In 1889 Aspen, Colorado was a long way from being a glitzy ski destination, but it was a booming silver mining town, and this newfound wealth led to The Hotel Jerome, built to rival the world's finest lodgings.
Two blocks over, downtown's hotel scene emerged from the Jazz Age in 2006 when 21c Museum Hotel debuted its forward-thinking concept, nesting 90 lodgings atop the U.S.'s first museum devoted to 21st-century art.