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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutes.hpc.19760330 RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 100 Leaves Regular Meeting Historical Preservation Committee March 30, 1976 Meeting was called to order by Chairman Lary Groen at 1:10 p.m. with members Norm Burns, Florence Glidden and Jerry Michael present. Excused was Mona Frost. Also present from the Planning Department was John Stanford. Review of the Proposed Main Street Historic District Stanford made a presentation explaining why Main Street is historically significant. The first entrance into Aspen was over the Independence Pass and Stanford has yet to do research as to why Main Street was the street chosen to be historically significant. Stanford feels the historic element in the downtown area has more value than the malls. Stanford would like the commission's comments on the direction he is going and to get any input to enhance other directions that can be taken. Stanford showed a slide presentation. The slides were of Main Street and what roll Main Street plays in Aspen. The slides showed that Main Street is a major trans- portation route; provides primary access to city; because of Main Street's position, it gives the tourist his first impression of the City; there is a past history of Main Street such as the primary roll Main Street played was a residential area and there were many prestigous homes on Main Street, some of the residential homes still remain; The Hotel Jerome is still on Main Street and Governmental Buildings are on Main Street~ there are commercial uses along Main Street (Mesa Store Bakery); there are presently commercial uses along Main Street. With advent of skiing, the city took on a different complex than what it used to have such as lodges, clinics and real estate offices. The next group of slides showed the architect on Main Street such as the Victorian houses, which would want to be respected in the future, and log cabin type of architecture and modern contemporary architecture. Stanford showed a slide of the band- stand which tends to stand out and is an identity point for certain locations along Main Street. There were slides of Victorian detail such as the roof and tower on the Sardy House and the iron work and glass work in the windows and brick work. Lou Willie's sculpture was also shown as a reference point for tourists. Aspen Valley Realty was shown and that was the first attempt to perserve the historic character along Main Street. Alot of the architect has been maintained along Main Street. Stanford mentioned the number of activities that took place on Main Street such as the Fourth of July and said he had talked to Ramona Markalunas and asked her to speak to the manager of the Hotel Jerome to see if they would decorate the Hotel Jerome in the same fashion as they did many years ago. Stanford mentioned the problems along Main Street. Such as how to cope with the traffic and perserve some of the more valuable sites along Main Street. The traffic control systems are not compatible with the Sardy House or the antique lights. There has been a problem of neglecting to save the trees along Main Street. Another question is how to have the new buildings on Main Street, to what extent can we be instrumental in making it sympathetic with the Victorian character with the other good architecture along Main Stree. -1- Aspen Mall Cor~ission March 30, 1976 Tony Coleman's Mall Presentation There are other opportunities from an urban design standpoint such as an opportunity to protect some views of the natural terrain from significant public places. What is being looked at is a major urban street within the city outside the downtown area and functions within a minimum of negative environmental, social and economic impacts. Main Street has to be protected and yet has to be dealt as being a very contemporary street in regard to handle large amounts of traffic in getting people from one side of town to another. Historic Preservation is an intrical element. Stanford would like to identify more landmarks in time of significant architecture and who lived there. Then the review criteria has to be reviewed as to what extent criteria should be developed for Main Street and should be looked at in a different light than what the downtown area is being looked at. At the next meeting what will be presented is a map of Main Street with all structures drawn on actual lots and lines from each structure to a blurb on each house as to when it was built, who owns it and any significant facts that go along with it. The map is dated up to the 1940's and 1950's Coleman gave a presentation on the mall. Coleman explained that Robin Molny, Fritz Benedict and he took over the mall project from Greg Cole about six months ago. After five or six months of working on the design a solution was arrived at. The council agreed to the scheme. However, Coleman felt the design needed to be changed because he went to the Historical Society and started looking at drawings and old pictures of what Aspen's streets looked like in the downtown area and the periphery area. Coleman noticed the streets were open and automobiles did not block views and vistas. Coleman presented a slide presentation as to what Aspen looked like several years ago without cars and then what it looked like several years ago with cars. Also what the streets looked like with many trees lining the streets. After seeing pictures of tree-lined streets and irrigation ditches, and thinking of Aspen as more of a town with a heritage and a local resident who cares about Aspen as being his home town, Coleman decided to re-create his design that Council had approved. The new design philosophy was based on a new concept which was the streets did not need to be filled with a variety of shapes and forms to make the streets interesting; and the tourist industry in town shouldn't be emphasized, but the local heritage and local architecture should be emphasized. Coleman mentioned the architects are not trying to copy or create "old" Aspen streets. They are taking ingredients from Aspen's heritage and make a new contemporary environment, but with sensitivity to materials and the street scapes of Aspen. The concept is to tear up the present sidewalks on all the streets affected by the mall. The paving will be torn up from building face to building face and the surfaces will be re-paved with antique brick. The brick will be laid in a simple pattern on all streets with special major intersections such as Independence square which will have larger related brick pattern emphasizes to show that is the focal point of town. At the inter- sections of Tom's Market and the Wheeler Opera House the brick pattern will be running north and south and turning the brick pattern 45° and doing at monumental pattern. RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS 100 Leaves Regular Meeting Historical Preservation Committee March 30, 1976 Mall Presentation (cont'd) There will be irrigation ditches going along the cottonwood trees and irrigating the trees. The more elegant form of water will be used for the fountains and ice sculptures that will be formed in the winter. Along the periphery of Wagner Park will be a childrens play area. With the constant attention from the Street Department, Coleman hopes to maintain a snow- base in the winter that isn't dirty and dangerous to walk on that will be allowed for winter activities. In the summer, the restaurants will be able to be extended out to the mall. Nothing has been drawn in independence square becuase they want the activity to be spontaneous and allow for future construction. The water will be brought down from the Roaring Fork River, the irrigation trench, to the Glory Hole, and then underground from the Glory Hole down to the intersection of Cooper and Hunter Street. The water will appear in a low-keyed fountain and then go under- ground for a short way and will be meandering through the cottonwood and other trees that will be included with the cottonwood which will be evergreen trees, Aspens, flowering locusts, and flowering fruit trees. There will be bridges that cross the landscaped areas that will have north south access across the streets. At either ends of the bridges will be benches mounted as well as trash receptacle so there will be passive seating. The antique lights will be used to emphasize the major intersections. Also antique lights will be located at the end of each irrigation ditch and marking the entrance to a street. The concept is to get the cars out of the streets and to put the people back in, with as little inconvenience as possible as far as creating architectural elements for them to move around. We would like natural- pedestrian activities to happen. Coleman drew a sketch of the antique lights which will be integrated with the landscaped areas, the seating and the water ways. They will be low level lights, 36 inches high, and is square. They will be kept low to light only the ground and not to provide pools of light down the street. Coleman explained why they were going to construct a center roadway. They wanted to bring two rows of trees together down the center of the street and there is some concern about too much intermixing between street activities and con~ercial activities. The benches, therefore, will be lined up in the center roadway which will encourage people to do their passive activitiE in the center area. The benches will be bolted together pieces of wood and will be cyprus. The bench is between contemporary and antique. Groen asked about the street signs. Coleman responded the architects have decided to make street signs almost non-existence. There will be street signs, no do and don't signs, there will be a sign at the -3- ttistorical Preservation Com~aittee March 30 1976 at the bike rack asking to leave the bike at the rack, there will be hitching posts for dogs. The actual street sign will be in the paving at the entrance of each street, actually sandblasted out of the brick or enameled into the brick, and will have a low-voltage electric heater underneath it so during the winter it will be kept bare. The Historical Building signs will be done in the same graphic continuity as the mall. The other alternative would be to mount the street signs on the building facades. The bus stop signs seem to be nicely designed, at present, and the architects may just take a bus sign and mount it on a post that is in normal keeping with the design of the mall. The trash receptacles will be included with the bridge structure. On either side of the bridge will be a curvelinear benches and at the end of each bench on alternating ends will be trash receptacles. There will be a large area for trash and smaller area with sand in it for cigarette butts. There is an interface between the paving and the green areas and the architects have been thinking how the interfacing should occur. They have decided to take the brick and roll it up and there will be no change of materials between the brick paving and the green it will simply roll into the grass area and the grass will be an extension onto the brick. The grass area will be 7½ feet wide. Groen questioned if there were any provisions for drinking fountains or public toilets. Coleman~s response was the restrooms will be integrated with the children's play area at the intersection of Wagner Park. The restrooms will be bermed, partially depressed, and surrounded by trees and the roof of the building will be used forasports announcing platform. Also, as Rubey Park transforms into a transportation node, the City will provide a information center and public restrooms in that area. Jerry Michaels left at 2:45 p.m. Groen suggested to have City Hall, when they remodel to include public toilets so there will be public restrooms at both ends of the city. Groen suggested to ask the owners of the historic buildings on the mall if they would put a plaque on their building that describes the building. Stanford felt that was a good idea and thought that would be a viable responsibility of the HPC to ask owners of the buildings to place a plaque on their building. Stanford mentioned the next meeting will be April 13, 1976. Groen asked to have the other agenda items be transferred to the next agenda. Glidden moved to adjourn at 3:05 p.m.; seconded by Burns. ni55y ~. 'K'ly~,~'~pu~f~ City Cler~ -4-