Denver Homes for Sale: The Auraria Neighborhood

Denver real estate is as diverse as the city and county itself.  One of the most interesting neighborhoods to explore is Auraria, an area that follows the west bank of Cherry Creek all the way to the South Platte's River east bank.  Colfax Avenue is the other dividing line that separates Auraria from other Denver neighborhoods.

Although the names sound similar, newcomers to Denver should be careful not to confuse the city of Aurora with the Denver neighborhood of Auraria.  Aurora is a city six miles east of the city of Denver, but still located in Denver County, while Auraria is a district within the city of Denver itself.

The main feature of the Auraria neighborhood is the Auraria Campus, where three great institutions of higher learning are located.  These institutions include the University of Colorado at Denver, the Community College of Denver, and the Metropolitan State College of Denver.  Other notable sites in the neighborhood include the Pepsi Center Arena, where several key local teams compete, including the Colorado Crush, the Denver Nuggets, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Colorado Mammoth.  The arena is also used to stage concerts and other large-scale events of interest to the public.

A charming feature of Auraria is the Platte Valley Trolley service, which operates old-fashioned streetcars.  Routes begin at Auraria's Confluence Park and run west toward the neighborhood of Lakewood; streetcars stop at major venues along the way.