Aspen was founded in the late 1870s by prospectors drawn over the Continental Divide into the Roaring Fork Valley from Leadville.
They sought, and found, silver in the mountains.
The small settlement at the confluence of Castle Creek became the busiest of the mining camps in the area, soon evolving from a rough collection of tents and log cabins to a permanent and growing city.

Miners began building small cottages for themselves to replace the log cabins as they became prosperous.
The Hynes house, with its L-shape, steeply pitched cross-gabled roof, porches, and bay window, epitomizes the form.
Those cottages were themselves often demolished for larger houses, or, after the collapse of the silver market following the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in the Panic of 1893, allowed to fall into neglect during the long "quiet years" that followed until the development of the ski resort in the mid-20th century turned the city's economy around.

Little is known about Hynes beyond that he was a miner, built the house around 1885, then had moved to South Aspen Street sometime before 1893.
The next owner, a doctor, made several improvements in 1892.
During the quiet years, a sale for $500 ($8,000 in modern dollars) was recorded in 1918 to Homer VanLoon, Pitkin County's first welfare director.

As the city grew again, the house remained standing.
It passed through several owners and was never seriously altered.
In 1998 chef Nobu Matsuhisa, who had become famous for blending elements of Western and Latin American cuisine into traditional Japanese dishes, remodeled the house and opened one of the restaurants bearing his last name there.
It has since become one of the city's most popular and best-regarded eateries.
Reservations must be made a month in advance.
Aspen was founded in the late 1870s by prospectors drawn over the Continental Divide into the Roaring Fork Valley from Leadville. They sought, and found, silver in the mountains. The small settlement at the confluence of Castle Creek became the busiest of the mining camps in the area, soon evolving from a rough collection of tents and log cabins to a permanent and growing city.
Miners began building small cottages for themselves to replace the log cabins as they became prosperous. The Hynes house, with its L-shape, steeply pitched cross-gabled roof, porches, and bay window, epitomizes the form. Those cottages were themselves often demolished for larger houses, or, after the collapse of the silver market following the repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in the Panic of 1893, allowed to fall into neglect during the long "quiet years" that followed until the development of the ski resort in the mid-20th century turned the city's economy around.
Little is known about Hynes beyond that he was a miner, built the house around 1885, then had moved to South Aspen Street sometime before 1893. The next owner, a doctor, made several improvements in 1892. During the quiet years, a sale for $500 ($8,000 in modern dollars) was recorded in 1918 to Homer VanLoon, Pitkin County's first welfare director.
As the city grew again, the house remained standing. It passed through several owners and was never seriously altered. In 1998 chef Nobu Matsuhisa, who had become famous for blending elements of Western and Latin American cuisine into traditional Japanese dishes, remodeled the house and opened one of the restaurants bearing his last name there. It has since become one of the city's most popular and best-regarded eateries. Reservations must be made a month in advance.
Thomas Hynes House