Aspen
Aspen- 1900 - (www.photoswest.org)
Archaeologists recently discovered that ancient people made their homes in the mountains near
Aspen, Colorado 8,000 years ago. Ute Indian tradition says that these "Shining Mountains" have always
been their homeland. First silver, and later near perfect snow conditions enticed more recent settlers to
the Roaring Fork Valley.
The first prospectors crossed over the mountains from Leadville in the spring of 1897 and settled in the
camp they called Ute City after the Ute Indians. By 1879, a number of hopeful prospectors had settled in
the camp. In the summer of 1880, the town, which had grown to 300 residents, was renamed Aspen.
All of Aspens' significant buildings and Victorian residences, many of which still stand, were built over a
short ten year period (1880 to 1890). Among the many beautiful examples of Aspen's Victorian elegance
that are still in use today are the Wheeler Opera House and the Hotel Jerome. Both were built by Jerome
B. Wheeler, a partner in Macy's Department Store in New York City.
www.aspenhistory.org
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Hotel Jerome- (1890)
330 E Main St
(970) 920-1000
www.hoteljerome.com
As local historian Larry Fredrick says, “Any historic hotel with a good PR department has a haunting or
two.”
But whether or not the spirits that reportedly lurk in Aspen’s Hotel Jerome are just figments of a good
marketing scheme have yet to be determined. The hotel’s most notorious story is that of a small boy who
gave one guest a fright.
It’s said that in 1988 the front desk received a phone call from the woman staying in room 310. The guest
reported having just seen a lost, shivering and soaking-wet boy. When a Jerome staffer went to help the
boy he had vanished, leaving behind his wet footprints.
As news of the sighting spread, some old-timers told the hotel staff about a young boy who drowned in the
hotel’s original swimming pool. Room 310 is in the hotel’s new addition, directly above the old swimming
pool.
Bellhops and desk clerks at the hotel also tell a tale of a handsome and penniless silver prospector
named Henry O’Callister who came to Aspen in 1889, seeking his fortune. When he unearthed a 1,500-
pound silver nugget, O’Callister checked into the Hotel Jerome and fell madly in love with guest Clarissa
Wellington, the daughter of a prominent Boston family.
Romance blossomed between the two, but Clarissa’s father sent his daughter back to Boston, forbidding
the relationship. According to the legend, O’Callister squandered his fortune and died a lonely man.
Hotel guests and employees say that they’ve heard sobbing late at night, and claim to have seen the
figure of a man wandering the halls. Could it be Henry, wandering the halls while pining for his lost love?
A third story from the historic hotel is that of Katie Kerrigan, who became a hotel chambermaid in 1892
when she was just 16. Her astounding beauty quickly made her the object of affection for many of the
hotel’s wealthy guests, and envious maids on the staff played tricks on her.
Legend has it on one wintry night a fellow maid told Katie her kitten had fallen through the ice of a small
pond nearby. Katie rushed outside to save her kitten and fell through the ice, catching pneumonia and
dying a week later.
Jerome staff members now say that on occasion a maid will enter a guest room to turn down the covers,
only to discover the job already done.
Source: Aspen Times Weekly | October 31, 2003
HISTORY
In the early 1880's Jerome B. Wheeler, the co-owner of New York's Macy's Department Store, became
enchanted with Aspen then enjoying the height of the silver boom. He invested heavily in various mining
enterprises and subsequently endeavored to create an aura of cosmopolitan civility for the raucous
mining camp by building a magnificent opera house and a grand hotel.
His namesake hotel, a three-story terra cotta brick and sandstone structure, opened in 1889 to become
the epicenter of Aspen's social and commercial life. Richly appointed in elaborate wall coverings and
handmade Colorado tile, the Jerome was a modern marvel, boasting 90 guest rooms, 15 bathrooms,
indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, steam heat and an elevator. Indeed, it was one of the first
buildings west of the Mississippi River to be fully lit by electricity.
Aspen's initial prosperity ended with the "silver crash" of 1893. The hotel consequently fell on difficult
times, struggling for decades to remain open until the 1940's when Aspen was re-invented as a ski resort.
The Hotel Jerome was restored to its former glory, becoming popular with the movie stars who put Aspen
on the world's celebrity map.
However, by 1985 the hotel had become outdated and was threatened by demolition, a notion that
appalled civic-minded investors. Subsequently, they embarked on a multi-million dollar restoration of the
hotel to its original luster, while upgrading its facilities and enlarging it with a four-story addition and grand
ballroom. The installation of a glass atrium lends additional grandeur to the lobby, as a dramatic
counterpoint to the newly restored antique brass light fixtures, cut silver, etched cranberry glass, copper
and brass door latches and striker plates.
A subsequent $6 million renovation project from 1999 to 2002 refurbished the J-Bar, guest rooms and the
main lobby. The newly renovated main lobby is dominated by an antique crystal chandelier and a
magnificent marble fireplace, relief-carved in oak and topped by a silver dust mirror mantel. The saloon-
style J-Bar and its hand carved maple bar were restored to emulate their original rustic charm, while guest
rooms and suites were enhanced with custom bedding, furniture and draperies.
Source: Hotel Jerome Website
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
In the news
Historic Hotel Jerome sells for $33.5 million
By Scott Condon
June 8, 2005
The Oklahoma Publishing Co. paid $33.5 million Tuesday to acquire the Hotel Jerome and its employee
housing at the old Cortina Lodge, according to a special warranty deed filed with Pitkin County.
Oklahoma Publishing Co. became only the sixth owner or major operator of the hotel in the last 116 years.
The Gaylord family, which has a controlling interest in the firm, started negotiating with Jim McManus and
his Hotel Jerome Associates LP to acquire Aspen's historic hotel early in 2005. McManus was an owner for
20 years.
McManus said in an earlier interview that he was working on a $40 million deal with the buyers. But public
documents indicate $33.5 million exchanged hands. McManus couldn't be reached for comment on
whether the sale price dropped or other terms of the deal that weren't recorded in the warranty deed.
McManus and his former business partner, Dick Butera, bought the hotel in 1985 for $6 million. They
immediately poured several million more into an expansion and remodeling.
McManus said the Gaylords could better afford investing the capital the hotel needs to stay competitive.
The Jerome is widely considered one of the top three hotels in town, along with the Little Nell and St.
Regis. It was built during Aspen's silver rush and has long been a centerpiece in town. It was completed by
Jerome Wheeler in 1889.
Records of the hotel's ancient history are foggy. Some records at the Aspen Historical Society indicate
Wheeler sold the hotel to businessman Archie Fiske for $150,000 in 1892. Other historical records
indicate it was in Wheeler's hands until he lost it for back taxes in 1909.
Pitkin County held the hotel until it was purchased in 1911 by Mansor Elisha. The Elisha family owned the
hotel for decades. They gave a long-term lease to Walter Paepcke in 1946.
In 1968 the hotel was purchased by John Gilmore, who struggled to get a renovation plan approved by the
city. McManus and Butera were able to advance with a plan that restored the Jerome's grandeur.
McManus eventually bought out his friend.
McManus said he was convinced to sell to Oklahoma Publishing Co. because it understands the unique
role of owning and operating an institution in the community. Oklahoma Publishing Co. also owns the
Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, a historic resort annually honored for high standards.
Steve Bartolin, president of the Broadmoor, will oversee the Jerome. Tony DiLucia will continue to be the
general manager of the Hotel Jerome.
Bartolin said there will be no changes apparent until 2006. The company plans to renovate rooms and
other spaces at the hotel.
"First, we have to plan, then design, then you have to order," Bartolin said. And that process takes time,
he said.
Scott Condon's e-mail address is scondon@aspentimes.com
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The ghost of Mrs. Webber
Henry Webber, one of Aspen’s most influential and controversial residents, left his mark on Aspen,
literally. Look up at the facade of the restored Isis Theatre building and you’ll see his name. The former
cobbler can also be credited for the Elks Building, which still towers over the intersection of Hyman and
Galena.
But Webber’s past was marred with suspicion surrounding the circumstances of his wife’s death. His wife
died in 1881 from an overdose of strychnine, and although a coroner declared her death an accident,
there were rumors that Webber’s wife committed suicide because of Webber’s ongoing relationship with
her niece, Julia Nevitt.
The rumors persisted in part because Webber married Nevitt just four months after his wife’s death. Local
historian Larry Fredrick has read the inquest into Webber’s wife’s death, and he believes the overdose
was truly an accident.
“Strychnia was an over-the-counter drug back then, used to calm your nerves,” Fredrick says. “I guess
she was a nervous lady. It appears that Henry also took some because he was ill, but not fatally.”
Whether or not Mrs. Webber was taking the drug to ease the pain from her husband’s affair with her niece
will never be known. But when Webber built a home for Nevitt and himself at
442 Bleeker St., six years after his wife’s death, locals told tales of Mrs. Webber’s ghost haunting the
house.
“They said that there were ghosts because you’d hear footsteps on the roof, and that the windows would
open and close randomly,” Fredrick says.
Of course Fredrick has explanations for all the ghostly sounds, saying the lead lining in the roof creaks
like footsteps when it expands and contracts in the sunlight, and that movement of air in the house when a
door is open can pop open windows that aren’t latched.
“But never let fact get in the way of a good story,” Fredrick says.
Webber was later elected mayor of Aspen in 1888, said to be the businessman’s and miner’s choice.
Aspen Times- October 31, 2003
Back to home page
Aspen- 1900 - (www.photoswest.org)
Archaeologists recently discovered that ancient people made their homes in the mountains near
Aspen, Colorado 8,000 years ago. Ute Indian tradition says that these "Shining Mountains" have always
been their homeland. First silver, and later near perfect snow conditions enticed more recent settlers to
the Roaring Fork Valley.
The first prospectors crossed over the mountains from Leadville in the spring of 1897 and settled in the
camp they called Ute City after the Ute Indians. By 1879, a number of hopeful prospectors had settled in
the camp. In the summer of 1880, the town, which had grown to 300 residents, was renamed Aspen.
All of Aspens' significant buildings and Victorian residences, many of which still stand, were built over a
short ten year period (1880 to 1890). Among the many beautiful examples of Aspen's Victorian elegance
that are still in use today are the Wheeler Opera House and the Hotel Jerome. Both were built by Jerome
B. Wheeler, a partner in Macy's Department Store in New York City.
www.aspenhistory.org
````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
Hotel Jerome- (1890)
330 E Main St
(970) 920-1000
www.hoteljerome.com
As local historian Larry Fredrick says, “Any historic hotel with a good PR department has a haunting or
two.”
But whether or not the spirits that reportedly lurk in Aspen’s Hotel Jerome are just figments of a good
marketing scheme have yet to be determined. The hotel’s most notorious story is that of a small boy who
gave one guest a fright.
It’s said that in 1988 the front desk received a phone call from the woman staying in room 310. The guest
reported having just seen a lost, shivering and soaking-wet boy. When a Jerome staffer went to help the
boy he had vanished, leaving behind his wet footprints.
As news of the sighting spread, some old-timers told the hotel staff about a young boy who drowned in the
hotel’s original swimming pool. Room 310 is in the hotel’s new addition, directly above the old swimming
pool.
Bellhops and desk clerks at the hotel also tell a tale of a handsome and penniless silver prospector
named Henry O’Callister who came to Aspen in 1889, seeking his fortune. When he unearthed a 1,500-
pound silver nugget, O’Callister checked into the Hotel Jerome and fell madly in love with guest Clarissa
Wellington, the daughter of a prominent Boston family.
Romance blossomed between the two, but Clarissa’s father sent his daughter back to Boston, forbidding
the relationship. According to the legend, O’Callister squandered his fortune and died a lonely man.
Hotel guests and employees say that they’ve heard sobbing late at night, and claim to have seen the
figure of a man wandering the halls. Could it be Henry, wandering the halls while pining for his lost love?
A third story from the historic hotel is that of Katie Kerrigan, who became a hotel chambermaid in 1892
when she was just 16. Her astounding beauty quickly made her the object of affection for many of the
hotel’s wealthy guests, and envious maids on the staff played tricks on her.
Legend has it on one wintry night a fellow maid told Katie her kitten had fallen through the ice of a small
pond nearby. Katie rushed outside to save her kitten and fell through the ice, catching pneumonia and
dying a week later.
Jerome staff members now say that on occasion a maid will enter a guest room to turn down the covers,
only to discover the job already done.
Source: Aspen Times Weekly | October 31, 2003
HISTORY
In the early 1880's Jerome B. Wheeler, the co-owner of New York's Macy's Department Store, became
enchanted with Aspen then enjoying the height of the silver boom. He invested heavily in various mining
enterprises and subsequently endeavored to create an aura of cosmopolitan civility for the raucous
mining camp by building a magnificent opera house and a grand hotel.
His namesake hotel, a three-story terra cotta brick and sandstone structure, opened in 1889 to become
the epicenter of Aspen's social and commercial life. Richly appointed in elaborate wall coverings and
handmade Colorado tile, the Jerome was a modern marvel, boasting 90 guest rooms, 15 bathrooms,
indoor plumbing, hot and cold running water, steam heat and an elevator. Indeed, it was one of the first
buildings west of the Mississippi River to be fully lit by electricity.
Aspen's initial prosperity ended with the "silver crash" of 1893. The hotel consequently fell on difficult
times, struggling for decades to remain open until the 1940's when Aspen was re-invented as a ski resort.
The Hotel Jerome was restored to its former glory, becoming popular with the movie stars who put Aspen
on the world's celebrity map.
However, by 1985 the hotel had become outdated and was threatened by demolition, a notion that
appalled civic-minded investors. Subsequently, they embarked on a multi-million dollar restoration of the
hotel to its original luster, while upgrading its facilities and enlarging it with a four-story addition and grand
ballroom. The installation of a glass atrium lends additional grandeur to the lobby, as a dramatic
counterpoint to the newly restored antique brass light fixtures, cut silver, etched cranberry glass, copper
and brass door latches and striker plates.
A subsequent $6 million renovation project from 1999 to 2002 refurbished the J-Bar, guest rooms and the
main lobby. The newly renovated main lobby is dominated by an antique crystal chandelier and a
magnificent marble fireplace, relief-carved in oak and topped by a silver dust mirror mantel. The saloon-
style J-Bar and its hand carved maple bar were restored to emulate their original rustic charm, while guest
rooms and suites were enhanced with custom bedding, furniture and draperies.
Source: Hotel Jerome Website
```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
In the news
Historic Hotel Jerome sells for $33.5 million
By Scott Condon
June 8, 2005
The Oklahoma Publishing Co. paid $33.5 million Tuesday to acquire the Hotel Jerome and its employee
housing at the old Cortina Lodge, according to a special warranty deed filed with Pitkin County.
Oklahoma Publishing Co. became only the sixth owner or major operator of the hotel in the last 116 years.
The Gaylord family, which has a controlling interest in the firm, started negotiating with Jim McManus and
his Hotel Jerome Associates LP to acquire Aspen's historic hotel early in 2005. McManus was an owner for
20 years.
McManus said in an earlier interview that he was working on a $40 million deal with the buyers. But public
documents indicate $33.5 million exchanged hands. McManus couldn't be reached for comment on
whether the sale price dropped or other terms of the deal that weren't recorded in the warranty deed.
McManus and his former business partner, Dick Butera, bought the hotel in 1985 for $6 million. They
immediately poured several million more into an expansion and remodeling.
McManus said the Gaylords could better afford investing the capital the hotel needs to stay competitive.
The Jerome is widely considered one of the top three hotels in town, along with the Little Nell and St.
Regis. It was built during Aspen's silver rush and has long been a centerpiece in town. It was completed by
Jerome Wheeler in 1889.
Records of the hotel's ancient history are foggy. Some records at the Aspen Historical Society indicate
Wheeler sold the hotel to businessman Archie Fiske for $150,000 in 1892. Other historical records
indicate it was in Wheeler's hands until he lost it for back taxes in 1909.
Pitkin County held the hotel until it was purchased in 1911 by Mansor Elisha. The Elisha family owned the
hotel for decades. They gave a long-term lease to Walter Paepcke in 1946.
In 1968 the hotel was purchased by John Gilmore, who struggled to get a renovation plan approved by the
city. McManus and Butera were able to advance with a plan that restored the Jerome's grandeur.
McManus eventually bought out his friend.
McManus said he was convinced to sell to Oklahoma Publishing Co. because it understands the unique
role of owning and operating an institution in the community. Oklahoma Publishing Co. also owns the
Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, a historic resort annually honored for high standards.
Steve Bartolin, president of the Broadmoor, will oversee the Jerome. Tony DiLucia will continue to be the
general manager of the Hotel Jerome.
Bartolin said there will be no changes apparent until 2006. The company plans to renovate rooms and
other spaces at the hotel.
"First, we have to plan, then design, then you have to order," Bartolin said. And that process takes time,
he said.
Scott Condon's e-mail address is scondon@aspentimes.com
``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
The ghost of Mrs. Webber
Henry Webber, one of Aspen’s most influential and controversial residents, left his mark on Aspen,
literally. Look up at the facade of the restored Isis Theatre building and you’ll see his name. The former
cobbler can also be credited for the Elks Building, which still towers over the intersection of Hyman and
Galena.
But Webber’s past was marred with suspicion surrounding the circumstances of his wife’s death. His wife
died in 1881 from an overdose of strychnine, and although a coroner declared her death an accident,
there were rumors that Webber’s wife committed suicide because of Webber’s ongoing relationship with
her niece, Julia Nevitt.
The rumors persisted in part because Webber married Nevitt just four months after his wife’s death. Local
historian Larry Fredrick has read the inquest into Webber’s wife’s death, and he believes the overdose
was truly an accident.
“Strychnia was an over-the-counter drug back then, used to calm your nerves,” Fredrick says. “I guess
she was a nervous lady. It appears that Henry also took some because he was ill, but not fatally.”
Whether or not Mrs. Webber was taking the drug to ease the pain from her husband’s affair with her niece
will never be known. But when Webber built a home for Nevitt and himself at
442 Bleeker St., six years after his wife’s death, locals told tales of Mrs. Webber’s ghost haunting the
house.
“They said that there were ghosts because you’d hear footsteps on the roof, and that the windows would
open and close randomly,” Fredrick says.
Of course Fredrick has explanations for all the ghostly sounds, saying the lead lining in the roof creaks
like footsteps when it expands and contracts in the sunlight, and that movement of air in the house when a
door is open can pop open windows that aren’t latched.
“But never let fact get in the way of a good story,” Fredrick says.
Webber was later elected mayor of Aspen in 1888, said to be the businessman’s and miner’s choice.
Aspen Times- October 31, 2003
Back to home page
