Helpful Aspen Vacation Information
Once a booming silver camp producing a large portion of the nation's silver (there is still some mining), it was transformed by the private capital of a Chicago industrialist into a modern, cosmopolitan ski resort, one of most popular in the world. Area surrounded on all but NW by White River Natl. Forest. Independence Pass (and ghost town) 12,095 ft/3,687 m to SE. Four major ski areas: Aspen Mt. and Aspen Highlands to S, Buttermilk and Snowmass to W. Aspen Center for Environmental Studies and the Aspen Music Festival at Whitier Opera House (which holds an annual festival) are here. Founded c. 1879 by silver prospectors from Leadville, inc. 1881.
Aspen City Info
- Land Area: 3.5 sq. miles
- Recreational activities include biking, cross country and downhill skiing, fishing, golfing, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, dogsledding, river rafting, kayaking and canoeing.
- Elevation: 7,908 feet
Aspen Weather and Climate:
- Average daily temperature — January: 20 F , July: 62 F
- Average annual precipitation — 18.5"
- Average annual snowfall — 134.2"
Distances to other Metropolitan Areas from Aspen:
- Atlanta, GA — 1,562 miles
- Boise, ID — 748 miles
- Charleston, SC — 1,865 miles
- Chicago, IL — 1,161 miles
- Dallas, TX — 1,038 miles
- Denver, CO — 159 miles
- Las Vegas, NV — 633 miles
- Los Angeles, CA — 903 miles
- Memphis, TN — 1,253 miles
- Miami, FL — 2,226 miles
- New Orleans, LA — 1,557 miles
- Raleigh, NC — 1,839 miles
- Seattle, WA — 1,249 miles
- Washington, DC — 1,830 miles
Aspen Safety Phone # and Major Hospitals:
- Ambulance: 911; Police: 911; Fire: 911
- Aspen Valley Hospital, 401 Castle Creek Rd., near Aspen Highlands (tel. 970/925-1120),
Aspen Top Tourism Draws and Seasons:
Aspen Major Shopping Areas:
- Brand Building
Hopkins Ave. between Mill and Galena Sts., Aspen, CO, USA
- Hyman Avenue Mall
Hyman Ave. between Mill and Galena Sts., Aspen, CO, USA
Aspen Major Dining Areas:
- The Taste Of Jazz At Syzygy
- The Popcorn Wagon
- The Mother Lode
- The Cantina
- Healthy Wraps
- Su Casa
- Skiers Chalet Steak House
- Rusty's Hickory House
- Poppycocks
- Kenichi
- Jimmy's
- Jack's at the Sardy House
- Explore Booksellers and Bistro
- Cache Cache
- Blue Maize
- Bentley's at the Wheeler
- Ajax Tavern
Aspen Famous Landmarks & Historic Places:
- Ghost Town of Independence
- Ghost Town of Ashcroft
- Wheeler/Stallard House Museum
- Ute Cemetery
- Hotel Jerome
- The Smuggler Mine silver mine site
Aspen Famous Natives and Residents:
- Singer John Denver
- Sun Microsystems founder Bill Joy
Notable Moments in Aspen History:
- Pre-1879 — Ute Indian summer camps are located throughout the Roaring Fork Valley; Ute Springs, near present day Glory Hole Park, near the Gondola at Ute and Original Streets may have been a campsite. Colorado becomes a state in 1876. Custer and his troops are massacred at the Little Big Horn. Ute uprising at the White River Agency Ute Reservation, to be known as "The Meeker Massacre." Hayden Geological Survey reports are published indicating promising geologic formations in the Roaring Fork Valley for the presence of silver.
- 1879 — First prospectors, crossing difficult mountain passes, explore the area for silver and winter over to protect claims on what will become one of the richest silver lodes in history. Henry P. Gillespie arrives in Aspen to examine a mine and travels to Washington, DC to petition for a Post Office. He lays out a town and calls it Ute City. Prospectors are in Ashcroft. Prospectors discover the Independence Gold Lode on July 4 in what will become the mining camp of Independence.
- 1880 — B. Clark Wheeler and Charles A. Hallam, as agents and co-partners of David Hyman of Cincinnati arrive in Ute City.
- 1881 — Pitkin County and the Aspen Times (owned by B. Clark Wheeler) is first published. Aspen Mining and Smelting Company is organized. First Aspen school opens. Independence Pass road is completed to Aspen
- 1882 — Independence gold camp has an estimated 1,500 residents, however, production drops drastically. The Farwell mines close and Mill shuts down.
- 1886 — City water system is turned on.
- 1887 — The Denver & Rio Grande Railroad reaches Aspen.
- 1888 — A second railroad, the Colorado Midland, reaches Aspen. The Wheeler Opera House opens. Jerome B. Wheeler builds a home for his wife in Aspen's West End which is now headquarters for the Aspen Historical Society. A one-mile long tramway is operational on Aspen Mountain. Durant and Aspen mines are consolidated forming the Compromise Mine, ending years of expensive litigation. Only 100 citizens remain at Independence.
- 1890 — Sherman Silver Act is passed, assuring a continuing market for silver. Population of Aspen reaches 8,000. Cable tramway from Tourtelotte Park to Aspen is completed.
- 1891 — Silver ore production exceeds that of neighboring Leadville. Aspen is the largest silver producing district annually in the nation with one-sixth of the U.S. total and one-sixteenth the world total. The Holden Lixiviation Works becomes operational (now the site of the Holden/Marolt Mining and Ranching Museum). The Court House opens.
- 1892 — Construction of the Silver Queen Statue for the Chicago World's Fair is supported by the City.
- 1894 — A 2,350 lb. silver nugget is mined from the Smuggler.
- 1895 — Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph builds a phone line over Independence Pass, connecting Aspen to the outside world for the first time.
- 1912 — Two fires, within 9 days, gut the Wheeler Opera House.
- 1913 — Elk, being nearly extinct in the valley due to over hunting, are reintroduced near Smuggle Mt.
- 1917 — Mining continues on a limited basis as the town becomes a supply center for local farmers and ranchers. Potatoes become the cash crop in the valley.
- 1918 — The "Glory Hole" is created when a slope in the A-J collapses. Flu epidemic forces closure of most of the town.
- 1920 — Rio Grande RR experiencing many accidents and delays. The Colorado Midland RR returns to Aspen only to dismantle the line.
- 1924 — Independence Pass Highway begun in 1911 is officially completed.
- 1941 — Aspen's first national downhill and slalom championships are held March 8th-9th. Fritz Benedict visits Aspen for the first time.
- War Years — The 10th Mountain Division, stationed at Camp Hale near Leadville, uses the Aspen area for training exercises. Many 10th Mt. veterans return after the war and help develop skiing at Aspen.
- 1945 — Chicago industrialist Walter Paepcke, president of the Container Corporation of America, visits Aspen and begins plans for a new cultural center with his wife Elizabeth. Paepcke meets with Friedl Pfeifer and plans for Aspen's first ski lift.
- 1946 — Aspen Skiing Corporation is formed. Lift-1 unofficially opens December 14th.
- 1947 — Lift-1 is dedicated as the world's longest chairlift. Aspen Ski School begins with Friedl Pfeifer as director. Refurbished Hotel Jerome opens. Herbert Bayer's partially refurbished Wheeler Opera House reopens. Dick and Miggs Durrance arrive in Aspen. Dick becomes Aspen Ski Corp.'s General Manager.
- 1948 — Sardy Field officially opens for commercial flights. Walter Paepcke brings Stuart and Isabel Mace to Aspen.
- 1950 — Aspen hosts the FIS World Alpine Championships, the first sanctioned international competition in the U.S. World class skiers now recognize Aspen's skiing potential.
- 1958 — Friedl Pfeifer opens Buttermilk Mountain. Aspen Highlands opens. DRC Brown becomes President of the Aspen Skiing Corporation.
- 1961 — The City Golf Course opens.
- 1962 — The City paves 14 downtown blocks. First condominium (Der Berghof) is built in Aspen.
- 1963 — All downtown streets are paved. The Brown Ice Palace opens. The Aspen Historical Society is established.
- 1964 — Herbert Bayer designs new music tent. The US Forest Service grants approvals of the Snowmass-at-Aspen Ski Area and the Reudi Dam project.
- 1966 — Ceramic artist Paul Soldner founds Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass Village.
- 1967 — Snowmass Ski Area opens with 5 chairlifts and 50 miles of trails. Lift tickets are $6:50. Freddie "The Fixer" Fisher dies. Snowmaking machines introduced at the base on Aspen Mountain on Little Nell.
- 1968 — Elizabeth Paepcke establishes wildlife sanctuary (ACES) at Hallam Lake. First official Aspen Alpine World Cup races are held on Aspen Mountain.
- 1969 — Train service (by now only freight) to Aspen ends on Jan. 29th. Pitkin County Airport begins operating a tower. City and County hire a full-time planner. The State Highway Dept. begins to plan a 4-lane highway 82 from Glenwood to Aspen.
- 1971 — Lift-1A starts running, replacing the original Lift-1 single chair.
- 1973 — The first phase of downtown pedestrian mall completed.
- 1978 — Alpine Springs and High Alpine open at Snowmass.
- 1979 — Aspen Art Museum opens in former hydroelectric plant building near the confluence of Hunter Creek and the Roaring Fork River.
- 1984 — A restored Wheeler Opera House opens.
- 1986 — The Silver Queen Gondola opens—the longest single-stage gondola in the world.
- 1989 — Ingemar Stenmark wins his 86th and final World Cup race on Aspen Mountain.
- 1996 — The 50th Anniversary of the Aspen Skiing Company is marked with more than 3,000 employees and 4,700 acres of skiable terrain across four mountains and secures its status as a world-class winter destination.
- 1997 — Snowmass celebrates 30 years of skiing. The Cirque lift opens giving Snowmass the nation's longest lift-served vertical rise of 4,406 feet. The lift is built in an ecologically sound fashion to protect local animals and their habitat and is the first lift to be operated solely by clean, renewable wind power.
- 1998 — The World Cup returns to Aspen after a three-year hiatus. Cirque run renamed "Rocky Mountain High" in tribute to John Denver. Gulfstream 24-Hours of Aspen charity ski race set new fund raising record of $1.2 million to support Kid's Stuff (Silver Lining Ranch) and the Aspen Valley Ski Club. Highlands Cafe closes for ever. Construction begins on new Highlands Village.
- 1999 — The 50th Anniversary of the Aspen Music Festival and School. Sundeck is demolished to be replaced by a new 21,600 square foot mountain-top restaurant. New Cloud Nine lift built. A controversial roundabout is completed at the intersection of Highway 82 and Maroon Creek Road with hopes of relieving increased traffic congestion at Aspen's entrance. There are now 9 traffic lights between Mill St. in Aspen and the first light in Glenwood. A remodeled Isis Cineplex theater opens.
- 2000 — The 50th Anniversary of the Aspen Institute. Aspen Music Festival and School dedicates new permanent music tent. The World Cup returns again to Aspen. Isis Cineplex theater declares bankruptcy and closes.
- 2002 — Aspen Drug ceases business after over 100 years of service to the community.
- 2004 — Heritage Aspen changes it name back to the Aspen Historical Society.
Interesting facts about Aspen:
- The Smuggler II Mine near Aspen produced the largest silver nugget in the world in 1894. It weighed more than a ton.
- About a third of tourist revenues are spent on Colorado's world famous ski slopes such as those in Aspen.
- Reportedly, a little boy drowned in the Hotel Jerome's original swimming pool. Room 310 is said to be haunted by this little boy, who is often spotted, wet and shivering, in this room.
- Development is a burning political issue: tight architectural constraints have been placed on businesses (McDonald's is forbidden to have a neon sign), but the last decade has seen yet more Scandinavian-style lodges, condo blocks and giant houses that remain empty for most of the year.
- In the 1930s, when the population slumped below seven hundred, it was, ironically, the anti-poverty WPA program that gave the struggling community the cash to build its first crude ski lift in 1936.
Aspen Population and Demographics:
- As of the census of 2000, there are 5,914 people, 2,903 households, and 1,082 families residing in the city.
- White - 94.94%
- Hispanic/Latino — 6%
- Asian — 2%
- Black, Pacific Islander — less than 1%
- Population 18 and under — 13%
- 65 and over — 7.5%
- Median age — 37 years
- Average family size: 1.94
- Median family income - $53,750
Aspen Colleges and Universities:
- Colorado Mountain College
- Bikrams Yoga College of India
Aspen Economy & Business :
- Major industries include construction, retail trade, services, and finance.
- Per capita income for Pitkin County: $68,761.
- Manufacturing: publishing, protective clothing, stucco-plaster, jewelry, skiwear
Aspen Hispanic Community Media and Churches:
- KPVW, 107.1 FM, Spanish radio
- Snowmass Chapel and Community Center, Spanish services
- Univision, Channel 56, Spanish television
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