Cool stuff was happening in Colorado in 1993. The Rockies played their first game. Avery Brewing Company sold its first beer. And 5280 (hey, that’s us!) hit newsstands for the first time. In those days, the magazine’s founder, Daniel Brogan, often placed the much-slimmer issues on grocery store shelves himself. Now, 5280 distributes roughly 85,000 copies per month. (Fortunately, Brogan is no longer on delivery duty.) The nostalgia that so often accompanies anniversaries—silver or otherwise—got us thinking about the way things were 25 years ago, how the Mile High City has changed since then, and how lucky we’ve been to be a part of Denver’s evolution over the past two and a half decades.

Billboard’s Hottest Single
1993: “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
2018: “This Is America” by Childish Gambino*

5280 July 2018
More From The Issue

Broncos Starting QB
1993: John Elway
2018: Case Keenum (projected starter)

Average Price Of A Gallon Of Gas
1993: $1.16**
2018: $2.92*

Academy Award For Best Picture
1993: Unforgiven
2018: The Shape of Water

Supreme Court
1993: Ruth Bader Ginsburg is appointed to the Supreme Court.
2018: RBG is still on the bench after 25 years (so are Anthony Kennedy*** and Clarence Thomas).

Price Of Season Tickets (Infield Box Seats) At Coors Field
1993: N/A (Coors Field opened in 1995)
2018: $2,188

Most-Watched Sitcom
1993: Home Improvement
2018: The Big Bang Theory*

Best-Selling Vehicle In America
1993: Ford F-Series pickup truck
2018: Ford F-Series pickup truck*

Mayor Of Denver
1993: Wellington Webb
2018: Michael Hancock

Hot New Handheld Technology
1993: Apple Newton MessagePad, a device capable of taking notes and sending faxes
2018: iPhone X Plus

Online Advertising
1993: The first clickable banner ad is still a year away.
2018: Online advertising is an $88 billion industry.

Average Detached Single-Family Home Sale Price In METRO Denver
1993: $124,019**
2018: $540,420*

Highest-Grossing Film in the United States
1993: Jurassic Park
2018: Black Panther*

President Of The United States
1993: Bill Clinton
2018: Donald Trump

Space Missions
1993: In December, NASA launches space shuttle Endeavour to service the Hubble Space Telescope for the first time.
2018: The Parker Solar Probe will pass about 3.7 million miles from the sun’s surface—the closest a device made by humans has ever been to the star.

*As of press time. **Prices have not been adjusted for inflation. ***Justice Kennedy plans to retire in 2018.

This article was originally published in 5280 July 2018.
Angela Ufheil
Angela Ufheil
Angela Ufheil is a Denver-based journalist and 5280's former digital senior associate editor.