“While it was tedious going through so many history texts to map the lines in such detail, it was really interesting to discover that Denver once had an excellent transit system that was very localized and arguably served the city better than Denver’s current transit system,” says Keeney, who graduated in August with a master’s degree in geographic information science. A time slider also lets users view lines by year.

The resulting map on his website, “Denver’s Streetcar Legacy and Its Role in Neighborhood Walkability,” allows users to zoom in and out and switch between historic aerial and modern map views. Using GIS mapping software, he then digitized every streetcar line that ever existed within the modern boundaries of the city and county of Denver, from the system’s inception in 1872 to its demise in 1950. Thanks to Ryan Keeney, a recent graduate student in the Department of Geography and the Environment, an interactive digital map is now available for urban planners, history buffs and others interested in Denver’s streetcar legacy.įor his master’s capstone project, Keeney pored over historic maps and narratives in “Denver’s Street Railways,” a three-volume collection by Don Robertson, Ed Haley, Morris Cafky and Kenton Forrest. In fact, many of the city’s buzzing commercial strips and distinctive neighborhoods - Colfax, Broadway, South Pearl - were once accessible by the tracks that used to cover a large portion of Denver proper. Photo courtesy of Denver Public Library Digital CollectionsĪlumni who took classes back in the days when the University was nicknamed “Tramway Tech” know that Denver once boasted a world-class public transportation system in the form of streetcars. Ryan Keeney, a recent graduate student in the Department of Geography and the Environment, created an interactive digital map of every streetcar line that ever existed within the modern boundaries of the city and county of Denver, from the system’s inception in 1872 to its demise in 1950.

Denver's Railroads by Kenton Forrest