To help preserve Lakewood's history, the Lakewood Heritage Center is home to more than 30,000 historical objects, as well as more than 8,000 photographs. These artifacts and photographs tell the story of Lakewood and Jefferson County, as well as state, national, and world events as they relate to Lakewood residents.

Lakewood, immediately west of Denver, is one of the principal cities of the Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and a major city of the Front Range Urban Corridor.

The city is located in the watershed of the South Platte River, and several small tributaries of the river flow generally east through it. From north to south, these include Lakewood Gulch, Weir Gulch, Sanderson Gulch, and Bear Creek.