Aspen Colorado is a very progressive, LGBT-friendly resort town situated on the Rocky Mountains Swatch and Elk Mountains. It is located on the Roaring Fork River at 8,000 feet above sea level. This former mining camp is home to 6,658 permanent residents but it is also a thriving resort town that is a well-known retreat for celebrities. It is also home to the Aspen Music Festival.
What is not as immediately evident about Aspen is that it is also home to an above average number of examples of mid-century architecture. Many of the beautiful chalets and homes that line the mountainside in Aspen were built between 1945 and 1975 by famous modernist architects. That is because many of the homes were commissioned by movie stars and rich corporate executives trying to outdo each other. Many of the homes in Aspen show the sleek, organic and efficient design lines that owe to the influence of American Frank Lloyd Write and also to the European modernists like Walter Gropius and Le Corbusier.
One of the points of modernism was to dispense with the colonial past and all of the flourishes that were inherited from the Europeans. When shopping for real estate in Aspen, which is a very expensive place to live in the United States, you will see the boxy, clean mark of modernism influencing many buildings including such characteristics as long ribbon windows without frames, rounded building corners and exposed metal columns made from materials bought at the sheet metal fabrication seattle . This style is so unique that it was given its own name Aspen Modernism.
Aspen is particularly unusual because the entire town was actually designed by visiting architects including Fritz Benedict, Herbert Bayer, Gordon Chadwick, Rob Roy, Bob Sterling and Dan Gale. Bauhaus founder Walter Gropius also advised the Chamber of Commerce on how the town could be planned to satisfy Aspen’s rich clients. There are also many signature buildings in Aspen designed by big American architects such as the Geodesic dome designed in 1952 by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Given Institute for Physics designed by Harry Weese.
If you are an architectural and style buff you will love the historic value of just walking around the city searching for real estate. Anything bought in Aspen, especially if it has historical value is a serious investment. Of course Aspen is also famous for its Swiss Chalet style homes and cottages that look so pretty in the winter with the snow piling on its roof. There are also many Queen Anne houses with wrap-around porches and fancy ironwork as well as standing examples of small wood clapboard cottages that were used to house the miners.
Housing does not turn over that easy in this sought-after place to live so if you are interested in finding your own modernist architectural gem to buy it is a good idea to contact an Aspen gay realtor who can guide you as to what is available in the area. You can also find out more about this magnificent area by going to the Aspen Chamber of Commerce at www.aspenchamber.org.
