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Aspen is the largest city and county seat of Pitkin County, Colorado. 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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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) 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. This annexation, while creating affordable housing, is encroaching on Paul Soldner's compound across from Buttermilk.

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.

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.

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.

Geography

Aspen is located at (39.192297, -106.824470).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 9.1 km² (3.5 mi²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census 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.

Famous residents

Sister cities

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

See also

Other famous ski towns in North America:

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 1112829911 (earlier editions exist), (common in the used book market, look on ABE)
  • Bruce Berger, The Complete Half-Aspenite, WHO Press, 2005, ISBN 1882426223
  • Bruce Berger, Music in the Mountains: The First Fifty Years of the Aspen Music Festival, Johnson Books, 2001, ISBN 1555663117

External links

Cities in Colorado | Pitkin County, Colorado | Roaring Fork Valley | Ski areas of Colorado

Aspen (Colorado) | Aspen | Aspen | Aspen | Aspen, Colorado | Aspen

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Aspen, Colorado".

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