Elizabeth Paepcke
{{Short description|American philanthropist known for promoting Aspen, Colorado}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Elizabeth Paepcke
| image =
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| birth_name =
| birth_date = August 28, 1902
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| death_date = June 1994
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| nationality =
| education = Foxcroft School
| alma mater = Art Institute of Chicago
| occupation = Philanthropist
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| spouse = Walter Paepcke
| parents = William Albert Nitze
Anna Sophia Hilken
| children =
| relatives = Paul Nitze (brother)
| website =
}}
Elizabeth Paepcke (28 August 1902 – June 1994) was a philanthropist and promoter of Aspen, Colorado.{{cite web|url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1994/06/21/elizabeth-paepcke-revived-aspen/|title=Elizabeth Paepcke, revived Aspen|work=Baltimore Sun|date=21 June 1994 }} She was born near Baltimore, Maryland.
Early life
During her father's tenure at the University of Chicago, Elizabeth was enrolled at University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. She attended until she entered a boarding school for girls in Virginia (Foxcroft School) at the age of fourteen. Later Paepcke studied painting at the Art Institute of Chicago.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/01/01/magazine/lives-well-lived-elizabeth-paepcke-eve-in-the-garden-of-aspen.html|title=LIVES WELL LIVED - ELIZABETH PAEPCKE - Eve in the garden of Aspen - NYTimes.com|newspaper=The New York Times|date=1 January 1995|publisher=|last1=Conover|first1=Ted}}
Promotion of Aspen
Paepcke is remembered as the Grand Dame of Aspen due to her love and promotion of the small mining town into the skiing destination it later became.{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19940617&id=OUAxAAAAIBAJ&pg=1789,4999839|title=Toledo Blade – Google News Archive Search|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.EHPAEPCKE|title=Guide to the Elizabeth H. Paepcke Papers 1889–1994|publisher=}}{{cite web|url=http://heritagewest.coalliance.org/items/show/91411|title=Heritage West – Oral History Interview with Elizabeth Paepcke|publisher=|access-date=2014-09-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924062605/http://heritagewest.coalliance.org/items/show/91411|archive-date=2014-09-24|url-status=dead}} Walter and Elizabeth founded the Aspen Institute and Aspen Music Festival and School in 1949, and Walter served as the festival's director until 1954 when he appointed baritone Mack Harrell to take over.{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F20811FB345D1A728DDDAE0894DA405B808AF1D3| title=WORLD OF MUSIC: FRIEND LOST; Mack Harrell's Death Will Mean New Faces At Aspen Festival | work=The New York Times| author= Ross Parmenter| author-link= Ross Parmenter| date= February 7, 1960| access-date= May 20, 2009}} The Aspen Skiing Corporation was founded in 1946, and the city quickly became a well-known resort. Aspen hosted the FIS World Championships in 1950. Paepcke with her husband Walter also played an important role in bringing the Goethe Bicentennial Convocation to Aspen in 1949. It was an event held in a newly designed tent by the architect Eero Saarinen. Due to the Paepcke's promotion and influence Aspen became an internationally known ski resort and cultural center, home of the Aspen Music Festival and School. The skiing haven continued to grow with the development of three additional ski areas, Buttermilk (1958), Aspen Highlands (1958), and Snowmass (1967). In 1968, Paepcke donated a 25-acre property to establish the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies.{{cite web|url=https://www.aspennature.org/location/hallam-lake|title=Aspen Center for Environmental Studies|date=18 October 2018}}
Family
Elizabeth Paepcke was the daughter of William Albert Nitze, a chairman of Romance Languages at the University of Chicago., and Anna Sophia Hilken. She was married to Walter Paepcke, and she was the sister of American diplomatic figure Paul Nitze.
Later years
Elizabeth loved Aspen's cultural richness, but she was upset when Aspen succumbed to the low life that undermined the true heart and soul of her beloved community. When interviewed late in her life, she explained how she felt, "Aspen can't be swallowed by the avariciousness of those who don't understand the reason for its existence" The Story of Aspen by Mary Eshbaugh Hayes, (1996) p. 81. She died in Aspen from head injuries resulting from a fall.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/18/obituaries/elizabeth-paepcke-91-a-force-in-turning-aspen-into-a-resort.html|title=Elizabeth Paepcke, 91, a Force In Turning Aspen Into a Resort|newspaper=The New York Times|date=18 June 1994|publisher=|last1=Saxon|first1=Wolfgang}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/scrc/findingaids/view.php?eadid=ICU.SPCL.EHPAEPCKE Guide to the Elizabeth H. Paepcke Papers 1889-1994] at the [https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/scrc/ University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center]
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Category:Philanthropists from Baltimore
Category:People from Aspen, Colorado
Category:University of Chicago Laboratory Schools alumni
Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
Category:Accidental deaths from falls