Mill Street Mall: Mill Street Mall is one of two pedestrian malls in downtown Aspen, Colo. Shops and eateries line the mall which also serves as a space for public events, shopping, and an entrance to Aspen Mountain Ski Area. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Paradise: Paradise Bakery & Gelateria was a popular resting spot for people to enjoy a cold drink, snack or gelato including the bird in the seat on the left who was also taking part in the afternoon gathering. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
By GARY WARREN
Photographer
Formerly of Los Alamos
Nestled among the peaks of the Elk Mountains in the heart of the Colorado Rocky Mountains sits the community of Aspen. The beauty of the area is second to none. Mention the community of Aspen and you will get a number of varied responses about the town. Some will reference the great skiing while others may mention the great shopping. Almost all will have one comment in common … Aspen is expensive!
Aspen has quite the history since silver was discovered in the mountains around Aspen in the 1880s. When the silver mines were busy and productive Aspen was a mining camp that developed into a nice size community in the late 1800s. At its peak Aspen was home to several thousand people. Since there was no census records the exact number is unknown but it is believed that about 12,000-15,000 residents may have called Aspen home during the mining era.
Several commercial buildings were constructed and numerous Victorian houses lined the streets of the mining town. The town was booming and had even attracted the service of two railroads. Aspen sits at the end of the Roaring Fork Valley about 40 miles south of Glenwood Springs, Colo. and the railroad was used to transport goods as well as passengers into Aspen.
However, the price of silver plummeted in the 1890s and the mines began to close. The population of Aspen also began to shrink dramatically. The remaining silver mines were a skeleton of the boom years. Ranching around Aspen and throughout the Roaring Fork Valley had replaced mining as the main source of income and times were tough.
By 1930 there were only 700 residents remaining in Aspen. The town was left with empty commercial buildings and numerous vacant houses. Aspen was becoming a ghost town.
In the 1930s and 40s real estate was selling to anyone who was willing to pay back taxes. Also in the 1940s, the ski industry was growing in the U.S. and Aspen was known to have ample snowfall and the most beautiful setting anywhere. The first chair lift was constructed in the summer of 1946 and Aspen Mountain opened that winter.
By 1950, the first Alpine World Ski Championship outside of Europe was held on Aspen Mountain and Aspen was officially reborn thanks to the ski industry. The rest is history!
Today Aspen has the distinction of being the most expensive ski town in the world. Real estate prices are some of the highest in the world as well. There are dozens of multi-million dollar private planes at the Aspen airport. The exclusive area where the billionaires own property is known as “Billionaire Mountain”. The list goes on and on.
Along with Aspen Mountain, which rises from the streets of downtown Aspen, there are three other local ski areas; Buttermilk Mountain where the Aspen X Games have been held for more than 20 years, Aspen Highlands, and Snowmass. The skiing continues to attract the world’s best skiers as well as providing skiing to recreational skiers from around the world.
We have been in the Aspen area several times but usually just pass through town on our way to the next beautiful stop in the Elk Mountains. However, we visited Aspen for a few days in August for our anniversary. We stayed in Snowmass and toured the area. We walked the streets of Aspen and admired the downtown buildings and facilities. The historic buildings from the 1800s sit beside modern contemporary buildings throughout the picturesque downtown.
I enjoyed photographing the downtown street scenes many of which have the Aspen Mountain Ski hill in the background and watching people as we roamed the streets. We walked through some of the downtown shops and mostly shook our heads at $300 t-shirts and other items of the rich and famous.
After a couple of days it was time for us to move on. We did enjoy a couple of nice meals at restaurants and we saw some amazing sites while roaming around Aspen and Snowmass. The mountains and the scenery around this part of Colorado are spectacular and that is more our style. We will return to the area but on our next trip we’ll probably just pass through town on our way to the next mountain get-away.
Editor’s note: Longtime Los Alamos photographer Gary Warren and his wife Marilyn are traveling around the country, and he shares his photographs, which appear in the “Posts from the Road” series published in the Sunday edition of the Los Alamos Daily Post.
Street View Aspen Mountain: A view of Aspen Mountain ski area is seen from a downtown street a few blocks from the base of the hill. Aspen Mountain was the first of four ski areas in the Aspen area. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Contemporary Streetscape: A newer contemporary building seen at left is one of several new buildings that sit next to historic mining era structures in downtown Aspen. The town has done a good job of incorporating the new with the historical buildings in downtown. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Silver Queen Gondola: The Silver Queen Gondola welcomes skiers to Aspen Mountain just off of a downtown street. The gondola was open during summer months for those who chose to get a view of the community from a higher vantage point or hike among the thousands of aspen trees on the ski hill. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com
Photogenic Downtown: There were several visitors who were photographing downtown Aspen on every street. Seen are two visitors taking photos near the Cooper Avenue Mall, one of the pedestrian malls in downtown Aspen. Photo by Gary Warren/ladailypost.com