ASPEN'S LOSS - REDSTONE'S GAIN
Tribute to John F Gilmore
John F Gilmore (affectionately called JFG) was a 38 year old insurance salesman from Michigan who had fallen in love with Aspen. In 1968 he entered into a contract with the Elisha family to purchase the Hotel Jerome, he was the only potential buyer willing to take over two pending lawsuits. He scrambled to find silent partners and secure a mortgage to purchased the hotel for $300,000 Thus began his career dedicated to the preservation of historic buildings. He moved his wife Barbara and their five children from Grand Rapids, Michigan into the Hotel Jerome for the next two years. It was a rough go at first. The hotel was really-really run down and Aspen was still seeking its identity as a resort. Main Street was about to add curbs and gutters and some nearby side streets were still unpaved. The Aspen Institute had terminated its lease of the hotel. The Hotel Jerome was considered too old, too rundown, and too far from the ski mountain.
Aspen Times , January 27, 1977: AFTER NINE YEARS – JOHN F GILMORE IS STILL HOLDING UP THE HOTEL JEROME “I opened it on Dec 15 of 1968. It had been closed for two years and, of course, was an unbelievable wreck at the time … The accumulation of trash alone in this hotel probably amounted to, I’d say, 25 truck loads. It took two weeks to haul it off.” – Photo and article by Adele Dusenbury.
After several false starts, the hotel’s first floor came to life when Michael Solheim leased the Jerome Bar and Stephan Isberian leased the restaurant that he named the Sayat Nova. The bar became a melting pot where the rich and famous rubbed elbows with locals; and the restaurant guests, primed with Armenian food and Retsina wine, danced through the old kitchen to the Bedouin Bandits Band.
In 1974, I took over the breakfast portion of the Sayat Nova lease operating it as the Jerome Breakfast Room. A few years later when the Sayat Nova defaulted on their lease, I became part of the Jerome management team. With Dan Baxter, Jim Avery and Jim Jenkins, we expanded the bar lunch and evening food service and began our raging bi-monthly themed parties on the entire first floor. The bar had become the hangout for the likes of Jack Nicholson, John Denver, Hunter S Thompson, Bob Bradius to name a few. The J-Bar was the inspiration for Glen Frey’s 1982 hit “Partytown.” And JFG, now a bachelor, was all in for the fun. His philosophy was “…having fun while making money.”
On the serious side, collaborating with architects Tom Wells and Sam Caudill and builder Jim Jenkins, JFG relentlessly pursued plans to upgrade the Jerome into a first class hotel for ten years. In 1984 his plans were finally approved by the city. The plan was to preserve the Hotel as the centerpiece of Aspen, first class but not “international luxury,” by seeking local limited partnership investors. This plan was ahead of its time, a precursor to the SkiCo’s “Limelight” concept hotel with a casual atmosphere where fine food, beverage and entertainment would be provided by extending the lobby to the hotel addition. The plan also included a well insulated nightclub on the lower level and small shops on the Mill Street side of the first floor. These were all important elements excluded from the future Butera-McManis project.
1984 was also excellent timing to take advantage of historic restoration funds about to sunset. JFG secured financing from Silverado Savings and Loan of San Diego. We closed the hotel and moved forward. Are you old enough to remember the” Savings & Loan Scandal?” Well, this Savings & Loan reneged on JFG’s financing and we had to re-open the hotel three months later. By then JFG was financially stressed and he was forced to sell to Dick Butera, and his silent partner Jim McManus in 1985, who redeveloped the hotel. They started renovations a week following their purchase using JFG’s approved plans thus taking advantage of the historic restoration funds. Nine months later, they re-opened and I worked as Restaurant Manager for two years; we burned through three management companies; it was painful.
Meanwhile, JFG successfully sued this San Diego Savings & Loan, had developed an award winning restaurant in Grand Rapids, MI, and was ready for a new Colorado venture. For the next two years, with CPA Mike Otte, builder Jim Jenkins, and myself, JFG vetted many opportunities and finally found the Redstone Inn in 1988 … and the rest is history.
JFG’s former 17 year ownership of the Hotel Jerome and the Gilmores’ current 35 year stewardship of the Redstone Inn is only a small part of the Gilmore Collection’s dedication to the preservation of historic buildings. In Western Michigan, The Gilmore Collection, now headed by JFG’s son Gregory Gilmore, has preserved 12 historic buildings by re-developing them into over 18 successful restaurants, bars, and nightclubs. The Redstone Inn is their only Colorado property.
On Sunday, July 9, 2-4pm the REDSTONE HISTORICAL SOCIETY will share the history of the Redstone Inn and honor the 35th anniversary of the Gilmore Family’s ownership. Please join us for this open house that will include photo displays, presentation & history tours of the Redstone Inn and of the Village. Day in and day out, through thick and thin, the Redstone Inn has welcomed visitors and locals alike.
Author Deb Strom worked for John Gilmore for over 32 years — first at the Hotel Jerome and then as a Redstone Inn partner and General Manager for 20 years. She retired in 2008 and is currently the Treasurer of the Redstone Historical Society.