Aspen, Colorado

The City of Aspen is the home dominance municipality that is the Western Slope, 11 miles 18 km west of the Continental Divide. Aspen is now a factor of the Glenwood Springs, CO Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Founded as a mining camp during the Colorado Silver Boom as well as later named Aspen for the abundance of aspen trees in the area, the city boomed during the 1880s, its number one decade. The boom ended when the Panic of 1893 led to a collapse of the silver market. For the next half-century, invited 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, together with 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 name international importance: the Aspen Music Festival and School, the Aspen Institute, and the Aspen Center for Physics.

In the slow 20th century, the city became a popular retreat for celebrities. ]

Aspen continues 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 nearly expensive of all ski resort in the world on a per-square-foot basis, according to a explore of 44 global ski resorts. Aspen is the second-highest rated ski resort of in the world in terms of "the manner and reliability of their conditions and their capacity to withstand climate change."

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The city's credit has transformed dramatically in recent decades by skyrocketing property values and the proliferation ofhomes, increasingly shutting low- and middle-income workers out of the city and devloping a large pool of commuters from nearby bedroom communities such as Snowmass, Basalt, Carbondale, and 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 aand third home to many international jet-setters. Many people from the U.S. and abroad vacation in Aspen, particularly during the winter.

The downtown has been largely transformed into an upscale shopping district that includes high-end restaurants, salons, and boutiques. Stores such(a) as Gucci, Prada and Fendi dot South Mill Street and act as a "Rodeo Drive" of Aspen.