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At the base of Aspen Mountain gondola lift, the Aspen firm of Hagman Yaw designed what was then the town's state-of-the-art luxury hotel. Named for a rich Aspen Mountain mine, this multigabled, dormered, and balconied facade is as pleasing to passers-by as to guests. Horseshoe-shaped to capture sunshine and mountain views, it shows how a large hotel can be tailored to fit a small, sensitive site. Pretentious by comparison is the six-story red brick and cast stone Ritz-Carlton Hotel (1992, Monarch and Dean), three blocks west on Durant, which parades as a late medieval manor house wrapped around courtyards. The Ritz compound replaced the town's first modern public lodging, the Aspen Inn (1962, Fritz Benedict and Herbert Bayer).