Thursday, January 8, 2025

Question: In what year did a major fire destroy much of Denver’s business district, resulting in city reforms to fire regulation and construction practices?

Answer: Denver’s Great Fire of 1863 ignited in the early hours of Sunday, April 19. Fanned by warm winds, it quickly tore through the frontier town’s highly flammable wooden structures, destroying roughly 70 buildings and 115 businesses. In the wake of the disaster, the city council passed new building codes, giving rise to the more modern, fireproof city that emerged from a period of swift reconstruction.