Bruce Berger’s Aspen cabin at 835 W. Main Street was added to the National Register of Historic Places this week, capping off a two-year effort to memorialize the structure that is embroiled in the entrance to Aspen debate.
Laurel Catto, to whom Berger transferred ownership of the cabin, applied for the National Register of Historic Places designation in 2023. She worked with History Colorado, a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 nonprofit, to apply for the national recognition.
The 988-square-foot log structure was built in 1947 and is located at the westernmost point of Main Street, perched above Castle Creek. It is one of the earliest residences designed by architect Frederic “Fritz” Benedict in Aspen.
“The organic architecture of the Berger Cabin embodies a creative energy that is very specific to a high-altitude, post World War II hopefulness that sparked arts movements, a ski industry and renewed communion with nature,” said Dawn DiPrince, president and CEO of History Colorado and a state historic preservation officer, in a news release. “This iconic and beautifully preserved cabin is such a perfect example of place-based history and History Colorado is honored to help shepherd it onto the National Register of Historic Places.”
It is one of two residential buildings designed by Benedict in Aspen that are still standing, according to History Colorado. Benedict, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright, leaned on Wright’s “Usonian” ideals to build the cabin. Wright’s architectural style centered on homes that were small and simple, and integrated with the surrounding landscape.
Berger bought the cabin from the original owners in 1968 and transformed it into a gathering place for writers, physicists and musicians for more than 50 years. He was the author of “The Complete Half-Aspenite” and other collections of essays, and was a founding member of the Aspen Literary Foundation, now called Aspen Words.
The national register is the official list of U.S. historic places worthy of preservation. It is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate and protect historic and archaeological resources in the country.
The register is administered by the National Park Service. To be considered for designation, a property must meet one of four criteria. It must be associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history; it must be associated with the lives of persons significant to our past; it must embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction, or represent the work of a master; or it must yield, or be likely to yield, information important to prehistory or history.
The register approved the nomination of the Berger Cabin because it represents the work of a master, Catto said.
“It is a recognition of Fritz’s mastery of his mid-century style,” she said. “What makes this house unique, and the work of a master, is that it draws so heavily from the Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian architecture style that Wright was developing in the ’30s and ’40s … When you look at the cabin it is literally a catalogue of Wright’s Usonian design features.”
Properties in the register give owners eligibility to be considered for federal historic preservation grants and rehabilitation tax incentives. They also make changes and revisions to the property more complicated to implement.
According to federal preservation laws and regulations, properties listed in the register should be moved “only when there is no feasible alternative for preservation.” When a property is moved, every effort should be made to reestablish the historic orientation, immediate setting and general environment of the property, according to federal regulations.
The historic preservation officer of the property must submit documentation, including the reasons for the move and the effect on the property’s historic integrity, if they wish for it to remain in the register during and after the move. A property will be deleted from the register if it is moved and notification guidelines are not followed.
‘May be moved away’
Under the proposed “preferred alternative” — a realignment plan for Highway 82 — the Berger Cabin would need to be relocated to make way for the new roadway.
The preferred alternative was identified in the 1998 Record of Decision as the best option for the entrance to Aspen. It would reroute Highway 82 over a portion of the Marolt and Thomas open spaces. The highway would then cross Castle Creek (via a new bridge), bypassing the S-curves and merging directly with Main Street.
The preferred alternative alignment would then cross through the Berger property. According to the 1998 decision, the Berger Cabin “may be moved away from the preferred alternative alignment, but remain on existing property.” Opponents of the preferred alternative have said there is little space to relocate the cabin on the property.
“The Berger Cabin is simply one community asset on a long list of extremely high-value community assets that are impacted by the preferred alternative,” Catto said.
The cabin’s historic designation also rests on its location, according to History Colorado.
“The siting of the cabin is also essential to its historic integrity as it greatly benefits from the untrammeled natural beauty of much of the surrounding environment which appears much the same today as when the cabin was built,” the History Colorado news release states.
In the council’s court
Next steps for the entrance to Aspen are uncertain. The city is working with Jacobs Engineering to develop a “purpose and need statement” that will be required if the Aspen City Council decides to pursue a new environmental impact statement for the entrance.
Since March 10, the city has solicited public input about traffic flow, public transportation, safety improvements and more along Highway 82 to help guide a purpose and need statement to send to the Colorado Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
It will be up to the council to submit the statement and a letter of intent to CDOT and FHWA to reopen the record of decision. If the two agencies approve, it would start a new environmental impact statement evaluation of the entrance to Aspen.
In March, voters narrowly approved a referendum allowing the Colorado Department of Transportation to use portions of the Marolt Open Space for new highway alignments. But both the city and CDOT have said that passage of the referendum made no immediate changes to the process regarding a new alignment. Nor did it change current plans toward developing a purpose and needs statement or potentially reopening the 1998 ROD.
The city council is expected to formally vote on whether to ask CDOT and FHWA to reopen the record of decision and conduct a new EIS in June.
History Colorado will hold a plaque presentation ceremony at the Berger Cabin at noon on Monday, May 12, to honor the addition of the structure to the national register.
