In the spring of 2018, AHS created a series of messages to share with drivers during the Castle Creek Bridge/Hallam Street improvement project. Throughout the extensive construction work, the city block between Bleeker and Hallam and 5th and 6th streets became a defacto “s” curve, with both incoming and outgoing traffic detoured around all four sides of the Wheeler/Stallard Museum property. Boasting off-the-cuff and “punny” messages alongside historical photos from the AHS Collection, banners posted along the streets around the property sought to bring some levity to drivers as they navigated the often frustrating detour traffic. One banner even encouraged viewers to visit the AHS blog for the story behind Aspen’s ever-controversial entrance to Aspen.

Due to their immense popularity, AHS has created a second round of banners for the fall construction season (stay tuned). We are sharing the series of banners here, in case anyone wants a closer look. Drive safe and remember, the more things change, the more they stay the same!

SPRING SERIES:

Image: Bird’s Eye View Map, 1893 (red line is drawn to show entry route).
Click here for the story of Holden’s Lixivation Works, the largest industrial compound in Pitkin County history, which decide the fate of the entrance to Aspen as early as 1891.

AHS operates one of the largest public archives in the region, including a photographic collection featuring over 40,000 images and over 7,500 artifacts. Research assistance is available by appointment, and the public can access and search a large portion of the Collection online at www.archiveaspen.org, including 20,000 images that can be ordered as prints and are also available on a fee-basis for commercial or editorial use.

Image: A mule pack train, circa 1900

Image: Castle Creek railroad trestle in 1901, with the electric works building in the foreground, and Holden Lixiviation Works in the background.

FALL SERIES: 

Image: Highway 82, looking east over Castle Creek Bridge in 1986.
The correct answer is C, 26 votes in almost four decades. Click here for the story of the votes.

Image: Sheep being moved from their summer range on Hallam Street headed toward Castle Creek bridge in 1967.

Image: Fixing potholes on Highway 82 at the S-curve in 1991.

Image: James H. Adams standing on the west side of State Bridge (now known as Castle Creek Bridge) circa 1910.