Littleton, Colorado

City of Littleton, Colorado
—  City  —
Littleton Town Hall, built 1920. Jacques Benedict, architect
Location in Arapahoe County and the state of Colorado
Coordinates: 39°35′59″N 105°0′39″W
Country	United States
State	Colorado
Counties	Arapahoe County Seat Jefferson County Douglas County
Incorporated	March 13, 1890
Named for	Richard Little
Government
• Type	Council–manager government
• Mayor	Debbie Brinkman
Area
• Total	13.9 sq mi (36.1 km2)
• Land	13.5 sq mi (35 km2)
• Water	0.4 sq mi (1.1 km2)
Elevation	5,351 ft (1,631 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	41,737
• Density	2,902.2/sq mi (1,117.5/km2)
Time zone	MST (UTC-7)
• Summer (DST)	MDT (UTC-6)
ZIP codes	80120-80130, 80160-80163 (PO Boxes), 80165, 80166
Area code(s)	Both 303 and 720
FIPS code	08-45255
GNIS feature ID	0169446
Highways	US 85, SH 75, SH 88, SH 470
Website	City of Littleton

Littleton is a Home Rule Municipality contained in Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Littleton is a suburb of the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan Statistical Area. Littleton is the county seat of Arapahoe County and the 20th most populous city in the state of Colorado. The population was 41,737 at the 2010 census.

The city of Littleton's history dates back to the 1859 Pike's Peak Gold Rush, which brought not only gold seekers, but merchants and farmers to the community. Richard Sullivan Little was an engineer from New Hampshire that made his way out west to work on irrigation systems. Little quickly fell in love with the area that is present day Littleton and brought his wife Angeline out from the East in 1862. The Littles, along with many neighbors, built the Rough and Ready Flour Mill in 1867, which provided a solid economic base in the community. By 1890, the community had grown to 245 people and the residents voted to incorporate the Town of Littleton.

The Colorado Center for the Blind, a skills training program for blind teenagers and adults operated by the National Federation of the Blind, is located in Littleton. Denver Seminary is in Littleton.

Intelligent Vehicle Safety Technologies' "Desert Tortoise," a competitor in the DARPA Grand Challenge, is based in Littleton.

The city is also the site of the grave of Alferd Packer, an American prospector and the only convicted cannibal in the United States.

Littleton became widely known in 1999 when the Columbine High School massacre occurred at nearby Columbine High School, which the news media erroneously reported as being located in the city. The school is actually located in Columbine, an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, yet in a ZIP code associated primarily with Littleton. The school is in the Jefferson County school system, and not one of the Littleton Public Schools.

Geography

Littleton is located at 39°35′59″N 105°0′39″W (39.599691, −105.010929).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.9 sq mi (36.1 km²), of which, 13.5 sq mi (35.0 km²) of it is land and 0.42 sq mi (1.1 km²) of it (2.95%) is water.

Littleton is a suburb south of Denver, on the west side of I-25. Since July 2000, it has been served by the Regional Transportation District's light rail system.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census	Pop.		%±
1900	738		—
1910	1,373		86.0%
1920	1,635		19.1%
1930	2,019		23.5%
1940	2,244		11.1%
1950	3,378		50.5%
1960	13,670		304.7%
1970	26,466		93.6%
1980	26,631		0.6%
1990	33,685		26.5%
2000	40,340		19.8%
2010	41,737		3.5%
Est. 2011	42,639		2.2%
U.S. Decennial Census 2011 estimate

As of the census of 2000 there were 40,340 people; 17,313 households; and 10,387 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,984.8 people per square mile (1,152.0/km²). There were 18,084 housing units at an average density of 1,338.0 per square mile (516.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.77% White, 1.16% African American, 0.73% Native American, 1.66% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.67% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.45% of the population.

There were 17,313 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 30.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $50,583, and the median income for a family was $64,671. Males had a median income of $43,698 versus $33,377 for females. The per capita income for the city was $28,681. About 3.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 7.5% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

In popular culture

Littleton is the present home of former San Francisco Giant Dave Dravecky.

Matt Stone attended Heritage High School in Littleton, and a few aspects of his animated television show South Park are loosely based on the city as a result.

Ross Lynch from the television sitcom Austin & Ally was born here along with siblings Riker, Rydel, Rocky, and Ryland, as well as Emmy nominated actress Molly Burnett from NBC's Days of our Lives.

Melissa Benoist who plays Marley Rose on the hit show Glee is also from Littleton.

Hollywood Heights star Cody Longo lives there.

Education

• Littleton Public Schools
• Jeffco Public Schools
• Arapahoe Community College
• Denver Seminary
• Collegiate Academy of Colorado

Points of interest

• Hudson Gardens
• Town Hall Arts Center, providing professional theater to the surrounding metro area.
• The Littleton Museum
• The Gravesite of Alferd Packer

Sister cities

Bega, New South Wales, Australia

Government and infrastructure

The Federal Correctional Institution, Englewood has a Littleton mailing address, but is not in proximity to Littleton. It is in unincorporated Jefferson County.

Community events

Western Welcome Week
Since the late 1920s, Littleton has celebrated Western Welcome Week - an annual com­mu­nity cel­e­bra­tion in the greater Littleton area. Western Welcome Week started in the late 1920s, and has been held every year since. Western Welcome Week includes over 40 events ben­e­fiting dozens of local civic and char­i­table organizations. Western Welcome Week

Candlelight Walk
The Candlelight Walk is a Littleton tradition, featuring a magical evening of holiday festivities, culminating in the illumination of the trees on Main Street.

Community Organizations

• Littleton Symphony Orchestra
• Littleton Chorale

Neighboring communities with Littleton ZIP codes

The place name "Littleton" is assigned to eleven ZIP codes which cover a vast area west, east and south of the city that is much larger than the city itself. Thus the following unincorporated communities have "Littleton addresses":

• Acres Green, Colorado
• Carriage Club, Colorado
• Columbine, Colorado
• Heritage Hills, Colorado
• Highlands Ranch, Colorado
• Ken Caryl, Colorado
• Roxborough Park, Colorado

See also

• Outline of Colorado
  • Index of Colorado-related articles
• State of Colorado
  • Colorado cities and towns
    • Colorado municipalities
  • Colorado counties
    • Arapahoe County, Colorado
    • Jefferson County, Colorado
    • Douglas County, Colorado
  • Colorado metropolitan areas
    • Front Range Urban Corridor
    • North Central Colorado Urban Area
    • Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO Combined Statistical Area
    • Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area
• Danny Dietz, holder of the Navy Cross, born here
• James M. Hyde, metallurgist, former resident

External links

• City of Littleton website
  • CDOT map of the City of Littleton