Best Web Design in Arvada, CO (2026)

Web Design for Arvada, Colorado

Arvada is a Denver-area city in Jefferson County where the first documented gold in Colorado was found in 1850, eight years before the gold rush that built Denver. Its farms once grew so much celery that it was called the 'Celery Capital of the World.' Today it blends that history with a lively Main Street district, Olde Town Arvada, full of breweries, shops, and the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities.

AppWT works with Arvada, CO businesses from Livonia, Michigan, mostly online and travelling as needed.

About Arvada

Also known as. Celery Capital of the World (historic). Ralston Point / Clear Creek (original settlement names).

History. The first documented gold discovery in the Rocky Mountain region occurred on June 22, 1850, when prospector Lewis Ralston found gold in a creek near its confluence with Clear Creek, later named Ralston Creek. Benjamin F. Wadsworth claimed a 160-acre homestead along Clear Creek in 1860 and began digging an irrigation ditch. On December 1, 1870, Wadsworth and Louis A. Reno platted the townsite as Ralston Point along the railroad. The town was renamed Arvada in honor of Hiram Arvada Haskin, brother-in-law of settler Mary Wadsworth; the unusual name traces to a Bible map and refers to an island off the coast of Syria. The community grew as an agricultural center supplying produce to Denver and nearby mining camps before diversifying after World War II.

Local economy. Rooted in agriculture, especially celery and other produce sold to Denver and the mining camps, which gave rise to the 'Celery Capital' nickname. Diversified after World War II into manufacturing, services, and retail with large shopping centers and auto dealerships. Recent focus on professional services, corporate offices, and technology, with revitalization in Olde Town and the newer Arvada City Center district. Youth With a Mission maintains a main campus in Arvada, and local anchors include park and recreation districts and utility-services companies.

Culture and community. Olde Town Arvada offers turn-of-the-century 'Main Street Americana' with roughly 30 restaurants, bars, breweries, coffee shops, galleries, and a winery. The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities has three theaters seating more than 1,500, two floors of gallery space, and a museum on Arvada's history. Year-round festivals include the March 'Luck of the Irish,' summer '2nd Saturday' street festivals, and August 'Flicks in the Square' outdoor films. The city maintains about 90 parks and hosts farmers' markets on many weekends. Notable people connected to Arvada include baseball Hall of Famer Roy Halladay and musicians Isaac Slade and Joe King of the band The Fray.

What makes Arvada distinct. Colorado's first documented gold was found in Arvada in 1850, predating the 1858-59 Pike's Peak Gold Rush that built Denver. The city's name ultimately derives from an island off the coast of Syria, picked from a map in an old family Bible. Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge is the smallest urban unit in the entire National Wildlife Refuge System, and despite its name it actually contains three ponds. So much celery grew here that the town was once known as the 'Celery Capital of the World.' Arvada is the hometown of graphic designer Bruce Blackburn, who designed the United States Bicentennial logo, and political consultant Karl Rove spent part of his youth here.

Arvada Landmarks and Local Life

• Olde Town Arvada - the historic downtown core
• The Arvada Flour Mill Museum - a preserved flour mill that operated from the 1920s to the 1970s, explorable across all four floors
• The Arvada Water Tower - a historic landmark in Olde Town
• Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge - the smallest urban unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System
• The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities.