ...
is home to the Fort Collins Symphony Orchestra and regularly attracts national touring companies of Broadway plays.
Brewing and cycling figure in local culture. The Colorado Brewer's Festival is held in late June annually in Fort Collins. The festival features beers from as many as 45 brewers from the state of Colorado and averages around 30,000 attendees. New Belgium Brewing Company
New Belgium Brewing Company is a nationally distributed brewery in the United States. The brand produces Fat Tire Amber Ale, Voodoo Ranger IPA, Mural Agua Fresca Cerveza, and La Folie Sour Brown Ale, among other regular and seasonal beer varieti ...
hosts the Tour de Fat which draws over 20,000 people riding bikes and dressing in costume.
The Colorado Marathon
The Colorado Marathon (formerly known as the Fort Collins Old Town Marathon) is an annual marathon held in Fort Collins, Colorado. The majority of the course goes down the Poudre River Canyon in northern Colorado; the marathon advertises itself ...
is a yearly event running down the Poudre Canyon
The Poudre Canyon is a narrow verdant canyon, approximately 40 mi (64 km) long, on the upper Cache la Poudre River (called the "Poudre" for short, which locals pronounce as "Pooder") in Larimer County, Colorado in the United States. The ...
and finishing in downtown Fort Collins. The FORTitude 10K run, a partner running event of the Bolder Boulder, is held on Labor Day each year. The Horsetooth Half Marathon has been a fixture of the local running scene since 1973.
The Fort Collins Museum, established in 1941, is a regional center focusing on the culture and history of Fort Collins and the surrounding area. The Fort Collins Museum houses over 30,000 artifacts and features temporary and permanent exhibits, on-going educational programs and events, and is home to four historic structures located in the outdoor Heritage Courtyard.
The arts are represented by The Center for Fine Art Photography
The Center for Fine Art Photography is a non-profit exhibition and education space located in Fort Collins, Colorado, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. The Center was founded in 2004 and features rotating exhibitions of fine art photography b ...
, University Center for the Arts, Fort Collins Museum of Art (FCMOA), and the Bas Bleu Theatre Company. The Arts Incubator of the Rockies (AIR), founded in Fort Collins in 2012, was acquired in 2016 by Berea College in Kentucky, where it became part of the College Crafts Program.
Parks and recreation
The Gardens on Spring Creek
The Gardens on Spring Creek is an 18-acre (72,843 m2) botanical garden located on the Spring Creek corridor in Fort Collins, Colorado. Located at 2145 Centre Avenue, the Gardens is owned and managed by the City of Fort Collins. A 501(c)(3) non-pr ...
is an botanical garden. The site includes several themed gardens ranging from a children's garden to a rock garden, to several themed demonstration gardens.
There are also many parks in Fort Collins including community parks and neighborhood parks, totaling of developed park areas. Some of these parks have facilities such as public tennis courts, frisbee golf courses, golf courses, dog parks, baseball diamonds, basketball courts and picnic shelters. In total, there are 6 community parks. These include City Park, Edora Park, Fossil Creek Park, Lee Martinez Park, Rolland Moore Park, and Spring Canyon Park. There are also many smaller neighborhood parks. These parks often host events such as marathons, community activities and holiday celebrations. Additionally, Fort Collins is home to a whitewater park alongside the Poudre River.
The city purchased the Soapstone Prairie Natural Area
Soapstone Prairie Natural Area is a park and conservation area in northeastern Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The City of Fort Collins purchased the land for Soapstone Prairie Natural Area in 2004, which was opened to the public in 2 ...
, a park and conservation area north of the city. Within the park is the Lindenmeier site, a stratified multi-component archaeological site most famous for its Folsom component.
Government
Fort Collins has a council-manager form of government. The mayor, who serves a two-year term and stands for election in municipal elections held in April of odd-numbered years, presides over a seven-member City Council. The current mayor of Fort Collins is Jeni Arndt, who was elected to a first term in April 2021. The six remaining council members are elected from districts for staggered four-year terms; even-numbered districts in April 2023, and odd-numbered districts are up for election in April 2025.
Fort Collins is the largest city in Colorado's 2nd Congressional district, and is represented in Congress by Representative Joe Neguse
Joseph D. Neguse ( ; born May 13, 1984) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Colorado's 2nd congressional district since 2019. The district is based in Boulder and includes many of Denver's northwestern su ...
(Democrat). On the state level, the city lies in the 14th district of the Colorado Senate
The Colorado Senate is the upper house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Colorado. It is composed of 35 members elected from single-member districts, with each district having a population of about 123, ...
, represented by Joann Ginal
Joann Ginal is an American politician who serves in the Colorado Senate from the 14th district since 2019, as a member of the Democratic Party. Before her tenure in the state senate she served in the Colorado House of Representatives from the ...
and is split between the 52nd and 53rd districts of the Colorado House of Representatives
The Colorado House of Representatives is the lower house of the Colorado General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Colorado. The House is composed of 65 members from an equal number of constituent districts, with each distr ...
, represented by Cathy Kipp
Cathy Kipp is an American politician, currently serving as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 52nd district, which includes Fort Collins, Colorado.
Early life and education
Kipp was born and raised in Berkeley, Californ ...
and Andrew Boesenecker
Andrew Boesenecker is an American politician, pastor, and former music teacher serving as a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from the 53rd district. Boesenecker assumed office on April 28, 2021, succeeding Jennifer Arndt.
Early ...
, respectively. All three of Fort Collins' state legislators are Democrats. Fort Collins is additionally the county seat of Larimer County, and houses county offices and courts.
Education
K–12 public education is provided through Poudre School District
The Poudre School District (R-1) is a K–12 public school district in Larimer County in northern Colorado. The district operates and manages the public schools in the city of Fort Collins, as well as in the towns of Wellington, Timnath, Lovelan ...
(PSD). The district operates and manages the public schools in the city of Fort Collins, as well as in the surrounding towns of Wellington, Timnath, Windsor, Laporte and Livermore. The district is one of the fastest growing in Northern Colorado, adding 400-500 students — about the size of an elementary school — each year. To accommodate growth, the district plans to build three new schools in the next few years.
Poudre School District includes four comprehensive high schools that serve neighborhoods around Fort Collins, including Fort Collins High School
Fort Collins High School is located at 3400 Lambkin Way, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is one of four public senior high schools in the Poudre School District. The school colors are purple and gold, and its mascot is a lambkin, a ba ...
, Rocky Mountain High School, Poudre High School
Poudre High School is located in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is one of four comprehensive public senior high schools in the Poudre School District, established in 1963. The school serves approximately 1,900 students with the most no ...
, Fossil Ridge High School. The district also operates four alternative high schools: Centennial High School, Polaris School for Expeditionary Learning, Poudre Community Academy and Poudre School District Global Academy, a dual in-person/online school. Additionally, four public charter schools are chartered through PSD, including Ridgeview Classical Schools
Ridgeview Classical Schools, or Ridgeview, is a free public K-12 charter school located at 1800 South Lemay, Fort Collins, Colorado, Larimer County, United States. Ridgeview is chartered through the Poudre School District and serves approximately ...
, and Liberty Common High School, Mountain Sage Community School and Fort Collins Montessori School.
The Poudre School District is also home to ten middle schools (Lesher Middle IB World School, Blevins Middle School, Boltz Middle School, Cache La Poudre Middle School, Kinard Core Knowledge Middle School, Lincoln IB World Middle School
The Poudre School District (R-1) is a K–12 public school district in Larimer County in northern Colorado. The district operates and manages the public schools in the city of Fort Collins, as well as in the towns of Wellington, Timnath, Lovelan ...
, Polaris Expeditionary Learning School, Preston Middle School, Webber Middle School, and Wellington Middle School) and 32 elementary schools.
In addition to PSD schools, several state charter schools serve Fort Collins, including Academy of Arts and Knowledge, Colorado Early Colleges, and Global Village Academy. Private schools include Heritage Christian Academy, Rivendell School, and St. Joseph's Catholic School.
Public libraries
The Poudre River Public Library District
The Poudre River Public Library District was established in 2006 by citizen vote, with the established Fort Collins Public Library as its foundation. It serves more than 177,000 people across northern Larimer County, Colorado including Fort Collin ...
operates three branch locations in the city of Fort Collins—Old Town, Harmony, and Council Tree. The Library District was established in 2006 by voter approval, and aims to serve the more than 207,000 people in northern Larimer County, Colorado. The District is governed by a Board of volunteer Trustees, jointly appointed by the city of Fort Collins and Larimer County. Trustees are guided by the Library District’s mission statement, “we enrich our community by providing universal access to resources for knowledge, innovation, and enjoyment.”
The Poudre River Public Library District is committed to enriching the cultural, educational, and economic life of the surrounding communities that it serves. The Library participates in cooperative projects with the local Poudre School District
The Poudre School District (R-1) is a K–12 public school district in Larimer County in northern Colorado. The district operates and manages the public schools in the city of Fort Collins, as well as in the towns of Wellington, Timnath, Lovelan ...
and Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
.
Facilities
The Old Town Library (formerly, the Main Library) is a 43,000 square foot facility that has served the Fort Collins Community since 1976. It is located in the Fort Collins Old Town Historic District at 201 Peterson Street.
The Harmony Library is a 30,000 square foot joint-use facility located on the Front Range Community College campus, at 4616 South Shield Street in Fort Collins. Since its opening in 1998, the facility has served both the Community College (students, faculty, and staff) and the general public.
The Council Tree Library is a nearly 18,000 square foot facility that opened in 2009 in the Front Range Village (a retail commons) and is located at 2733 Council Tree Avenue in Fort Collins. The facility has a unique neighborhood atmosphere with an emphasis on families with young children.
The Webster House Administration Center opened in 2011 and houses the administration, collections, systems administration, maintenance, communications, and outreach staff. The Center’s opening freed up 3,000 square feet in the Old Town Library, space that is now used for library materials and services.
History
The library as an institution in Fort Collins dates back to the late 19th century, where reading rooms were established in churches or other rented locations. In 1882, for example, a reading room was established in the back of a Presbyterian Church on Whitton Block. The Fort Collins Public Library
The Poudre River Public Library District was established in 2006 by citizen vote, with the established Fort Collins Public Library as its foundation. It serves more than 177,000 people across northern Larimer County, Colorado including Fort Collin ...
was officially established in 1900, the sixth public library in the state. The city received $12,500 from philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans in ...
to build the library, with the condition that it would be maintained as a free public library. It was completed in 1904 at a total cost of approximately $15,000. When the Library opened, there were 2,770 books on hand. In 1937, the Library was awarded a grant from the Work Projects Administration for an annex to the building that would double its space, allowing for the construction of an auditorium/community room that opened in 1939.
As the Fort Collins community grew, so too did the need for more library space. In 1973, the City Council adopted a seven-year master plan which included a new library building. Voters approved a one percent tax increase to fund the plan. The new library building, named the Fort Collins Public Library (now, the Old Town Library), opened in 1976 and remains to this day in Library Park at 201 Peterson Street in Fort Collins.
In 2006, with ongoing city budget cuts impacting library services, residents voted to create and fund a library district with a 62% majority. This initiated a transition period in 2007 of separating the library from the city, for example, transferring finances, staff, and property to the Library District. The library was also given a temporary name, the Fort Collins Regional Library District. An intergovernmental agreement was finally signed in December 2007, that detailed each party’s responsibilities during the transfer. In 2009, after asking for ideas from the public, the Poudre River Public Library District was approved as the Library’s permanent name.
Higher education
Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
heads up the choices in higher education. Front Range Community College also maintains a campus in the city, and grants associate's degrees in arts, science, general studies, and applied science. The college offers 17 high school vocational programs and more than 90 continuing education classes.
The Institute of Business & Medical Careers provides professional training in the business and medical professions. The institute's first campus was established in the city in 1987.
Fort Collins has a range of research institutes. Facilities are maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georg ...
's Division of Vector-Borne Diseases, the Center for Advanced Technology and the Colorado Water Resource Research Institute. Other facilities include the 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 ...
, the Institute for Scientific Computing, the U.S. Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency inc ...
Experimental Station, the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP), and the U.S.D.A.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comm ...
Crops Research Laboratory.
Media
Infrastructure
Transportation
Air travel
From nearby Northern Colorado Regional Airport
Northern Colorado Regional Airport , formerly known as the Fort Collins–Loveland Municipal Airport, is a public use airport located nine nautical miles (10 mi, 17 km) southeast of the central business district of Fort Collins a ...
, Avelo Airlines served both Burbank (BUR) and Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...
(LAS) from October 2021 until June 24, 2022 and June 16, 2022, respectively. Elite Airways resumed commercial air service at the airport on August 27, 2015, providing non-stop flights to the Chicago Rockford International Airport in Illinois. The airline ended service to the airport in 2017.
Denver International Airport, which is to the south, is served by twenty-three airlines.
The city's former 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 ...
airport, known as Fort Collins Downtown Airport
Fort Collins Downtown Airport was a public use airport located east of the central business district of Fort Collins, a city in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The airport closed on November 1, 2006.
History
The airport opened in 1 ...
(3V5), opened in 1966 and closed in 2006.
Streets
Fort Collins' downtown streets form a grid with Interstate 25 running north and south on the east side of the city. Many of the streets are named after the town's founders. U.S. Highway 287 becomes College Avenue inside the city and is the busiest street; It runs north and south, effectively bisecting the city, and serving as the east–west meridian, while Mountain Avenue is the north–south. SH 14 runs concurrent with US 287 at the northern city limit to Jefferson Street, running southeast along Jefferson (later turning into Riverside Avenue), then turning east onto Mulberry Street where it goes east out of the city after an interchange with Interstate 25.
Transit and taxi
Fort Collins also once had a municipally owned trolley service with three branches from the intersection of Mountain and College avenues. The trolley was begun in 1907 by the Denver and Interurban Railroad, which had the intention of connecting the Front Range of Colorado. It was closed in 1951 after ceasing to be profitable. In 1983–84, a portion of the Mountain Avenue line and one of the original trolley cars, Car 21, were restored as a heritage trolley
Conservation and restoration of rail vehicles aims to preserve historic rail vehicles.
Trains
It may concern trains that have been removed from service and later restored to their past condition, or have never been removed from service, like UP ...
service, under the same name used by the original system, the Fort Collins Municipal Railway.[Long, Raphael P. (April 1986). "Fort Collins Municipal Railway: Then and Now". '' Pacific RailNews'', pp. 16–20. Glendale, CA: ]Interurban Press
Interurban Press was a small, privately owned American publishing company, specializing in books about streetcars, other forms of rail transit and railroads in North America, from 1943MacDougall, Kent (May 19, 1983). "Books Ring Bell With Devot ...
. . This has been in operation since the end of 1984 on weekends and holidays in the spring and summer, as a tourist and cultural/educational attraction. A second car, number 25, was returned to service on July 4, 2020. A small fee applies to ride.
The city bus
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
system
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and express ...
, known as Transfort, operates more than a dozen routes throughout Fort Collins Monday through Saturday, except major holidays.
The MAX Bus Rapid Transit is a bus rapid transit
Bus rapid transit (BRT), also called a busway or transitway, is a bus-based public transport system designed to have much more capacity, reliability and other quality features than a conventional bus system. Typically, a BRT system includes ...
that provides service on the Mason Corridor Transitway parallel to College Avenue from Downtown Fort Collins to a transit center just south of Harmony Road. The trip takes approximately 15 minutes from end to end with various stops between. The service began in May 2014. The Mason Corridor and the Mason Express are intended to be the center of future transit-oriented development.
Fort Collins is connected to Loveland, Berthoud, Longmont, and Boulder
In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive.
In ...
via the FLEX regional bus route. Greeley-Evans Transit operates a service called the Poudre Express connecting Fort Collins with Windsor and Greeley.
Bustang
Bustang is an intercity bus service in the U.S. state of Colorado. Service began in 2015 and originally traveled between Denver and Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Glenwood Springs. Service has since been expanded to connect Grand Junction, ...
provides additional intercity transportation for the city. Fort Collins is the northernmost stop on the North Line, which connects southward to Denver. Planning for restoration of regional passenger rail recommenced in earnest in 2017. Fort Collins would be the northern terminus of the proposed north-south Front Range Passenger Rail
Front Range Passenger Rail is a proposed inter-city passenger train service along the Front Range and broader I-25 corridors in Colorado and Wyoming. Most proposals envision a route from Pueblo north to Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Fort ...
corridor to Pueblo.
Taxi service is provided by Northern Colorado Yellow Cab. Pedicabs are also available from HopON LLC and Dream team Pedicabs.
Cycling
Bicycling is a popular and viable means of transportation in Fort Collins. There are more than of designated bikeways in Fort Collins, including on-street designated bike lanes, and the Spring Creek and Poudre River Trails, both paved. There is also a dirt trail, the Foothills Trail, parallel to Horsetooth Reservoir from Dixon Reservoir north to Campeau Open Space and Michaud Lane.
The Fort Collins Bicycle Library lends bicycles to visitors, students, and residents looking to explore the city of Fort Collins. There are self-guided tours from the "Bike the Sites" collection, including a Brewery Tour, Environmental Learning Tour, and the Historic Tour. The Bike Library is centrally located in the heart of downtown Fort Collins in Old Town Square. The City of Fort Collins also encourages use of alternative transportation, like cycling and using public transit, throug
FC Moves
In 2009, the Fort Collins-Loveland metropolitan statistical area (MSA) ranked as the third highest in the United States for percentage of commuters who biked to work (5.6 percent).
In 2013, the League of American Bicyclists designated Fort Collins a Platinum-level Bicycle Friendly Community – one of four in the United States. In 2018, the PeopleForBikes foundation named Fort Collins the no. 1 city in the United States for cycling.
Electric scooters
In early 2019, the City of Fort Collins and Colorado State University (CSU) were preparing regulations for the eventual arrival of electric scooters, in order to avoid the problems other cities have had with these. After a City Council session on Feb. 19, the City Government approved scooter regulations, such as specific areas in which scooters must be parked and the observation of dismount zones. in October 2019, The City of Fort Collins and CSU announced a 12-month e-scooter share pilot program partnering with Bird company.
Commercial shipping
Parcel service for Fort Collins is provided by FedEx
FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...
, Airport Express, DHL
DHL is an American founded, German logistics company providing courier, package delivery and express mail service, which is a division of the German logistics firm Deutsche Post. The company group delivers over 1.8 billion parcels per year. ...
, Burlington Air Express, UPS, and Purolator. Fort Collins has two-day rail freight access to the West Coast or the East Coast and has eight motor freight carriers. Many local industrial sites have rail freight spur service. The city is served by Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroads.
Facilities
* NIST
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 sci ...
time signal transmitters WWV and WWVB are near the city
* Poudre Valley Hospital
UCHealth Poudre Valley Hospital (PVH), located in Fort Collins, Colorado, is part of UCHealth (University of Colorado Health) and serves northern Colorado, southern Wyoming, and western Nebraska. The hospital has 270 beds, and is a level III tra ...
has helped make Fort Collins into a regional health care center
* The National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) (Human Genome Project)
* The city is the headquarters of Roosevelt National Forest
The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly with ...
* Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Laboratory
* Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States. It is a United States federal agency, under the Department of Health and Human Services, and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georg ...
: Division of Vector-Borne Diseases
* USDA Seed Lab Storage
* Headquarters for SCUBA Schools International (SSI)
* National Wildlife Research Center
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
* USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of comme ...
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Western Regional Headquarters
Police
Notable people
* Wayne Allard, former U.S. senator from 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 ...
* Scott Anderson, racing driver
* James B. Arthur
James Booth Arthur (February 9, 1831 – August 11, 1905) was a prominent figure in the early founding of Fort Collins, Colorado and Northern Colorado.
His hay-baling technique made horse and cattle feeding more efficient, an integral part of ...
, pioneer, entrepreneur, mayor, councilman, Colorado state senator
* John Ashton John Ashton may refer to:
Entertainment
* John Ashton (composer) (1830–1896), Welsh musician
* Will Ashton (John William Ashton, 1881–1963), British-Australian artist and art director
* John Rowland Ashton (1917–2008), English author
* John A ...
, actor
* Carol Berg
Carol Berg (born 1948) is the author of fantasy novels, including the books from the ''Rai-Kirah'' series, ''Song of the Beast'', the books from ''The Bridge of D'Arnath'' series, the ''Lighthouse'' novels, and ''Collegia Magica''. She also writ ...
, fantasy author
* Biota, music ensemble
* Frank Caeti, repertory cast member on sketch comedy series '' MADtv''
* Allen Bert Christman, a cartoonist and American Volunteer Group
The American Volunteer Groups were volunteer air units organized by the United States government to aid the Nationalist government of China against Japan in the Second Sino-Japanese War. The only unit to actually see combat was the 1st AVG, po ...
pilot killed in Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
, Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, during World War II
* Jon Cooper, center for NFL's Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...
* Joy Davidson
Joy Davidson (born August 18, 1937, Fort Collins, Colorado) is an American operatic mezzo-soprano, actress, and pedagogue. She has performed internationally in many of the world's great opera houses.
Life and career
A native of Fort Collins, Col ...
, opera singer
* Janay DeLoach, professional track and field athlete and Olympian
* Rick Dennison, NFL linebacker
* Jeff Donaldson, NFL defensive back
* Becca Fitzpatrick
Becca Fitzpatrick (born February 3, 1979) is an American author, best known for having written the '' New York Times'' bestseller '' Hush, Hush'', a young adult novel published in 2009 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers. She wrote thre ...
, author
* Lamar Gant
Lamar Gant (born 1957 in Fort Collins, Colorado) is an American world record-holding powerlifter. He competed with idiopathic scoliosis. He was inducted into the International Powerlifting Federation Hall of Fame in 1980.
Ga ...
, powerlifter
* Harper Goff
Harper Goff (March 16, 1911 – March 3, 1993), born Ralph Harper Goff, was an American artist, musician, and actor. For many years, he was associated with The Walt Disney Company, in the process of which he contributed to various major film ...
, artist, musician, and actor
* Marco Gonzales, Major League Baseball player
* Temple Grandin, author, professor, subject of film '' Temple Grandin''
* Chad Haga
Chad Haga (; born August 26, 1988) is an American professional road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI ProTeam .
Career
He was born in McKinney, Texas and attended Texas A&M University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Mechanic ...
, professional cyclist
* JD Hammer
John Dale Hammer (born July 12, 1994) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. In 2019 and 2021, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies.
Hammer was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. He was ...
(born 1994), Major League Baseball pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
* Jon Heder, title character in 2004's '' Napoleon Dynamite''
* Ed Herman, mixed martial artist fighting for the UFC
* Katie Herzig
Katie Herzig is an American singer-songwriter whose songs have appeared often in movies, TV shows, and commercials.
Personal life
Katie Herzig was born in California to a musical family. When she was one year old, her family moved to Fort Co ...
, folk musician
* Immortal Dominion Immortal Dominion is a heavy metal band from Fort Collins, Colorado, United States, who have been around since 1992.
History
They have played in Colorado, California, Wyoming, Utah, Indiana, Missouri and Kansas opening for national acts suc ...
, heavy metal band known for soundtrack to ''Teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, ...
''
* Korey Jones
Korey Jones (born April 4, 1989) is a former professional Canadian football linebacker. He first enrolled at Garden City Community College before transferring to the University of Wyoming. He attended Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, C ...
, CFL
The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...
player
* Darwood Kaye, actor who portrayed Waldo in the '' Our Gang'' short subjects series from 1937 to 1940.
* Jake Lloyd, young Anakin Skywalker in 1999's ''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace
''Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace'' is a 1999 American Epic film, epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It stars Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, Jake Lloyd, Ahmed Best, Ian McDiarmid, Anthony Dan ...
''
* Sonny Lubick, former head football coach at Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
* Ross Marquand, actor best known for portraying Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
in '' The Walking Dead''
* Gavin Mannion, professional cyclist
* David Mattingly, science fiction illustrator
* Hattie McDaniel, first African-American to win an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress 1939)
* Darnell McDonald Darnell is a unisex given name and surname. The surname refers to a group of people in medieval ages who grew a plant called Darnel, which had intoxicatory properties. The last name originated in France, the plant can only grow in Mediterranean cli ...
, Major League Baseball player
* Donzell McDonald
Donzell McDonald (born February 20, 1975) is a former outfielder who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball from 2001 to 2002.
Early life
Born in Long Beach, California, McDonald grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado. He attended Ch ...
, former Major League Baseball player
* Mark D. Miller Mark David Miller (August 6, 1891 – May 8, 1970) was an American photographer.
Mark was born in Scranton, Kansas, the son of Amos B. Miller and Mary Martindale Miller. In 1905 his family moved to the Fort Collins, Colorado, area, possibly to all ...
, photographer
* Edward S. Montgomery
Edward Samuel Montgomery (December 30, 1910 – April 6, 1992) was an American journalist who won the 1951 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for writing a series of articles on tax fraud.
Biography
Montgomery was born in Fort Collins, Colorado. H ...
, journalist
* Pete Monty, NFL linebacker
* John Mortvedt
John Jacob Mortvedt (January 25, 1932 – March 13, 2012) was an American soil scientist who worked with micronutrient fertilizer.
Early life and education
Born and raised on a Dell Rapids, South Dakota, farm to Ernest and Clara Mortvedt, Joh ...
, soil scientist and professor emeritus at Colorado State University
* Blake Neubert, artist
* Carl B. Olsen
Carl Baker Olsen (May 24, 1904 in Fort Collins, Colorado – March 4, 1998 in Escambia County, Florida) was a rear admiral in the United States Coast Guard.
Biography
Olsen was born on May 24, 1904, in Fort Collins, Colorado. He graduated fro ...
, U.S. Coast Guard rear admiral
* Holmes Rolston III, 2003 Templeton Prize
The Templeton Prize is an annual award granted to a living person, in the estimation of the judges, "whose exemplary achievements advance Sir John Templeton's philanthropic vision: harnessing the power of the sciences to explore the deepest quest ...
winner
* Derek Vincent Smith, electronic music artist who performs under name "Pretty Lights"
* Bill Stevenson, musician ( Descendents), record producer, and owner of The Blasting Room Studios
* Pat Stryker
Patricia A. Stryker (born 1956/1957) is an American billionaire businessperson, philanthropist, and political activist. Stryker is the granddaughter of Homer Stryker, founder of Stryker Corporation, a medical technology company.
Since the early 20 ...
, billionaire heiress and philanthropist
* Thomas Sutherland, Colorado State professor and former Beirut
Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
hostage
* Ryan Sutter, bachelor chosen as a groom by Trista Rehn
, stylized as Book☆Walker, is a Japanese e-book store that sells manga, light novels, and magazines from various publishers, as well as a few published by themselves. It is based in Chiyoda, Tokyo and was created by Kadokawa Corporation. The c ...
in 2003's '' The Bachelorette''
* Shane Swartz
Shane Swartz (born December 27, 1975 in Fort Collins, CO) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1996 to 2007.
Amateur career
Swartz began boxing under the guidance of his father Roger at the age of four.
He was an outstanding ...
, boxer
* Derek Theler
Derek Theler (born October 29, 1986) is an American film and television actor and model.
Acting career
Theler started his acting career in 2009, starring in several minor roles in TV series such as '' The Middle'', ''Cougar Town'', and '' The Hil ...
, actor in ABC family show '' Baby Daddy''
* Haeley Vaughn, top 25 finalist of ''American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to ...
''
* Byron Raymond White
Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993.
Born and raised in Colo ...
, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
* Jason Wingate, composer
* Ben Woolf
Benjamin Eric Woolf (September 15, 1980 – February 23, 2015) was an American film and television actor. He is known for his roles in ''American Horror Story'' first and fourth seasons, in which he played Infantata and Meep, respectively. He wa ...
, actor
In popular culture
Fort Collins is known along with Marceline, Missouri as one of the towns that inspired the design of Main Street, U.S.A. inside the main entrance of many theme parks run by The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on Octobe ...
around the world.
Fort Collins was the setting of the infamous balloon boy hoax
The Balloon Boy hoax occurred on October 15, 2009, when a homemade helium-filled gas balloon shaped to resemble a silver flying saucer was released into the atmosphere above Fort Collins, Colorado, by Richard and Mayumi Heene. They then claim ...
of October 15, 2009.
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.
__TOC__
General history
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*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
F
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 ...
**Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver ...
*Colorado State University
Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado S ...
*Fort Collins Museum of Discovery
Fort Collins Museum of Discovery is an all-ages, science, history and cultural museum established in 2008 through a public-private partnership between the City of Fort Collins' Fort Collins Museum and nonprofit Discovery Science Center. The museu ...
*The Gardens on Spring Creek
The Gardens on Spring Creek is an 18-acre (72,843 m2) botanical garden located on the Spring Creek corridor in Fort Collins, Colorado. Located at 2145 Centre Avenue, the Gardens is owned and managed by the City of Fort Collins. A 501(c)(3) non-pr ...
* Horsetooth Reservoir
*Roosevelt National Forest
The Roosevelt National Forest is a National Forest located in north central Colorado. It is contiguous with the Colorado State Forest as well as the Arapaho National Forest and the Routt National Forest. The forest is administered jointly with ...
References
External links
City of Fort Collins website
CDOT map of the City of Fort Collins
{{Authority control
Cities in Colorado
Cities in Larimer County, Colorado
County seats in Colorado