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Aspen, Colorado

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City of Aspen, Colorado
City
Location in Pitkin County and the State of Colorado
Location in Pitkin County and the State of Colorado
Country United States
State State of Colorado
County[1]Pitkin County - seat[2]
Founded1879
IncorporatedApril 1, 1881[3]
Government
 • TypeHome Rule Municipality[1]
 • MayorMick Ireland[4]
Area
 • Total3.5 sq mi (9.1 km2)
 • Land3.5 sq mi (9.1 km2)
 • Water0 sq mi (0 km2)
Elevation
Template:GR
7,890 ft (2,405 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total5,914
 • Density1,689.7/sq mi (649.9/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-6 (MDT)
ZIP codes
81611, 81612 (PO Box)[5]
Area code970
FIPS code08-03620
GNIS feature ID0204686
HighwaysTemplate:Click-Inline
WebsiteCity of Aspen
View south along Galena Street in downtown Aspen. The Aspen Mountain ski area is in the background.
Aspen in 1962

The historic City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States.Template:GR[2] The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005.[6] 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.

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. 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. Aspen has become a second and third home to many international jet setters.

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. Despite the price of silver steadily declined during the silver boom in Colorado and the frequent Indian attacks, 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 one of the earliest examples of virtual reality software.

Aspen is notable as the smallest radio market tracked by Arbitron, ranked at #302.

Geography

Aspen is located at 39°11′32″N 106°49′28″W / 39.19222°N 106.82444°W / 39.19222; -106.82444Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (39.192297, -106.824470)Template:GR, along Colorado State Highway 82.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.5 square miles (9.1 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 5,914 people, 2,903 households, and 1,082 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,675.4 people per square mile (646.9/km²). There were 4,354 housing units at an average density of 1,233.5/sq mi (476.2/km²). 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.

Transportation

  • Roaring Fork Transportation Authority or RFTA, provides bus service in Aspen, and pay service to the surrounding communities of Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, Glenwood Springs and Rifle. Local RFTA bus service within Aspen and to the Aspen-Pitkin County Airport is free.
  • Aspen's only airport is Aspen-Pitkin County Airport also known as Sardy Field. The airport is an FAA Class 1 airport, and has one asphalt runway, 100 ft. wide and 7,006 ft long. Its hours of operation with FAA air traffic control is 7am to 10pm MST/MDT. Sardy Field is Colorado's third busiest airport. The airport has a large General Aviation section which can accommodate the many corporate airplanes and private jets which can crowd the airport during the busy holiday seasons. The F.B.O., which operates the General Aviation section, is Atlantic Aviation. The airport also has 3 regular commercial air carriers: United Airlines and Delta Airlines (operated by SkyWest Airlines), and US Airways (operated by AmericaWest Airlines).

Famous part-time residents

John Denver memorial

Sister cities

Cities listed alphabetically (together with their respective regions/departments).

Aspen has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International, Inc. (SCI):

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Active Colorado Municipalities" (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved 2007-09-01.
  2. ^ a b "Colorado County Seats" (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Public Health and Environment. Retrieved 2007-12-31.
  3. ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations" (HTML). State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "City Council". City of Aspen. Retrieved 2007-08-18. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ "ZIP Code Lookup" (JavaScript/HTML). United States Postal Service. August 18 2007. Retrieved August 18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "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 November 17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= and |year= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

Further reading

  • Malcolm Rohrbough, Aspen: The History of a Silver Mining Town 1879-1893, Oxford University Press, 1988, ISBN 0195054288
  • 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

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aspen, Colorado.

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