Louisa & Brian

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Sun Valley History

The Wedding Website of Louisa Jelaco and Brian Regan

In 1935, Averell Harriman, a governor of New York and then Chief Executive of the Union Pacific Railroad, set out to grow rail passenger traffic by building the first destination ski resort in the US. He scoured the country and ultimately found Bald Mountain in the mining town of Ketchum, Idaho, which enjoyed record snowfalls and reportedly received 250 days of sun a year. Mr. Harriman christened the town “Sun Valley” and began construction of his resort. In addition to world-class skiing, the resort featured the world’s first chair lift and ski school. Mr. Harriman also hired Steve Hannagan, the legendary PR pioneer, to entice New Yorkers (like Louisa & Brian!) to buy cross-country tickets on his trains to Sun Valley. Their strategy brought the best of NYC to Idaho; they built a Saks Fifth Avenue store, named ski runs after NYC landmarks like "Broadway" and, perhaps most importantly, brought movie stars such as Errol Flynn, Clarke Gable, Ernest Hemingway and Marilyn Monroe to visit.