Aspen, Colorado

Aspen is the largest city and county seat of Pitkin County, Colorado. Founded as a mining camp in the Colorado Silver Boom, the city is now a ski resort and cultural center, named because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area.

The city emerged as a skiing mecca following World War II and the foundation of the Aspen Skiing Company by Walter Paepcke, a Chicago industrialist who sought to create a utopian community of the mind and body. Paepcke's legacy of the Aspen/Snowmass resorts, along with such institutions as the Aspen Institute, have made the city a year-round international destination for recreation, business, and intellectual discourse.

In the late 20th century, the city developed as an off-beat haven for misfits, attracting such free spirits as John Denver and Hunter S. Thompson, who was glorified by many locals for his embodiment of the "freak power" ethic of the community.

This historic character of the city has been challenged in recent decades by skyrocketing property values and the proliferation of second homes, increasingly shut low- and middle-income workers out of the city, and creating a large pool of commuters from nearby bedroom communities such as Basalt and Carbondale.

At the same time, in stark contrast to its historic character, the city has emerged into international fame as a glitzy playground of the wealthy and famous, associated with such notable celebrities as Kevin Costner (who maintains a residence near the town) and Donald Trump. The downtown has been largely transformed into an upscale shopping district that includes high-end restaurants, salons, and boutiques.

The booming real estate market has forced the city to struggle between permitting growth and restricting it. The city today remains a quirky mix of high-end luxury homes and condos intermixed with legacy residences and mobile home parks populated by an old guard of Aspen residents struggling to maintain the unique character of the city. A vote of city residents in April 2005 affirmed a previous commitment to annex the nearby Burlingame parcel in order to construct rental residences in attempt to retain a healthier mix of economic classes in the city.

Description and history

The city sits along at the southeast (upper) end of the Roaring Fork Valley, along the Roaring Fork River, a tributary of the Colorado River about 40 miles south of Glenwood Springs, Colorado. It surrounded by mountains on three sides: Red Mountain to the north, Smuggler Mountain to the east, and Aspen Mountain to the south.

During the life of the silver boom in Colorado, the price of silver steadily declined. At first it was propped up by purchases by the Federal Government, but in 1893 purchases ceased. Within a few days all the Aspen mines were closed and thousands of miners were put out of work. It was proposed that silver be recognized as legal tender and the Populist Party adopted that as one of its main issues; Davis H. Waite, an Aspen newspaperman and agitator was elected governor of Colorado on the Democratic Ticket; but in time the movement failed.

Eventually, after wage cuts, mining revived somewhat, but production declined and by the 1930 census only 705 residents remained. There was a fine stock of old business blocks and residences and excellent snow. Eventually Aspen was discovered and became a ski resort and cultural center, home of the Aspen Music Festival and School.

See Also
Aspen Mountain
Official Aspen city website

Map of Aspen, Colorado

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Uses material from the article Aspen, Colorado.