For nearly 150 years, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and its predecessors have continually worked to make Denver a prosperous, highly livable city. From bringing the first railroad to Denver in 1867 to helping make Denver International Airport (DIA) a reality in 1995, the Chamber has played an important role in shaping the quality of life in the Front Range.
1867
Denver Board of Trade raises funds to bring the railroad to Denver from Cheyenne.
1884
The Denver Board of Trade becomes the Denver Chamber of Commerce.
1885
The Chamber houses the first public library.
1887
The Chamber successfully lobbies the federal government to select a site here for what becomes Fort Logan. The same year, the Chamber launches a "Bureau of Information" that mails literature to 50,000 prospective visitors.
1894
The Chamber facilitates and resolves the conflicts between Populist Governor Davis Waite and Denver police commissioners.
1896
The U.S. Mint is located here, thanks to strong Chamber lobbying.
1898
After intense promotion, the National Stock Growers Association Convention meets here. By 1906, the National Western Stock Show is officially at home in Denver.
1902
The Chamber provides strong support for regional construction of water storage reservoirs and begins promoting water conservation.
1903
The Chamber supports the construction of Cherry Creek Blvd.
1904
The Chamber forms the Denver Convention League, which books 42 conventions its first year.
1908
The Chamber supports creation of a magnificent new civic auditorium in Denver to attract a national convention. The Democratic Party selected Denver to host its convention in 1908.The Chamber raises funds to prevent the closure of the Denver Museum of Natural History.
1910
The Chamber organizes a Good Roads Convention, which raises $500,000 for road construction.
1916
The Chamber drafts a smoke ordinance, later adopted by the Denver City Council, to reduce black clouds believed to be caused by wasted fuel in area factories.
1917
The Chamber purchases, and later donates, the land on which Fitzsimons Army Medical Center was located.
1923
The Chamber begins fundraising for land to be used for Lowry Aviation Field, and in 1926 helps win airmail service for Denver.
1929
The Chamber, after a decade of work advocating for an airport, the Chamber celebrates the opening of
Denver Municipal Airport (later renamed Stapleton International Airport).
1931
The Chamber donates the land for Lowry Air Force Air Base to the federal government.
1965
The Chamber launches Forward Metro Denver, an economic acceleration program. Its efforts attracted 280,000 new jobs.
1968
The Chamber is instrumental in the formation of the Regional Transportation District (RTD).
1976
Auraria Higher Education campus is opened, after years of Chamber support and involvement.
1979
The Chamber's special Airport Task Force recommends that a new regional hub airport be built, rather than waiting for the year 2000 as planned.
1984
The 16th Street Mall opens, which was a project strongly supported by the Chamber.
1987
The Chamber forms the Metro Denver Network, The Greater Denver Corporation and the Small Business Profit Center.
1990
The Colorado Convention Center opens, a project strongly supported by the Chamber.
1993
The Greater Denver Corporation and the Chamber help create more than 190,000 jobs for the six-county metro Denver region over a seven-year span.
1995
Denver International Airport opens, which was a top economic development project of the Chamber.
2000
The Chamber, led by the Metro Denver Network, successfully positioned Denver and the Front Range as a high-tech hub and introduced the moniker "Convergence Corridor-Technology with Altitude." In addition, the Chamber, which has backed the development of light rail since 1994, helped celebrate the opening of the new Southwest Light Rail line.
2001
The Chamber increases its representation from six counties to seven as Broomfield becomes the metro area's seventh county.
2002
The Chamber proposes a $15-billion, 20-year, multi-modal transportation legislation compromise, which is passed by Colorado legislators and signed by Governor Bill Owens.
2003
In partnership with Aurora and the region's economic development leadership, the Chamber provides business support for the passage of a bill to ensure the CU Health Sciences Center Fitzsimons campus build-out. The Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation (Metro Denver EDC) is created and launches BreakThrough Denver! a five-year campaign to create 100,000 jobs and raise $12.5 million to fund economic development activities.
2004
Voters in the seven-county metro area approve FasTracks, a 12-year, $4 billion regional transit build-out plan. The Chamber and Metro Denver EDC contribute $500,000 to the campaign.
2005
As architects of the campaign for Referendum C and D, the Chamber provided both the leadership and economic resources to ensure the passage of the ballot measure and played a key role in Colorado's economic recovery. The Chamber also created a new affiliate, the Colorado Competitive Council (C3), a statewide lobbying entity to support other local efforts to assure that the business sector has a voice in regard to state legislation.
2006
The Denver Metro Chamber and the Colorado Competitive Council (C3) release “Business For A Competitive Colorado” as the agenda to grow the state’s 11 top industry clusters to enhance Colorado’s future economic competitive edge.
2007
The Denver Metro Chamber and Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation commissioned a comprehensive study showing $1 billion in lost economic opportunity, annually due to infrastructure needs on I-70.
2008
The Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce introduces a new logo, symbolizing the organization’s statewide focus and reach. Supported the Democratic National Convention attraction and event, in partnership with the Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation, with a financial commitment of more than $300,000. Provided $400,000 and staff leadership to Coloradoans for Responsible Reform to defeat the “Poison Pill’ ballot initiatives (53,55,56 and 57). ConocoPhillips announces plans to establish a new Global Technology and Corporate Learning Center at the former Storage Technology campus in Louisville, Colo. ConocoPhillips is the country’s third-largest energy company and number five on Fortune magazine’s top 500 companies list.
2009
Kelly J. Brough is selected as the next Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce president and CEO, and becomes the first woman to serve in that role.The Denver Metro Chamber launched its first legislative scorecard, tracking 4,600 legislative votes.
2010
With the opposition campaign led by the Chamber, voters in the state of Colorado overwhelming defeat three extreme anti-tax measures—Amendments 60, 61 and Proposition 101.
2011
The Chamber launched the Chamber Getaways program, bringing 160 people from nine different states on a tourist trip to China. Other destinations added to the Getaways program include India and Russia.The Chamber published its first historical book in several decades, “Persistence in Vision.”
2012
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office announced that Denver will be one of three locations for its new satellite offices. United Airlines announced that it will begin daily nonstop service from Denver International Airport (DIA) to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport in 2013, ending more than a decade of efforts to land the route. DIA also added direct, international flights to Mexico and Iceland, increasing the state’s access to the global marketplace.
