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1961: Hall Ceremonies May 30

In celebrating the 125th anniversary of The Aspen Times, we are printing a story or two from each year the newspaper has existed – 125 historical selections in 125 days. This series is in conjunction with the Aspen Historical Society.Hall Ceremonies May 30On Memorial Day, Tuesday, May 30, Aspen will honor the late Walter Paepcke at a ground-breaking ceremony for the new Walter Paepcke Memorial Auditorium.To be built by the Aspen Institute, one of Paepcke’s creations, the auditorium is being financed by contributions from individuals and corporations from throughout the country.The brief ceremony is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. at the building site near the Seminar Building at the Aspen Meadows. Paepcke’s successor as Institute President, Robert O. Anderson, will preside.Mrs. Walter Paepcke will turn the first shovel of earth for the new building. Also scheduled to participate in the brief ceremonies are Herbert Bayer, auditorium architect, Mortimer Adler, who helped Paepcke develop the concept behind the Aspen executive programs, and several Institute trustees.Although a construction date has not been announced, Bayer stated that work on the new building would begin within a few days of the ground-breaking ceremony. A contractor for the project would be chosen within the next few days, he said.As now planned the building will have 700 seats. When necessary other temporary seats can be utilized to give a maximum inside seating of nearly 850. During the summer it will also be possible to seat people outside on large decks that surround the main hall, Bayer explained.(May 26)Pedestrian Mall to be Tried in AugustVisitors in Aspen during the second week of August will find one downtown street closed to vehicular traffic, landscaped with shrubs and trees, dotted with benches and works of art and bordered by two side-walk cafes.The street, East Cooper between Mill and Galena, has been designated the site of an experimental City Center Mall. It will be closed to all but foot traffic from August 11 through 20. If successful the project will continue until after Labor Day.Permission to close the street for the project was given a special committee by the City Council at its postponed regular meeting Monday, July 10. It was made contingent on approval by adjacent property owners and by the Fire Department.The idea for the pedestrian center was born at the recent Seminar on the Future of Aspen sponsored by the Aspen Institute. Architect Richard Lai, one of the participants, is co-chairman of the committee working on the plan with Miss Geraldine Price.(July 14)World Pro Title Races May Hit National TVThe first World Professional Ski Championships, scheduled for Aspen Mountain February 9-11, stand a good chance to be nationally televised, according to the International Professional Ski Racers Association, headquartered here.The show, to last one hour, will be part of a series of CBS winter sports “spectaculars” to be sponsored on prime Sunday CBS time by Schlitz beer. According to Ted Dutton, IPSRA management and promotion director, only contractual details remain to be worked out.An affiliated IPSRA TV Productions Company is planned, to be headed by Peter Molnar, who is senior producer of CBS television network sports. He and Sherrill Taylor, producer of the Kukla and Ollie series, say they now have approval of the Aspen show from both the network and Schlitz. (Sept. 29)