Harley Baldwin
Encyclopedia
Harley Baldwin was an American developer and art dealer
who divided his time between residences in Aspen, Colorado
, and New York City
. He was best known for his successes in the former community, where the upscale boutiques and exclusive nightclub that opened in two historic buildings he renovated eventually lent the ski-resort community the nickname "Glitter Gulch". While this was controversial in a community that had long prided itself on its lack of pretention, he was generally seen positively in Aspen
colonel
in 1945, he grew up a military brat
on bases all over the United States. He earned a degree in international relations
from Syracuse University
and initially worked in New York City as a welfare caseworker and promotions director for Show magazine. After a year, still under a draft deferment, he left the city and drove west with a family fortune of $1,200. At a turn in the road he decided to go to Aspen.
flavor, he rented a trailer
to live in. He bought some pans and groceries and started selling crêpe
s from the red Popcorn Wagon, which is still used for that purpose in Aspen today. This earned him enough money to buy the trailer. and, four months later, a ranch. This was the beginning of a career in real estate
. With a partner, he bought land on the shores of Ruedi Reservoir
outside nearby Basalt
, recently created by damming the Fryingpan River
, and subdivided it into Ruedi Shores.
In 1971, he persuaded Robert Orville Anderson, then chairman of Atlantic Richfield, to lend him $170,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) to buy the aging Brand Building
in downtown Aspen, across from Aspen City Hall
. Built in 1891, near the end of the Colorado Silver Boom
that had spurred the city's initial growth, it had been used as a gas station for much of the 20th century and was slated for demolition. After the purchase, Baldwin restored
it.
Also that year, Baldwin married Lee Webster. The following year, 1972, feeling local opposition to some of his other projects was too great to overcome, he and Webster moved to New York to pursue opportunities there. They maintained their properties and residence in Aspen, and continued to look after those investments. The couple divorced in 1977.
In New York, he was primarily involved in developing Bridgemarket, a food store under the Manhattan approach to the Queensboro Bridge. The process took longer than Baldwin anticipated, and during it the plans were changed considerably from Baldwin's original vision. It finally opened in 1999, with other developers involved.
His apartment in The Dakota
became the subject of a lawsuit in 1992. Earlier that year, Michelle Pfeiffer
had agreed to sublet it from him while she filmed The Age of Innocence
. When her movers arrived the day before principal photography
began, they were refused entrance, ostensibly because the service entrance was closed for the day. She later discovered, she claimed, that Baldwin had not had obtained the permission of the Dakota's co-op
board before subletting the apartment, as he was required to, and that he was about to default
on the mortgage
. Baldwin tried to persuade her to move in again, but refused to return her money when she decided to abandon the sublet. She moved into a hotel instead for the duration of the film, and later won a default judgement against him.
Back in Aspen in 1988, he bought the Brand's neighbor, the Collins Block
, another historic building from the city's boom years. He used them to effect a transformation of Aspen's image. Where a funeral parlor and hardware store had once been, luxury boutiques like Louis Vuitton
, Dior
and Bulgari
now located. In the basement of the Collins he opened the Caribou Club, a members-only nightspot. The second floor of the Brand was given over to high-end hotel and apartment space. Similarly, he renovated the upper floor of the Collins into a 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) penthouse
for himself and his companion Richard Edwards that Architectural Digest
featured in 1996.
The emergence of the Caribou and the boutiques disturbed some Aspenites, who saw it as a challenge to the egalitarian
mentality that had long predominated locally despite the area's many rich and famous residents. The buildings were referred to as "Glitter Gulch", a nickname later applied to Aspen itself. Baldwin saw it as inevitable and logical. "Aspen is for the most successful people in the world." he said in a 2001 Vanity Fair
article. "It so happens that they like to wear Gucci
. Where's the problem?" George Hamilton
, a friend, defended him as "what Aspen is all about ... He understands classic good taste and at the same time is irreverent about it."
He started more businesses, bringing the total he owned in Aspen to 12. One sold silver belt buckles he had designed himself. The other was an art gallery
, a conscious attempt on his part to raise the cultural profile of his adopted hometown, already known in the classical music
community for the annual Aspen Music Festival and School
, to which he contributed money and sat on the board. Very quickly, the Baldwin Gallery
, in the Brand's South Galena Street frontage, had the effect he had hoped, selling work by internationally prominent contemporary artists like Jennifer Bartlett
and Ross Bleckner
.
. He and Edwards began spending more time in Manhattan. On January 23, 2005, he died at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center.
Art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art. Art dealers' professional associations serve to set high standards for accreditation or membership and to support art exhibitions and shows.-Role:...
who divided his time between residences in Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
, and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. He was best known for his successes in the former community, where the upscale boutiques and exclusive nightclub that opened in two historic buildings he renovated eventually lent the ski-resort community the nickname "Glitter Gulch". While this was controversial in a community that had long prided itself on its lack of pretention, he was generally seen positively in Aspen
Early life
Born in Chicago to an Air ForceUnited States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in 1945, he grew up a military brat
Military brat
A military brat describes people who spend their childhood or adolescence while a parent serve full-time in the armed forces, and can also refer to the unique subculture and lifestyle of American military brats, the term refers to both current and former children of such families.Lifestyle: The...
on bases all over the United States. He earned a degree in international relations
International relations
International relations is the study of relationships between countries, including the roles of states, inter-governmental organizations , international nongovernmental organizations , non-governmental organizations and multinational corporations...
from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and initially worked in New York City as a welfare caseworker and promotions director for Show magazine. After a year, still under a draft deferment, he left the city and drove west with a family fortune of $1,200. At a turn in the road he decided to go to Aspen.
Career
Soon after arriving in what was then a mountain community with a strong hippieHippie
The hippie subculture was originally a youth movement that arose in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The etymology of the term 'hippie' is from hipster, and was initially used to describe beatniks who had moved into San Francisco's...
flavor, he rented a trailer
Mobile home
Mobile homes or static caravans are prefabricated homes built in factories, rather than on site, and then taken to the place where they will be occupied...
to live in. He bought some pans and groceries and started selling crêpe
Crêpe
A crêpe or crepe , is a type of very thin pancake, usually made from wheat flour or buckwheat flour . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled". While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is widespread in France...
s from the red Popcorn Wagon, which is still used for that purpose in Aspen today. This earned him enough money to buy the trailer. and, four months later, a ranch. This was the beginning of a career in real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
. With a partner, he bought land on the shores of Ruedi Reservoir
Ruedi Reservoir
Ruedi Reservoir is a reservoir on the West Slope of the Continental Divide on the Fryingpan River. It sits about upstream of the town of Basalt, Colorado, near Aspen.The reservoir was built, is owned, and is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation...
outside nearby Basalt
Basalt, Colorado
Basalt is a Statutory Town in Eagle and Pitkin counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The population was 2,681 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, recently created by damming the Fryingpan River
Fryingpan River
The Fryingpan River is a tributary of the Roaring Fork River, approximately long, in west central Colorado in the United States.It rises in northeastern Pitkin County, in the White River National Forest in the Sawatch Mountains along the western side of the continental divide. It flows westward...
, and subdivided it into Ruedi Shores.
In 1971, he persuaded Robert Orville Anderson, then chairman of Atlantic Richfield, to lend him $170,000 ($ in contemporary dollars) to buy the aging Brand Building
Brand Building
The Hyman–Brand Building, often referred to as just the Brand Building, is located at the corner of South Galena Street and East Hopkins Avenue in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a two-story stone building erected in the late 19th century...
in downtown Aspen, across from Aspen City Hall
Aspen City Hall
Aspen City Hall, known in the past as Armory Hall, Fraternal Hall, is located at the intersection of South Galena Street and East Hopkins Avenue in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick building dating to the 1890s...
. Built in 1891, near the end of the Colorado Silver Boom
Colorado Silver Boom
The Colorado Silver Boom was a dramatic expansionist period of silver mining activity in the U.S. state of Colorado in the late 19th century. The boom started in 1879 with the discovery of silver at Leadville...
that had spurred the city's initial growth, it had been used as a gas station for much of the 20th century and was slated for demolition. After the purchase, Baldwin restored
Building restoration
Building restoration describes a particular treatment approach and philosophy within the field of architectural conservation. According the U.S...
it.
Also that year, Baldwin married Lee Webster. The following year, 1972, feeling local opposition to some of his other projects was too great to overcome, he and Webster moved to New York to pursue opportunities there. They maintained their properties and residence in Aspen, and continued to look after those investments. The couple divorced in 1977.
In New York, he was primarily involved in developing Bridgemarket, a food store under the Manhattan approach to the Queensboro Bridge. The process took longer than Baldwin anticipated, and during it the plans were changed considerably from Baldwin's original vision. It finally opened in 1999, with other developers involved.
His apartment in The Dakota
The Dakota
The Dakota, constructed from October 25, 1880 to October 27, 1884, is a co-op apartment building located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City...
became the subject of a lawsuit in 1992. Earlier that year, Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Pfeiffer
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface . Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work...
had agreed to sublet it from him while she filmed The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence (film)
The Age of Innocence is a 1993 American film adaptation of Edith Wharton's 1920 novel of the same name. The film was released by Columbia Pictures, directed by Martin Scorsese, and stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Winona Ryder....
. When her movers arrived the day before principal photography
Principal photography
thumb|300px|Film production on location in [[Newark, New Jersey]].Principal photography is the phase of film production in which the movie is filmed, with actors on set and cameras rolling, as distinct from pre-production and post-production....
began, they were refused entrance, ostensibly because the service entrance was closed for the day. She later discovered, she claimed, that Baldwin had not had obtained the permission of the Dakota's co-op
Housing cooperative
A housing cooperative is a legal entity—usually a corporation—that owns real estate, consisting of one or more residential buildings. Each shareholder in the legal entity is granted the right to occupy one housing unit, sometimes subject to an occupancy agreement, which is similar to a lease. ...
board before subletting the apartment, as he was required to, and that he was about to default
Default (finance)
In finance, default occurs when a debtor has not met his or her legal obligations according to the debt contract, e.g. has not made a scheduled payment, or has violated a loan covenant of the debt contract. A default is the failure to pay back a loan. Default may occur if the debtor is either...
on the mortgage
Mortgage loan
A mortgage loan is a loan secured by real property through the use of a mortgage note which evidences the existence of the loan and the encumbrance of that realty through the granting of a mortgage which secures the loan...
. Baldwin tried to persuade her to move in again, but refused to return her money when she decided to abandon the sublet. She moved into a hotel instead for the duration of the film, and later won a default judgement against him.
Back in Aspen in 1988, he bought the Brand's neighbor, the Collins Block
Collins Block
The Collins Block is located at the intersection of East Hopkins Avenue and South Mill Street in Aspen, Colorado, United States. It is a brick and stone structure erected in the early 1890s...
, another historic building from the city's boom years. He used them to effect a transformation of Aspen's image. Where a funeral parlor and hardware store had once been, luxury boutiques like Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Malletier – commonly referred to as Louis Vuitton , or shortened to LV – is a French fashion house founded in 1854 by Louis Vuitton. The label is well known for its LV monogram, which is featured on most products, ranging from luxury trunks and leather goods to ready-to-wear, shoes,...
, Dior
Dior
Dior can mean:* Christian Dior SA, a French clothing retailer* In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium:**Dior Eluchíl, a Half-elven of the First Age**Dior , a Steward of GondorDior is a surname, and may refer to:...
and Bulgari
Bulgari
Bulgari is an Italian jeweler and luxury goods retailer which has been owned by the French firm LVMH since October 2011. The trademark is usually written "BVLGARI" in the classical Latin alphabet , and is derived from the surname of the company's Greek founder, Sotirio Voulgaris...
now located. In the basement of the Collins he opened the Caribou Club, a members-only nightspot. The second floor of the Brand was given over to high-end hotel and apartment space. Similarly, he renovated the upper floor of the Collins into a 6000 square feet (557.4 m²) penthouse
Penthouse apartment
A penthouse apartment or penthouse is an apartment that is on one of the highest floors of an apartment building. Penthouses are typically differentiated from other apartments by luxury features.-History:...
for himself and his companion Richard Edwards that Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest
Architectural Digest is an American monthly magazine. Its principal subject is interior design, not — as the name of the magazine might suggest — architecture more generally. The magazine is published by Condé Nast Publications and was founded in 1920, by the Knapp family, who sold it in 1993...
featured in 1996.
The emergence of the Caribou and the boutiques disturbed some Aspenites, who saw it as a challenge to the egalitarian
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
mentality that had long predominated locally despite the area's many rich and famous residents. The buildings were referred to as "Glitter Gulch", a nickname later applied to Aspen itself. Baldwin saw it as inevitable and logical. "Aspen is for the most successful people in the world." he said in a 2001 Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
article. "It so happens that they like to wear Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...
. Where's the problem?" George Hamilton
George Hamilton
-Arts and sports:* George Hamilton American actor* George "Spike" Hamilton , , father of the actor George Hamilton* George Hamilton IV , country music performer...
, a friend, defended him as "what Aspen is all about ... He understands classic good taste and at the same time is irreverent about it."
He started more businesses, bringing the total he owned in Aspen to 12. One sold silver belt buckles he had designed himself. The other was an art gallery
Art gallery
An art gallery or art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art, usually visual art.Museums can be public or private, but what distinguishes a museum is the ownership of a collection...
, a conscious attempt on his part to raise the cultural profile of his adopted hometown, already known in the classical music
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
community for the annual Aspen Music Festival and School
Aspen Music Festival and School
The Aspen Music Festival and School, founded in 1949, is an internationally renowned classical music festival that presents music in an intimate, small-town setting...
, to which he contributed money and sat on the board. Very quickly, the Baldwin Gallery
Baldwin Gallery
The Baldwin Gallery is a contemporary art gallery in Aspen, Colorado established by Richard Edwards in 1994. The gallery features a variety of mainly American but also international contemporary artists and works including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, video and installation-based...
, in the Brand's South Galena Street frontage, had the effect he had hoped, selling work by internationally prominent contemporary artists like Jennifer Bartlett
Jennifer Bartlett
Jennifer Losch Bartlett is an American artist. She is best-known for paintings combining abstract and representational styles.-Education:...
and Ross Bleckner
Ross Bleckner
-Life and work:"'I always absolutely thought there was a difference between being a young artist and an important young artist,' said Mr. Bleckner, who grew up in Hewlett, L.I., graduated in 1971 from New York University and earned an M.F.A...
.
Death
In 2004 Baldwin became ill with kidney cancerKidney cancer
Kidney cancer is a type of cancer that starts in the cells in the kidney.The two most common types of kidney cancer are renal cell carcinoma and urothelial cell carcinoma of the renal pelvis...
. He and Edwards began spending more time in Manhattan. On January 23, 2005, he died at Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center.