Best Web Design in Loveland, CO (2026)

Web Design for Loveland, Colorado

Nestled against the foothills of the Rockies in Larimer County, Loveland is famous nationwide as 'The Sweetheart City' for its Valentine's Day re-mailing program, which hand-stamps well over 100,000 cards a year from a Loveland postmark. Founded in 1877 along the Colorado Central Railroad and once ringed by sugar-beet fields and the largest cherry orchard west of the Mississippi, it reinvented itself as a nationally recognized sculpture and foundry town. Today it serves as a gateway to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

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

About Loveland

Also known as. The Sweetheart City.

History. The first settlement was Fort Namaqua, a trading post built by frontiersman Mariano Medina in 1858. Loveland was founded in 1877 along the Colorado Central Railroad and named for the railroad's president, William A. H. Loveland; it incorporated on April 30, 1881. The Great Western Sugar Company built its Loveland beet-sugar factory in 1901, a major employer until it closed in 1985. Devastating floods struck the region in 1976 (the Big Thompson Canyon flood, which killed 144 people) and again in 2013. Like many towns of its era, Loveland has a documented sundown-town history of enforced racial segregation before the 1960s.

Local economy. Agriculture once dominated: sugar beets and sour cherries, with the Spring Glade Orchard reportedly the largest cherry orchard west of the Mississippi in the late 1920s. Late-20th-century manufacturing arrived with Hewlett-Packard, Teledyne, and Hach Company (water-quality analysis instruments). A cluster of art foundries and galleries makes sculpture a genuine local industry. Retail and medical growth centers on the Centerra development at the I-25 and US-34 interchange; tourism benefits from its gateway location to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Culture and community. The Valentine Re-Mailing Program, running since 1947, re-stamps well over 100,000 valentines each year from across the U.S. and 100-plus countries with a special Loveland cachet and a verse that changes annually. 'Sculpture in the Park,' held each August at Benson Sculpture Garden, is billed as the largest outdoor juried sculpture show and sale in the United States and marked its 40th year in 2024. Benson Sculpture Garden displays more than 150 permanent public sculptures. A giant 'LOVE' lock sculpture at the Visitor Center lets couples attach personalized padlocks. Notable locals include Olympic skier Jeremy Bloom, author Molly Bloom ('Molly's Game'), Olympic cycling gold medalist Alexi Grewal, and former U.S. Senator Wayne Allard.

What makes Loveland distinct. The 'Sweetheart City' postmark tradition began in 1947 when a theater manager and chamber president created a Valentine cachet; it now re-mails cards worldwide every February. Loveland the city is routinely confused with Loveland Pass, a mountain pass roughly 60 miles away on the Continental Divide, but they are unrelated places. Its foundry-driven art scene makes it one of the few U.S. cities where 'sculptor' is a meaningful part of the local economy.

Loveland Landmarks and Local Life

• Benson Sculpture Garden - home to 150-plus outdoor sculptures
• Devil's Backbone Open Space - a dramatic hogback rock formation west of town with a signature 'Keyhole' and 17-plus miles of trails
• The historic Great Western Sugar factory site and related museum exhibits.
• The Loveland Museum - chronicling the Sweetheart City's history and art
• The LOVE lock sculpture at the Loveland Visitor Center.