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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFrancis Whitaker Park.History NAME: Francis Whitaker Park ADDRESS: Southwest corner of Monarch and Hopkins LEGAL DESCRIPTION: Lots D, E, F, G, H, and I, Block 75 DATE PURCHASED: 04/01/1999 HOW FUNDED: Housing/Day Care and Parks Fund LEGISLATION: Resolution #20, 1999, Resolution #162, 2000 DEED: Special Warranty Deed, executed 6/12/98, effective 4/4/98. Reception numbers: 418902 & 429736 Resolution #20, 1999 authorized $3.5 million from Housing/Day Care and Parks funds to purchase Bass/Francis Whitaker Park. In November 2000 voters approved a 5% increase in the open space sales tax and bonds were issued to pay for Bass Park from those funds. In 2000 Resolution #162 renamed Bass Park “Francis Whitaker Park”. Francis Whitaker was one of the foremost master blacksmiths in the U.S.. He moved to Aspen in 1963 and opened the Mountain Forge across from the park to the north. Through the CCA Folk Arts Program he was awarded several Master/Apprentice and Heritage Award grants to pass on his skills and knowledge to the next generation of blacksmiths. He was a long time member of the Aspen Valley Land Trust and was on the City Council in the 1970’s. He negotiated the original lease of Bass Park.