Hotel Jerome - Aspen, CO - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

"The three-story red brick hotel occupies a prominent corner location in downtown Aspen. Completed in 1889, the building features numerous round arch window openings and an unusual parapet, with brick work forming four rows of small square panels. The construction of the hotel was financed by Jerome B. Wheeler, one of Aspen’s most notable entrepreneurs, during the town’s early period of development. Many original interior appointments remain in the first floor level. In 1945, the exterior was painted a pale gray with blue trim when Walter Paepcke commissioned Herbert Bayer to oversee a remodeling project on behalf of the Aspen Company. A subsequent project in the mid-1980s included removal of the paint." (from (visit link) )

"The Hotel Jerome is located on East Main Street (State Highway 82) in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick structure built in the 1880s that is often described as one of the city's major landmarks, its "crown jewel". In 1986 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is operated by Auberge Resorts.

It was built by Jerome B. Wheeler, at the time co-owner of Macy's and a major investor in Aspen during its early boom years. He wanted the city to have a hotel that equaled European ones in its refinements and amenities. It was one of the first buildings west of the Mississippi to have full electric lighting[ and it has the only aboveground ballroom in Aspen. It was the only hotel to remain open through the city's "quiet years" in the early 20th century, as a family business run by a former bartender and his son that often served as the town's social center.

During Prohibition a celebrated spiked drink, the Aspen Crud, was invented at its J-Bar. Later, the drink and bar became popular with members of the Tenth Mountain Division while they trained in the area. After the war, Aspen and its new ski resort became a popular destination, and celebrities vacationing in Aspen like Gary Cooper and John Wayne often stayed at the Jerome, and it became known as a place where they and the locals freely mingled. Hunter S. Thompson used the J-Bar as his de facto office; later the hotel ballroom hosted his memorial service. Bill Murray partied there while portraying Thompson in a film, and the J-Bar also inspired a song by Glenn Frey, who had gone there often with his bandmates while a member of The Eagles." (from (visit link) )

"The iconic Aspen ski resort – Hotel Jerome was built in 1889 at the height of the silver boom by Jerome B. Wheeler who married into the Macy’s department store wealth. He built the hotel to rival some of the grandest hotels in Europe. It was the first hotel west of the Mississippi to have an elevator, hot and cold running water and to be completely lit by electricity. It has gone through many transformations over the past 127 years including several restorations, an addition and most recently underwent a top to bottom overhaul reestablishing The Jerome as Aspen’s social epicenter." (from (visit link) )

The NRHP form may be found at (visit link) .

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Date Logged Log User Rating   09/10/2024 run26.2 visited it