Aspen, Colorado
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Aspen is the largest city and county seat of Pitkin County, Colorado. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 5,804.[1] Founded as a mining camp in the Colorado Silver Boom and named because of the abundance of aspen trees in the area, the city is now a ski resort and cultural center. 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 and the Aspen Music Festival and School, have made the city a year-round international destination for recreation, arts, 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 (who wrote several folk songs about the town, including "Aspenglow", and "Starwood in Aspen") and Hunter S. Thompson, who was glorified by many locals for his embodiment of the "freak power" ethic of the community. The city is the site of the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival.
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[edit] Image
This historic character of the city has been challenged in recent decades by skyrocketing property values and the proliferation of second homes, increasingly shutting 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) Michael Douglas, and Jack Nicholson. 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 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 deed-restricted residences in attempt to retain a healthier mix of economic classes in the city. This annexation, while creating affordable housing, is encroaching on Paul Soldner's compound across from Buttermilk. Aspen is the home from tourists from all over the world. It was also one of the setting points for the 1994 comedy Dumb and Dumber, although the movie was actually filmed in Breckenridge.
[edit] Description and history
The city sits along 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 is surrounded by mountain and wilderness areas on three sides: Red Mountain to the north, Smuggler Mountain to the east, and Aspen Mountain to the south.
The city has its roots in the winter of 1879, when a group of miners ignored pleas by Frederick Pitkin, governor of Colorado, to return across the Continental Divide due to an uprising of the Ute Indians. Originally named Ute City, the small community was renamed Aspen in 1880 and quickly surpassed Leadville as the nation's most productive mining district for silver. While the price of silver steadily declined during the silver boom in Colorado, production expanded due to the passage of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890, which doubled the government's purchase of silver. By 1893, Aspen's prosperity resulted in a population of 12,000 residents, with banks, a hospital, two theaters, an opera house and electric lights. Economic collapse came with the Panic of 1893, when President Cleveland called a special session of Congress and repealed the act. Within weeks, many of 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. Aspen's development as a ski resort first flickered in the 1930's when investors conceived of a ski area, but the project was interrupted by World War II. Friedl Pfeifer, a member of the 10th Mountain Division who had trained in the area, returned to the area and linked up with industrialist Walter Paepcke and his wife Elizabeth. The Aspen Skiing Corporation was founded in 1946 and quickly became a well-known resort, hosting the FIS World Championships in 1950. Paepcke also played an important role in bringing the Goethe Bicentennial Convocation to Aspen in 1949, an event held in a newly designed tent by the architect Eero Saarinen. Aspen was now on the path to becoming an internationally known ski resort and cultural center, home of the Aspen Music Festival and School. The area would continue to grow with the development of three additional ski areas, Buttermilk (1958), Aspen Highlands (1958), and Snowmass (1969).
In 1977, Aspen was thoroughly photographed for the Aspen Movie Map project funded by the U.S. Department of Defense. The Movie Map is generally seen today as the ancestor of all modern hypermedia and virtual reality software.
The Dodge Aspen was named after the city, as is, presumably, the new Chrysler Aspen, although many local residents view the car badges as being somewhat exploitative of their community.
[edit] Geography
Aspen is located at (39.192297, -106.824470)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²), all land.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 5,914 people, 2,903 households, and 1,082 families residing in the city. The population density was 646.9/km² (1,675.4/mi²). There were 4,354 housing units at an average density of 476.2/km² (1,233.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.94% White, 0.44% Black or African American, 0.24% Native American, 1.45% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.64% from other races, and 1.20% from two or more races. 6.14% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 2,903 households out of which 16.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.8% were married couples living together, 5.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 62.7% were non-families. 43.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.94 and the average family size was 2.67.
In the city the population was spread out with 13.1% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 42.1% from 25 to 44, 27.6% from 45 to 64, and 7.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 115.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 117.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $53,750, and the median income for a family was $70,300. Males had a median income of $41,011 versus $32,023 for females. The per capita income for the city was $40,680. About 3.6% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.4% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Transportation
- Roaring Fork Transportation Authority provides bus service in Aspen.
- Aspen's main and only airport is Sardy Field. The airport has one runway at a length of 8,500 ft. Sardy Field is Colorado's third largest airport. The airport has a massive "corporate" section which accommodates the hundreds of corporate and private jets. The airport also accommodates 5 airlines: United Airlines, Delta Airlines, US Airways, Northwest Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
[edit] Famous part-time residents
- John Denver came to Aspen as a young man and had a home in Starwood.
- Bill Joy has a house in Aspen, and is a frequenter of the city's Zélé Café.
- Hunter S. Thompson lived in Woody Creek, where he once ran for Pitkin County Sheriff (his platform included renaming Aspen to "Fat City"). (He also committed suicide in his home in Woody Creek in the Winter of 2005).
- Harold Ross, the founder of The New Yorker, was born in Aspen and visited many times throughout his life to fish.
- Mariah Carey has spent her Christmas holiday in Aspen for the last few years.
- Kevin Costner maintains a residence near Aspen toward Independence Pass.
- Goldie Hawn has been a part-time resident for years.
- Martina Navratilova had a home for years.
- Don Henley of the rock band The Eagles recently sold his home in Woody Creek.
- John Oates, musician has a home in the valley.
- Jack Nicholson, actor
- Michael Douglas, actor
- Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney
- Andy Mill, former ski racer, current Gold Cup Tarpon Champion, grew up in Aspen.
[edit] Sister cities
Aspen has six sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):
Chamonix, France
Davos, Switzerland
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
Queenstown, New Zealand
San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina
Shimukappu, Japan
[edit] See also
- Asspen (An episode of South Park set in Aspen)
Other famous ski towns in North America:
[edit] References
- ^ Annual Estimates of the Population for All Incorporated Places in Colorado (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division (June 21, 2006). Retrieved on November 17, 2006.
[edit] Further reading
- Malcolm Rohrbough, Aspen: The History of a Silver Mining Town 1879-1893, Oxford University Press, 1986, ISBN 0-19-564064-3
- Frank L. Wentworth of Aspen (1866-1942), Aspen on the Roaring Fork, Sundance Publication, hardcover, ISBN 0-913582-15-8 (earlier editions exist), (common in the used book market, look on ABE)
- Bruce Berger, The Complete Half-Aspenite, WHO Press, 2005, ISBN 1-882426-22-3
- Bruce Berger, Music in the Mountains: The First Fifty Years of the Aspen Music Festival, Johnson Books, 2001, ISBN 1-55566-311-7
[edit] External links
- Official city website
- Aspen Daily News
- Aspen Times
- Aspen Skiing Company
- Aspen Photos and Information at Western Mining History
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
