The house on the left features detailed wood designs on the facade. The house on the right belonged to Mr. Ringle, editor and publisher of the Aspen Times from 1944 to 1956. It exhibits eye-catching, elaborate Victorian cast-iron railings (not original) on the two balconies and over the windows. The observatory was added to the house in 1973. Both houses demonstrate why the Victorian period was called "the gingerbread age."

< The Ringle House and Duane Johnson Houses, 2000. © Ann Hodges photo