Globeville Industrial Area
The Globeville Industrial Area refers to the historically industrial district centered on the Globeville neighborhood in north Denver, Colorado, a zone shaped by smelting, railroads, and heavy manufacturing that took root in the late nineteenth century and continues to define the area's character into the present day. Situated along low-lying terrain near major rail corridors, Globeville became one of Denver's most significant concentrations of extractive and processing industries, drawing waves of immigrant laborers and leaving a complex environmental and social legacy that persists well into the twenty-first century.
Origins and Early Settlement
The industrial character of Globeville did not emerge by accident. The neighborhood's position near major railroad lines made it highly attractive to industries that depended on the rapid movement of raw materials and finished goods. The Denver Public Library's neighborhood history resources note that proximity to the railroad made the Globeville area ideal for heavy industry, a geographic advantage that drew investors and operators to the district from the 1870s onward.[1]
The first major industrial anchor in the area was the Argo Smelter, established in 1878. Its founding marked the beginning of a pattern that would repeat itself across subsequent decades: capital investment in metal processing facilities, followed by the construction of worker housing, followed by the migration of laborers seeking steady employment.[2] The smelting industry required large, relatively flat parcels of land with access to water and transportation, conditions that the Globeville district satisfied better than most other zones near the growing city of Denver.
The neighborhood's name itself reflects the industrial origins of the community. According to historical records maintained by Extreme Community Makeover, Globeville was originally settled in the late 1880s around the Globe Smelting and Refining Company.[3] The company's name became synonymous with the district, and the workers who arrived to staff its operations formed the first recognizable residential community in the area.
The Smelting Industry
Smelting defined Globeville's industrial identity more than any other single sector. The district hosted multiple smelting operations, each representing a different phase of Colorado's mining economy. The Argo Smelter, founded in 1878, was the earliest of these facilities and set the template for the industrial complex that would follow.[4]
A second notable facility was the operation that began life as the Holden Smelter. Historical research compiled by the Colorado Mining and Mines history community indicates that this plant was organized in 1886 by entrepreneur Edward R. Holden as a silver and lead smelter, utilizing the latest processing technology available at the time.[5] The choice to process silver and lead reflected the dominant ore types being extracted from Colorado's mountain mining districts during this period, when the state's mineral wealth was drawing capital from across the United States and from abroad.
The Globe Smelting and Refining Company, which gave the neighborhood its name, was likewise a product of this industrial moment. Its establishment in the late 1880s represented a continuation of the same economic logic that had drawn the Argo Smelter and the Holden operation to the district: a combination of railroad access, available land, and proximity to Colorado's mining output.[6]
Together, these facilities made the Globeville industrial area among the most active metal processing zones in the American West during the late nineteenth century. The smelters processed ore brought in by rail from mines across Colorado and neighboring states, converting raw mineral material into commercially usable metals that were then shipped onward to manufacturing centers.
Workforce and Community Formation
The industrial operations in Globeville required large numbers of workers, and the labor demands of the smelting industry attracted successive waves of immigrant communities to the neighborhood. According to historical documentation maintained by Extreme Community Makeover, many of the early workers who settled in Globeville were Eastern European immigrants who came to work in the smelters.[7] These workers established the residential fabric of the neighborhood, building homes within walking distance of the industrial facilities that employed them.
This pattern — immigrant workers clustering around heavy industrial employers — was common across American industrial cities of the same era, but Globeville's version of this process had a distinctly Colorado character. The proximity to the mining industry and the specific demands of smelter work shaped the occupational culture of the neighborhood. Workers in smelting operations faced significant occupational hazards, including exposure to toxic fumes and heavy metals, conditions that left lasting impacts on both individual workers and the broader environment of the district.
The residential community that formed around the industrial core of Globeville developed its own institutions, social networks, and neighborhood identity. Over time, the neighborhood's working-class character became deeply embedded in its built environment and its community culture, even as the specific industries that had generated that character changed or disappeared.
The National Western Complex
among the most enduring institutional presences in the northern Denver industrial corridor, including Globeville, is the National Western Complex. According to Reuters, the National Western Complex in the north Denver neighborhood of Globeville is busiest during the two-week National Western Stock Show held in early January each year.[8] The stock show is one of the largest livestock and rodeo events in the United States and draws visitors from across the country and internationally during its run.
The National Western Complex occupies a substantial footprint in the area and represents a different strain of the region's agricultural and livestock economy rather than its purely extractive mining heritage. The presence of a major livestock facility in Globeville connects the neighborhood's history to the broader story of Denver as a hub for the ranching and agricultural industries of the American West. Cities and towns that served as shipping points for livestock often developed along low-lying terrain, land that was unfavorable in some respects but strategically positioned relative to rail infrastructure.[9]
The National Western Complex has been the subject of ongoing redevelopment discussions in recent years, with proposals to modernize and expand its facilities while retaining the stock show as a centerpiece event. These discussions reflect broader conversations about how historically industrial and agricultural zones within urban areas can be reimagined for contemporary use without erasing the historical and economic functions that defined them.
Environmental Legacy and Land Use
The Globeville industrial area carries a significant environmental legacy from its decades of smelting and heavy industry. Facilities that processed lead, silver, and other metals inevitably left contamination in the soil and groundwater of the surrounding district. This environmental burden has been a defining challenge for the neighborhood, affecting property values, public health, and community planning discussions well into the twenty-first century.
The low-lying topography that originally made Globeville attractive to industry also creates ongoing vulnerability to flooding. As The New York Times has observed in examining similar industrial districts across western cities, lands in cities and towns that once served as shipping points for livestock tend to be low-lying, unfavorable in some respects, and often prone to flooding.[10] Globeville's position near the South Platte River has historically made it susceptible to significant flood events, compounding the environmental pressures that industrial contamination has already imposed on the district.
Federal and state environmental programs have designated portions of the Globeville area as sites requiring remediation, acknowledging the contamination legacy left by the smelting operations. Cleanup efforts have proceeded over many years, though the scale of historical contamination in some parts of the district has made complete remediation a long-term undertaking. The environmental conditions of the neighborhood have been a significant factor in the area's development trajectory, influencing which land uses are feasible and where new investment can be directed.
Redevelopment and Contemporary Pressures
In recent decades, the Globeville industrial area has experienced pressure from redevelopment interests as Denver's broader real estate market has expanded. The transformation of formerly industrial and working-class urban neighborhoods is a pattern visible across many American cities, and Globeville has not been immune to these dynamics. Infrastructure investments, proximity to downtown Denver, and the broader expansion of the Denver metropolitan area have all contributed to increased interest in land within and around the historic industrial district.
The resident community of Globeville, which has historically been a lower-income, minority-majority neighborhood, has faced the pressures associated with neighborhood change. Community organizations and longtime residents have engaged in advocacy around issues of displacement, environmental justice, and equitable development, seeking to ensure that improvements to the area do not come at the cost of the existing community's stability.
The National Western Complex redevelopment project has been among the most significant planned investments in the area, with implications for land use, transportation access, and the broader character of the northern Denver corridor in which Globeville sits. The project has generated debate about the relationship between large-scale institutional development and the needs of the surrounding residential community.