Aspen, Colorado

Aspen, Colorado
Downtown Aspen (2005)
Downtown Aspen (2005)
Flag of Aspen, Colorado
Official logo of Aspen, Colorado
Location within Pitkin County and Colorado
Location within Pitkin County and Colorado
Aspen is located in the United States
Aspen
Aspen
Location within the United States
Coordinates: 39°11′42″N 106°50′13″W / 39.194951°N 106.837002°W / 39.194951; -106.837002[3]
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyPitkin County seat[2]
Settled1879
Incorporation1881
Named forAspen trees around the city
Government
 • TypeCouncil–manager
 • City managerSarah Ott
 • MayorTorre
Area
 • Total3.858 sq mi (9.992 km2)
 • Land3.858 sq mi (9.992 km2)
 • Water0.000 sq mi (0.000 km2)
Elevation
(average)
8,000 ft (2,438.4 m)
Highest elevation
(At SW corner of city boundary)
8,460 ft (2,580 m)
Lowest elevation
(Roaring Fork at N corner of city)
7,660 ft (2,330 m)
Population
 • Total7,004
 • Density1,815/sq mi (701/km2)
 • Metro
79,043
 • CSA
134,774
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP Code
81611, 81612 (PO Boxes)
Area code970
FIPS code08-03620
INCITS place code0803620
GNIS feature ID0204686
Wikimedia CommonsAspen, Colorado
Websiteaspen.gov

Aspen is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States.[5][6] The city population was 7,004 at the 2020 United States Census.[4] Aspen is in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains' Sawatch Range and Elk Mountains, along the Roaring Fork River at an elevation just below 8,000 feet (2,400 m) above sea level on the Western Slope, 11 miles (18 km) west of the Continental Divide. Aspen is now a part of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Founded as a mining camp during the Colorado Silver Boom and later named Aspen for the abundance of aspen trees in the area, the city boomed during the 1880s, its first decade. The boom ended when the Panic of 1893 led to a collapse of the silver market. For the next half-century, known as "the quiet years", the population steadily declined, reaching a nadir of fewer than 1000 by 1930. Aspen's fortunes recovered in the mid-20th century when neighboring Aspen Mountain was developed into a ski resort, and industrialist Walter Paepcke bought many properties in the city in the 1950s and redeveloped them. Today it is home to three institutions, two of which Paepcke helped found, that have international importance: the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Aspen Institute, and the Aspen Center for Physics.[7]

In the late 20th century, the town became a popular retreat for celebrities. Gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson worked out of a downtown hotel and ran unsuccessfully for county sheriff. Singer John Denver wrote two songs about Aspen after settling there. Both figures popularized Aspen among the counter-cultural youth of the 1970s as an ideal place to live, and the city continued to grow even as it gained notoriety for some of the era's hedonistic excesses (particularly its drug culture).[citation needed]

Aspen remains popular as a year-round destination for locals, second-home buyers and tourists. Outdoor recreation in the surrounding White River National Forest serves as a summertime counterpart to the city's four ski areas. Prime residential real estate in Aspen is the most expensive of any ski resort in the world on a per-square-foot basis, according to a study of 44 global ski resorts.[8] Aspen is the world's second-highest-rated ski resort in terms of "the quality and reliability of their conditions and their capacity to withstand climate change."[9]

  1. ^ "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. Retrieved October 15, 2021.
  2. ^ "Colorado Counties". State of Colorado, Colorado Department of Local Affairs, Division of Local Government. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  3. ^ "2014 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Places". United States Census Bureau. July 1, 2014. Retrieved January 5, 2015.
  4. ^ a b c "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
  5. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.[not specific enough to verify]
  6. ^ "Colorado County Seats". State of Colorado, Department of Public Health and Environment.[not specific enough to verify]
  7. ^ "Aspen Center for Physics". Aspen Center for Physics. Retrieved July 12, 2017.
  8. ^ "Savills Global Prime Price League". www.savills.com. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  9. ^ Savills (November 30, 2021). "Which ski resort is most resilient?". Savills. Retrieved April 2, 2022.

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