Located 36 minutes south of Denver and less than 10 miles from the Denver Tech Center, Littleton is a quiet but fun community that feels more like a medium-sized town than a suburb. It has a downtown center surrounded by safe, family-friendly neighborhoods, and the area offers a range of things to do, regardless of your interests.
Due to extensive growth between the 1980's and 2010's, the majority of the architecture in Littleton is relatively new homes, with modern amenities on large lots. However, the town has a spattering of Victorian architecture near its downtown, and some of its buildings date back to the town's founding in the 1860's. It was founded as a merchant base south of Denver during the Rocky Mountain Gold Rush. Eventually, flour milling emerged as the main industry, and over time, the small town merged with the Denver metro area as a popular suburb with lots of entertainment, fitness and job opportunities.
When owners of Littleton real estate want to have a bit of fun, they don't have to drive to Denver. Instead, they can stay in Littleton and enjoy themselves immensely. The town boasts a long list of things to do with a bit for everyone. Couples love the Legacy Vineyard, a winery in Littleton that offers tours. If you prefer beer to wine, the South Denver Beer Festival needs to be on your summer to-do list, and for an evening of entertainment, the Alamo Drafthouse is a Littleton institution. It shows classics such as the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and you can enjoy one of Colorado's fine microbrews in the theater. Alternatively, watch new films in luxury reclining leather seats at the AMC Bowles Crossing Theater.
In particular, the horror genre is a favorite for southern Denver teens and young adults, and in addition to films, Littleton offers other scary events. At the Reinike Brother's Haunted Mansion and the World's Scariest House in Littleton, you can buy costumes and cosplay items, or you can take a haunted house tour during which bats swoop at your face and costumed actors try to scare you. If you'd rather watch actors on a stage than have them jumping out at you, you are also in luck in Littleton. The Town Hall Arts Center is an intimate theatrical space that primarily showcases repertoire pieces.
In spite of being a suburb, the city retains its own vibrant downtown in driving distance of most Littleton real estate. There, you can shop, browse art galleries or just people watch. Downtown Littleton hosts a range of annual events including a Mardi Gras Festival, a Turkey Leg and Wine Hoedown, a summer Block Party, and a fall Zombie Crawl and Pig Roast among other events.
If you love to be fit, you can find an outlet for that hobby in Littleton. Private gyms from 24 Hour Fitness to the Ballet Physique Fitness Studio are scattered throughout Littleton, but these gyms are just the tip of the suburb's booming commitment to fitness.
In 2012, Littleton received a grant to improve its bicycle trails, and now residents can access miles of trails, perfect for bicycling, jogging or even horseback riding. These trails run through downtown Littleton and to many of the suburb's schools and parks. They also connect to trails running to Denver, the Denver Tech Center and some of the surrounding suburbs. The Foothills Park and Recreation District in Littleton keeps families active and busy with swimming lessons, group fitness classes and athletic programs. The district also brings community pools, golf courses, an ice arena and batting cages to area residents, and it has a long list of homeschooling programs.
Many Littleton residents also enjoy the area's rock climbing gyms, and if they like, they can quickly pack up their gear and try their new skills in the mountains. If you prefer skiing to rock climbing, Littleton offers convenient proximity to the mountains, and in fact, Echo Mountain Ski Resort is 41 miles or a one hour drive from Littleton. In contrast, residents of Aurora or other eastern Denver suburbs may have to drive twice as long to reach ski resorts.
Healthy living in Littleton extends far beyond exercise opportunities, and many residents take a holistic view of health. To make that possible, the suburb has a Natural Grocers and a Whole Foods. If you prefer local, fresh fruits and veggies, check out the Littleton Farmer's Market. Located on South Santa Fe Drive at the Aspen Grove Lifestyle Center in Littleton, this market is the perfect place to buy local flowers, gourds, honey or famous peaches from Colorado's western slope,
Unfortunately, there aren't many large community gardens in Littleton. As Littleton real estate tends to be relatively large homes on large lots, families have all the room they need to garden at home. However, if you want to learn about gardening or farming, Littleton offers one of the best opportunities in the Denver metro area. At the living history farm in Littleton, you can tour the grounds of a 19th century farm. Volunteers dressed in period clothing answer your questions, but they also really farm using old techniques. You and your family can look at livestock, plots of vegetables and other historically accurate elements of the type of farm you were likely to find during Littleton's early days.
Residents of Littleton earn median household incomes of $56,893, slightly higher than the state's average. In addition, over a quarter of the suburb's residents have earned a bachelor's degree or higher. This well educated populous works in a range of industries, but nearly half of Littleton's employed residents work in management, business, science or the arts. A quarter of workers work in sales or administrative positions, while 18 percent work in the service industry.
Many of Littleton's residents commute to Denver to work, but many stay close to home. In fact, two of Denver's ten largest employers have their Denver offices in Littleton. Lockheed Martin Corporation, a nationally recognized researcher, designer and manufacturer of advanced technology systems, has a large facility in Littleton. Additionally, CenturyLink, a Colorado-based company and the tenth largest employer in the Denver metro area, has offices in Littleton.
Littleton sits about eight miles from the Denver Tech Center, a thriving hub for tech workers and businesses. Developed at the beginning of the 2000s, the DTC is a business center built to rival downtown Denver and to provide easy access to jobs for people in Littleton, Englewood and the surrounding areas. The area hosts a massive range of businesses and employers including Cargill Meat Solutions, Centura Health, Chase Manhattan Mortgage, Dow Jones and Company, First Data Corp and many many others.
