Back when Denver was nothing more than a small frontier town, a dusty outlier on a trodden trail, most people kept heading farther west. All that changed when the railroad laid tracks through the heart of town, transforming it into the largest stop between Chicago and San Francisco. By the 1860s the lure of gold and silver in the Rocky Mountains cemented Denver as a railroad hub. The Union Depot handled more than 200 trains per day during railroading’s golden age.

Trains gave way to automobiles, eventually leading to traffic congestion, with smog as a byproduct. By 2004 fed-up voters approved a $4.7 billion funding initiative to streamline rail and commuter connectivity spanning eight counties — Denver’s bold vision to address downtown gridlock.

That vision became reality April 22 when Denver joined the big “urban” league with inaugural rail service from the airport to downtown Denver in just more than 30 minutes. (RTD Fastracks is the regional transportation district and brainchild behind

Denver’s transportation renaissance.) The former cow town now sports a modern-day public transportation marvel designed to meet the needs of its 21st - century citizens. Today Denver features an alluring harmony of cowboy beginnings fused with an edgy urban vibe capitalizing on mountain highs.