Lakewood, Colorado | |
---|---|
Home Rule Municipality | |
City of Lakewood | |
Location in Jefferson County and the State of Colorado |
|
Location of Colorado in the United States |
|
Coordinates: 39°42′17″N 105°04′53″W / 39.70472°N 105.08139°WCoordinates: 39°42′17″N 105°04′53″W / 39.70472°N 105.08139°W | |
Country | United States |
State | Colorado |
County | Jefferson County |
Founded | 1889 |
Incorporated | 1969 |
Government | |
• Type | Home Rule Municipality |
• Mayor | Adam Paul |
Area | |
• Total | 44.06 sq mi (114.1 km2) |
• Land | 42.88 sq mi (111.1 km2) |
• Water | 1.18 sq mi (3.1 km2) |
Elevation | 5,518 ft (1,682 m) |
Population (2010) | |
• Total | 142,980 |
• Estimate (2014) | 149,643 |
• Rank | US: 169th |
• Density | 3,334.4/sq mi (1,287.4/km2) |
Time zone | MST (UTC-7) |
• Summer (DST) | MDT (UTC-6) |
ZIP codes | Denver 80214-80215, 80227, 80226-80228, 80232, 80235-80236 Golden 80401 Littleton 80123 |
Area code(s) | Both 303 and 720 |
FIPS code | 08-43000 |
GNIS feature ID | 0181620 |
Highways | I-70, US 6, US 40, US 285, SH 8, SH 95, SH 121, SH 391, SH 470 |
Website | City of Lakewood |
|
The City of Lakewood is a Home Rule Municipality which is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Lakewood is the fifth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 172nd most populous city in the United States. The city population was 142,980 at the 2010 United States Census. Lakewood is west of Denver and is part of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The urban/suburban development of the community known as Lakewood was begun in 1889 by Charles Welch and W.A.H. Loveland, who platted a 13-block area along Colfax Avenue west of Denver in eastern Jefferson County. Loveland, the former president of the Colorado Central Railroad, retired to the new community of Lakewood after many years of living in Golden.
Until 1969, the area known as Lakewood had no municipal government, relying instead on several water districts, several fire districts, and the government of Jefferson County. Lakewood was a community with policing provided by the Jefferson County Sheriff, several volunteer staffed fire districts, and some neighborhoods without street lights and sidewalks. However, the community had already existed for about 80 years.