Hotel Jerome

The "crown jewel" of Aspen, Colorado, the Hotel Jerome is a landmark building located on East Main Street. This historic brick structure was originally built in the 1880s by Jerome B. Wheeler and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It was one of the first buildings west of the Mississippi to have full electric lighting and was a popular community meeting spot for a century.

This renovation and restoration project occurred in the late 1980s when this historic hotel was a hundred years old. The structural system was completely restored. The building was stripped down to its bare framing, and new steel beams were threaded through openings cut in the brick facade. The old stone foundations were underpinned, and the basement floor was lowered by two feet. The exterior light well in the center of the building was capped with a new “sky-roof,” and a multi-story atrium was opened up in the lobby. The original interior finishes were brought back to their original appearance. Victorian-era details were carefully removed, refurbished, and reinstalled. The original Bayer’s paint scheme was blasted off in favor of the original brick.

Z Group's involvement in the Hotel Jerome's restoration led to half a dozen Historic Preservation Awards and its addition to the National Register of Historic Places. Although a great deal of design effort was dedicated to rebuilding a run-down and structurally failing century-old property, the elegant interior renovation has restored the building to its original character, and to this day, the Hotel Jerome remains a centerpiece of Aspen's social life.