Editing Aspen, Colorado (section)

==History==
[[File:Silver mines, Aspen, Colorado, 1898.jpg|thumb|left|Silver mines in Aspen (1898)]]
[[File:Aspen, 1962, Kodachrome by Chalmers Butterfield.jpg|thumb|left|Aspen (1962)]]

The city's roots are traced to the winter of 1879, when a group of miners ignored pleas by [[Frederick Walker Pitkin|Frederick Pitkin]], Governor of Colorado, to return across the Continental Divide to avoid a [[Ute people|Ute]] uprising. The Utes were fighting to maintain possession of their land and communities. Originally named Ute City, the small community was renamed Aspen.  The Aspen, Colorado, post office opened on June 7, 1880.<ref name=CPO>{{cite book|title=Colorado Post Offices 1859–1989|first1=William H.|last1=Bauer|first2=James L.|last2=Ozment|first3=John H.|last3=Willard|date=1990|publisher=[[Colorado Railroad Museum|Colorado Railroad Historical Foundation]]|location=[[Golden, Colorado]]|isbn=0-918654-42-4}}</ref> [[Pitkin County, Colorado|Pitkin County]] was created on February 23, 1881, with Aspen as its first and only seat.<ref name=COcounty/> The Town of Aspen was incorporated on April 1, 1881.<ref name="MuniIncCO">{{cite web |title=Active Colorado Municipalities |url=https://dola.colorado.gov/lgis/municipalities.jsf |access-date=December 22, 2024 |publisher=[[Colorado|State of Colorado]], [[Colorado Department of Local Affairs|Department of Local Affairs]], Division of Local Government}}</ref> In its peak production years of 1891 and 1892, Aspen surpassed [[Leadville, Colorado|Leadville]] as the United States' most productive silver-mining district.<ref>Charles W. Henderson, 1926, ''Mining in Colorado'', U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 138, p.176, 201.</ref>  Production expanded due to the passage of the [[Sherman Silver Purchase Act]] of 1890, which doubled the government's purchase of silver. In 1883, the [[Archdiocese of Denver|Apostolic Vicarate of Colorado]]'s [[Joseph Projectus Machebeuf|Bishop Machebeuf]] had the Reverend Edward Downey establish the first [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] mission in Aspen.<ref>{{cite book|title=Life of the Right Reverend Joseph P. Machebeuf, D.D.|last=Howlett|first=W.J.|page=392|location=[[Denver]]}}</ref>

By 1893, Aspen had banks, a hospital, a police department, two theaters, an opera house, and electric lights. Economic collapse came with the [[Panic of 1893]], when [[Grover Cleveland|President Cleveland]] called a special session of Congress and repealed the act.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 [[People's Party (United States)|People's Party]] (populists) 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. Remaining, however, were stocks of old commercial buildings and residences, along with excellent snow. Aspen's development as a ski resort began in the 1930s 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 (United States)|10th Mountain Division]] who had trained in the area, returned to the area and linked up with industrialist [[Walter Paepcke]] and his wife [[Elizabeth Paepcke|Elizabeth]]. The [[Aspen Skiing Company]] was founded in 1946 and the city quickly became a well-known resort, hosting the [[FIS Alpine World Ski Championships 1950|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 then on the path to becoming an internationally known [[Colorado ski resorts|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 (ski area)|Buttermilk]] (1958), [[Aspen Highlands]] (1958), and [[Snowmass (ski area)|Snowmass]] (1967).

In the 1970s, Aspen became known as a playground for the rich and famous. Notable celebrities frequented the town and ski slopes, also John Denver was one of the more famous permanent residents.  In 1978, 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/s/411453/d-j-view/|title=Déjà View|last=SM '07|first=Erica Naone|website=MIT Technology Review|language=en-US|access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

In 1999, the city council passed a resolution to petition the US Congress and [[Bill Clinton|President Clinton]] to restrict US immigration. Aspen residents cited concerns about the environmental impacts of increased immigration on their community, including urban and suburban sprawl, pollution from the older automobiles typically driven by immigrants, and litter accumulating in the mountains attributable to the increasing population. The impetus for the resolution was the increasing number of trailer parks that housed the migrant workers employed locally in the service sector and ski industry. The parks were perceived to be degrading to the town's image, property values, and environment. The move was led by Terry Paulson, an Aspen City Council member, and supported and guided by national groups such as the Carrying Capacity Network, and the [[Center for Immigration Studies]]. The resolution was discussed on the ''American Patrol Report'' website, contributing to a controversy over whether or not the resolution was racially motivated. Councilman Terry Paulson and some Aspen citizens insisted that it was motivated entirely by environmental concerns.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Slums of Aspen|last1 = Park|first1 = Lisa Sun-Hee|last2 = Pellow|first2 = David Naguib|publisher = New York University Press|year = 2011|isbn = 978-0-8147-6803-7}}</ref>

Aspen is notable as the smallest [[List of United States radio markets|radio market]] tracked by [[Arbitron]], ranked number 302.

Local media in Aspen include a public radio station, KJAX,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aspenpublicradio.org/|title=Aspen Public Radio|website=www.aspenpublicradio.org}}</ref> a public television station, the Grassroots TV network;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grassrootstv.org/|title=GrassRoots Community Network|website=GrassRoots Community}}</ref> three commercial radio stations, [[KSNO]], [[KTND]], and [[KSPN-FM|KSPN]]; two daily newspapers, ''[[Aspen Times|The Aspen Times]]'' and ''[[Aspen Daily News|The Aspen Daily News]]''; three local lifestyle magazines, ''Aspen Sojourner'',<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aspensojo.com/|title=Aspen Sojourner|website=Aspen Sojourner}}</ref> ''[[Aspen Magazine]]''<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aspenmagazine.com/|title=Maintenance|website=www.aspenmagazine.com|access-date=June 17, 2011|archive-date=July 7, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707175256/http://www.aspenmagazine.com/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and the biannual ''[[Aspen Peak]]''; and a local, live, commercial lifestyle television channel, Aspen 82.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aspen82.com/about-us/|title=Aspen 82, About us|website=Aspen82|access-date=December 14, 2019}}</ref>

===Image===
[[File:Aspen Art Museum by Shigeru Ban.jpg|thumb|right|[[Aspen Art Museum]] (2015)]]
The city's character has transformed dramatically 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 community|bedroom communities]] such as [[Snowmass, Colorado|Snowmass]], [[Basalt, Colorado|Basalt]], [[Carbondale, Colorado|Carbondale]], and [[Glenwood Springs, Colorado|Glenwood Springs]]. 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. Aspen has become a second and third home to many international jet-setters. Many people from the U.S. and abroad vacation in Aspen, especially during the winter.<ref>{{Cite magazine | url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2003/03/wealthy-aspen-legends |title = How Aspen became the billionaire's retreat|magazine = Vanity Fair|date = January 23, 2014|issue = March|last1 = Seal|first1 = Mark}}</ref>

The downtown has been largely transformed into an [[luxury goods|upscale shopping]] district that includes high-end restaurants, salons, and boutiques.<ref>{{Cite web | url=http://www.discoverourtown.com/CO/Aspen/Shopping-1317.html |title = Shopping Aspen CO Colorado + Outlet Mall - City Guide}}</ref> Stores such as [[Gucci]], [[Prada]] and [[Fendi]] dot South Mill Street and act as a "Rodeo Drive" of Aspen.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gq.com/story/how-to-shop-aspen|title=How to Shop Aspen, the West's Weird Luxury Oasis|date=February 2017}}</ref>