Discover 7 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Westminster (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Butterfly Pavilion, Federal Heights, and Westminster Castle. Also, be sure to include Harris Park School in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Westminster (Colorado).
Table of Contents
Butterfly Pavilion
Zoo with thousands of invertebrates. The Butterfly Pavilion is located in Westminster, Colorado. It opened on July 15, 1995, and was the first stand-alone non-profit insect zoo in the United States. The 30,000-square-foot facility is situated on 11 acres of land, and contains five main exhibit areas to teach visitors about butterflies and other invertebrates. The main exhibit is an indoor rain forest filled with 1,200 free-flying tropical butterflies.
The Butterfly Pavilion is a non-profit facility with most of its funding coming from admission fees, corporate sponsorship, and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) of Colorado. Because it imports non-native insect species, the Pavilion is regulated by the USDA. Butterfly Pavilion is an AZA accredited facility.[1]
Address: 6252 W 104th Ave, 80020-4107 Westminster
Federal Heights
Municipality in Colorado. The City of Federal Heights is a home rule municipality located in western Adams County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 14,382 at the 2020 United States Census, a +25.42% increase since the 2010 United States Census. Federal Heights is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The current Mayor is Linda S. Montoya, who was elected to a four-year term in 2019.[2]
Westminster Castle
Historical landmark in Adams County, Colorado. The Westminster Castle, also locally known as "The Pillar of Fire" is a historic landmark located in Westminster, Colorado, northwest of Denver near the intersection of 83rd and Federal. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Westminster University.[3]
Harris Park School
The Harris Park School is a school building in Westminster, Colorado that was built from 1892–1899. The building was originally Romanesque Revival in architecture style, but was remodeled in the 1920s to incorporate the Craftsman style.
The building continues to serve schoolchildren today, now under the name of Pleasant DeSpain, Sr. School. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.[4]
Skyline Vista Elementary
Baseball field, Park, Relax in park
Address: 2595 W 72nd Ave, 80030 Westminster
Bowles House
Building in Westminster, Colorado. The Bowles House in Westminster, Colorado is a brick Italianate house built in 1871 by Edward Bruce Bowles and his wife Mahala Elizabeth Longan. Bowles is largely credited for bringing the Colorado & Southern Railroad to the present-day Westminster area.
Bowles came from Missouri to the Colorado Territory at age 17. In 1871, at about 24 years of age he married Mahala, and they homesteaded the land on which the house stands. Bowles was the second pioneer settler in the area, after Pleasant DeSpain who arrived in 1870 and whose farm was to the north of the Bowles House.
The Bowles House was originally constructed as a wood frame homestead cabin (no longer extant) but was rebuilt entirely from brick in 1876. The house was unusual for a rural ranch setting, as it included stylish and costly features: rounded windows, decorative brackets under the eaves, rooftop cresting, bargeboards on the gables, and an elaborate front porch.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The Bowles House was recognized as one of the earliest and most detailed examples of Italianate style in Westminster and as an icon of early Westminster settlement.
The house is owned by the City of Westminster and operated as a historic house museum by the Westminster Historical Society.[5]
William J. Gregory House
The William J. Gregory House is a historic house located at 8140 Lowell Boulevard in Westminster, Colorado. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.
It is a two-and-a-half-story Dutch Colonial Revival-style brick house.
It was built in 1910 as one of the earliest homes in the original townsite of Westminster.[6]