"He is happiest, be he king or peasant, who finds peace in his home." – Goethe
In the middle of the 20th century, a good 50 years or so after the silver mining boom and subsequent bust that originally put Aspen on the map, Walter and Elizabeth Paepcke arrived on the scene to reinvent and re-imagine what Aspen might become. The Chicago industrialists, enamored with Aspen's natural splendors, envisioned a place where mind, body and spirit could be nurtured – the birth of what today is known as the "Aspen Idea."
In 1949, Paepcke's vision was realized in the first Goethe Bicentennial Festival – a celebration where scholars, philosophers and students gathered under the original amphitheater tent to pay homage to one of the greatest German writers and thinkers of the modern era – Johann Wolfgang Goethe. The unprecedented event, held in the "intellectual isolation" of Aspen, included lectures from such luminaries as Albert Schweitzer and Thornton Wilder, along with afternoon performances by the Minneapolis Symphony. That fateful festival in turn planted the seed for such cultural institutions as the Aspen Music Festival, The Aspen Institute, and the International Design Conference. Shortly thereafter, Aspen hosted the FIS World Championships and a world-class resort was born the likes the world has never seen before nor since.
Fast-forward 65 years, and today, Aspen has become a bastion of arts and culture. Yet Aspen today has many faces. It is known as a second-home haven and playground for the world's wealthy. It is known for its inimitable beauty and its world-class skiing. It is known for producing awe-inspiring athletes and mountaineers, and attracting some of the best and brightest minds and talents the world has known. It is also known as one of the best, most beautiful places on the planet to live, which in turn, has created some of the most desirable, most expensive real estate in the country.
For those that seek to explore what it means to live the "Aspen Idea" today – to nurture mind, body and spirit – we are excited to embark on this journey together. So be sure to check back every so often, as we share our experiences, and the many ways that we truly live and appreciate the unique splendor of this place called Aspen.
via:http://www.aspensnowmassliving.com/blog/aspen-snowmass-living-a-modern-day-exploration-of-the-aspen-idea.html
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