HomeMy WebLinkAboutHistoric Context Project Modern Architecture 1-5-9000
MEMORANDUM
January 5, 2000
T0: Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board
FROM: Ruth McHeyser, Planner
SUBJECT: Historic Context Project: Modem Architecture in Boulder
Attached is the first draft of the historic context outline from the consultants. The project is
funded through our 1999 Certified Local Government (CLG) grant. The first phase of the project
is to develop an historic context theme related to the modem architecture movement in
Boulder; the second phase will be to develop an inventory of historic places associated with
this theme.
When complete the historic context is to include:
a. A description of the theme, geographic area, and chronological limits.
b. A written narrative of the theme that provides a detailed synthesis of the data
that have been collected and analyzed. The narrative will cover the history of
the theme and identify important patterns, events, persons, or cultural values.
C. A description of the known and expected property types associated with the
theme.
d. A description of the locational patterns of the identified property types, i.e.,
generalizations about where particular types of properties are likely to be found.
e. A description of the current condition of property types. The condition of the
property types will be evaluated to assist in the development of identification,
evaluation and treatment strategies, and to help define physical integrity
thresholds for various property types.
L. Research evaluation criteria consistent with the National Register criteria.
g. Additional research and documentation needed to improve the historic context's
use.
S; ecific goals and priorities (actions to be taken) defined as protection
(identification, evaluation, registration, documentation, and treatment) strategies
for specific resources or resource types covered by the context.
Wl- anticipate that the inventory (second phase) will include approximately 65 buildings/ sites.
The consultants will attend the January 5 meeting to get your feedback on the outline and answer
your questions.
Historic Context Outline
There 3.14 Modmr- _1-chi',cturz in Bou'C'- Paae 1 of
Chronolos cal Period 1890-1990
The historic context will address the chronological period from 1390-1990
The building survev will include:
1390-1947 Identify previously surveyed buildings that demonstrate important
de`:elopTnents .r tF? nhitlnn of m0'1e7 r«~
1947-1990 Provide survey forms on approximately 65 of the most important
modem buildings.
Buildings
Potential buildings for survey inclusion will be selected by a review of:
Modem Architecture Preservation League (MAPL) survey ofBoulder modernism.
Photo survey of Boulder modernism by Sharon Rosall, Boulder Landmarks Board.
Local. regional and national research resources located in Boulder and Denver.
r. t.:..--- •....:r- the geographic liraits of the survey.
Inter,ie.vs with --embers of uhe architectural and historic preservation
community.
Buildings will be selected for final inclusion in the survey on the basis of:
Their ability to convey the chronological and stylistic development of modernism
in Boulder.
Their conformance with criteria for listing in the National Register of Historic
Places, including Criterion G, which}ustifies listing for buildings less than
50 years old on ti4e basis of exceptional significance.
Selected modem buiidin_s will be listed in date order within architectural stile.
Seiectzd modern buildings may possibly include but are not limited to:
Building types constructed by the business community
Research. manufacturing
Commercial
Post oflces
Sc_idi tv-es co^s ~:c:° the state government
1 nl':_'.i`%Orr _nr^a0'-__.:u'sburldings
t,_e city move
-
z Cament
Sr..csis
Historic Contest Outline
Theme 2.14 :Modern Architecture in Boulder Pave 2 of 3
Eaiidin~s ~~ontinuadj
Building types constructed by the academic community
Residences
Fraternity and Sorority Houses
Building types constructed by the community at large
Residences
Churches
Fraternal
Theater and recreational
Geographic Limits and Locational Factors
The selected buildings will be confined to the Boulder city limits.
A map showing the geographic distribution of selected modern buildings within the city
limits of Boulder
will be prepared in cooperation with the Boulder Planning Office staff.
If geographic concentrations of selected modern buildings emerge, district recommendations
will be made.
Locarioral patterns of surveyed buildings will be identified.
Architectural Styles
Architectural styles will be defined according to the current standards of architectural history.
(Bibliography will include references for stylistic definition.)
Indvidual architectural styles may possibiy include but are not limited to:
Richardsonian Romanesque
Sullivanian
Richardsonian Shingle
Simplified Revivalist
CI--a S an
Praliie
a Deco
In ~-a:icrai
` Soriaa
Ex=ressicaiS7
F ornalist
B -ustalist
Organic
_P-5t ~~Icde^
_`eo Modem
Historic Contest Outline
Theme 2.14 Modern Architecture in Boulder Page 3 of 3
Architects / Architectural Firms /Architectural Organizations
National, regional and local architects and firms with significant buildings in Boulder will be
included in the survey. They will possibly include but are not restricted to:
Abels, L. Gale
Arndt, John
Boller. Robert Otto
Bowen, William
Ditzen, Robert
EasAn, Roger ;V-<I
Everett, (unknown) '
Haon, Charles
Hampton, Jacques
Hanson, Margaret C~A,ti v
Hatch, Ephraim
Hornbein, Victor
Hunter, James "
Huntington, Glen
Jones, Lincoln
Jones, Philip Carlton
Moore, Charles
Morris, Earl Chester
Iluchow, Williarn
Nixon, Thomas
Palmer, Walter
Papachristou, Tician
Pei. I. M.
Roland, David
Sink. Charles
Thr.er, Ri -e-
Vand_rvc Ja-_es
Ca.
V, is a Oul ;derv:Red :Il
the sur'er'.
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Re::,-:-d ropiG that merit further aitentlon will be defined.
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Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
a Submitted March 28, 2000
Table of Contents
Historic Context of Modernism in Boulder Page 1
Selected Historic Building Inventory Page 12
Note
During the course of our research efforts, we have discovered a serious
gap in the records of the building department. We recommend that the
Planning Department immediately amend building permit forms to include
identification of the architect/architectural firm.
The photographs which appear in this draft document are working
survey photos used for identification purposes only These preliminary
photographs have been taken by Len Segel, Sharon Roselle or Diane Wray,
or were copied from historic printed materials.
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Historic Context of Modernism in Boulder
Modem architecture in Boulder may be understood within the contexts of
art, architecture, landscape, planning and intellectual history.
In comparison to other cities of its size nation-wide, Boulder is particularly
rich in fine examples of architecture related to the Modem movement. As a
component of the built-environment Modern architecture has a more
prominent place in Boulder than in any other city in the Rocky Mountain
region, including the much larger Denver. More than anywhere else in the
Rockies, Boulder welcomed architectural Modernism and embraced it,
beginning in its earliest days. As a result, there are many more important
examples of Modern architecture in Boulder than in the other cities in the
state such as Fort Collins, Colorado Springs or Pueblo. In these places, more
conservative and less sophisticated styles re resenting revivals of
historical architecture were typically favored, especially before 1950.
This enthusiastic acceptance is clearly revealed by the many buildings, in
a variety of Modern styles, that are seen in Boulder's residential neighbor-
hoods and lining its commercial strips.
The Birth of Modern Architecture
Modern architecture may be defined as being a part of the larger Modem
movement that revolutionized all the visual arts. Modernism in art and
architecture arose in the final years of the 19th century in Europe and,
simultaneously, in the United States. In architecture, it was an attempt at
rationalization through functional tenets and is often seen to be a reaction
to, and an accommodation with, the Industrial Revolution.
Modernism in architecture is also understood to be a rejoinder to the
decorative excesses of two-thousand years worth of European historical
architecture dating from the Ancient Greeks up through the Victorians. A
key component of Modernism is reductivism in which the traditional deco-
rative vocabulary of historical European architecture, such elements as
columns with capitals, festoons and cornices, among a myriad of other
ornaments, were simplified or even eliminated in Modem architectural
styles.
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
The development of Modernism marks
s ry one of the most dramatic style shifts in
the history of Western civilization. Its
continuing presence dominates archi-
tecture, and the other visual arts -
even Post Modernism where traditional
ornamental devices are employed -
may be understood to be a kind of
Modernism. (1)
Style Richardsonian-Romanesque Early Modernism in Boulder
Address University of Colorado Campus Unquestionably, it is the presence of the
Architect F. A. Hale University of Colorado, founded in
Date 1890 1876, that is the principle reason that
Name Woodbury Hall vanguard architectural styles appeared
in Boulder at about the same time as
they did in Chicago or New York. It
s was on the campuses of the colleges
and universities in the United States
and Europe where Modernism found
its first enthusiasts.
The university community, including
CU faculty, students and distinguished
visitors, brought with them an intellec-
tual sophistication that provided and
Style Richardsonian-Romanesque still provides a fertile ground for the
Address University of Colorado Campus growth of Modern architecture. Modern
Architect F. A. Hale architecture had a ready audience
Data 1892-95 among the intelligentsia, not just in the
Name Hale Science arts, as could be expected, but in other
fields, as well. Modernism was particu-
larly appealing to scientists and engi-
neers. Those in science and technology
may have likened their own work to
a the rationalism inherent in Modern
architecture.
Also making a contribution to Modern
architecture in Boulder was the creation
of a degree program in architectural
engineering within the College of
Style Richardsonian-Shingle Engineering in 1925. This first program
Address 1040 Mapleton Avenue was directed by engineering professor
Architect Office of H. H. Richardson W. C. Huntington. (2) 'y
Date 1890
Name Harlow Plaits House But even decades before that, the CU
campus, located in the middle of town
(though iri an independent governmen-
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
tal jurisdiction) set the architectural
tone for Boulder.
Campus buildings such as the 1890
X11• Woodbury Hall by F. A. Hale and the
1892-95 Hale Science also by F. A. Hale
make the case. Both are examples of
the Richardsonian-Romanesque style,
the most advanced architectural current
internationally at the time. (3)
Style Richardsonian-Shingle
Address 637 Pine Not surprisingly, Richardsonian-
Architect Romanesque architecture also appeared
Date 1890s in downtown Boulder, with its residen-
Name tial variant, Richardsonian-Shingle
style, seen in a number of impressive
examples in the nearby Mapleton Hill
neighborhood. Notable is the 1890
Harlow Platts mansion at 1040
Mapleton Avenue designed by the
office of H.H. Richardson and the 1890s
residence at 637 Pine Street.
The university set aside its role as the
city's Modernist leader in 1921, when a
revivalist architectural program was
Style Craftsman put in place, in which a Neo-Tuscan
Address 401 Pine Street style was indicated for all future cam-
Architect pus buildings. Though design guide-
Date 19005 Imes still dictate that new bl uldmgs be
Nam compatible with Neo-Tuscan style, truly
Modernist structures have been built on
° campus since the 1960s. (4)
g
f.a In Boulder, owing both to the appeal
of Modernism among intellectuals, and
to the great successes of historic preser-
vation, it is possible in town to follow
the entire course of Modernism from its
beginning, with the Richardsonian-
Romanesque style, right up to the Late
Modem, Post Modern and Neo Modem
Style Craftsman buildings being constructed today. The
Address 721 Spruce Street efforts of the City's Planning Office in
Architect 1900s preserving the established character of
Date Boulder through landmarking and
Name design review have set a national
standard 'for successful urban design
despite the pressures of growth control.
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
j.,l,i'll~I pi =W1 11`i~t II Boulder's collection of significant
III ~,I Modern buildings is thus a rare and
valuable resource in the Rocky
Mountain states and is a key compo-
nent in the historic character of the city.
Modem Architecture in Boulder
Previous surveys in the Boulder
Historic Context Project have identified
buildings constructed before 1947.
Style Prairie Many of these buildings are relevant to
Address 1015 Pine Street the history of Modern architecture in
Architect Glenn W. Huntington Boulder. As mentioned above, the
Date 1919 Richardsonian-Romanesque and the
Name C. Flint Smith House Richardsonian-Shingle styles appeared
in Boulder in the late 19th century.
II f . = q~ In the early 20th century, Modern archi-
tecture gained a wide audience.
Commonly seen in Boulder are the
many houses in the Craftsman style,
built during the first two decades of the
20th century. These Craftsman style
houses are the most abundant type of
early Modern architecture in Boulder,
with the most important examples sited
Style Prairie immediately north and west of down-
Address 948 Marine Street town, on University Hill and between
Architect Glenn W. Huntington downtown and the campus. The fine
Date 1920 and substantial 1900s bungalow at 721
Name Spruce Street and the spectacular 1900s
residence at 401 Pine Street are two
it excellent examples of Craftsman style
g i'BSI~ ^ < Ifllill a% ¢ € architecture in Boulder's Mapleton Hill
i neighborhood.
Also noteworthy among early Modern
buildings in Boulder are the three
Prairie style residences from the early
1900s which with some certainty may
be attributed to Glenn W. Huntington,
an important Denver architect. These
Style Prairie are the 1919 C. Flint Smith Residence at
Address 1338 Grandview Terrace 1015 Pine Street, and two cottages, the
Architect Glenn W. Huntington Residence from 1920 at 948 Marine
Date 1920 Street, and the Residence at 1338
Name CU International English Center Grandview Avenue also from 1920.
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Though these houses are simple, they
are also extremely rare examples of an
architectural style almost never seen in
the Western United States, the Prairie
she tyle. Even Denver, the lart city in
t region, has only a hangesdful of houses
in the Prairie style, with several of the
most distinctive of those being
designed by Huntington, notably the
1915 Frank Milton Residence at 3400
Style Art Deco Federal Boulevard. (It is in comparison
Address 1300 Pearl Street to the Milton Residence, and other
Architect Glenn H. Huntington known Huntingtons in Denver, that
Date 1933 these three Boulder houses may be
Name Boulder County Courthouse attributed to him.)
Less subtle in its significance is the 1932
Boulder County Courthouse at 1300
Pearl Street, by Boulder architect Glen
' H. Huntington, son of Glen W.
Huntington. This pink confection looks
like a miniature Art Deco skyscraper.
The Boulder County Courthouse is one
of the state's most significant structures
of any type or date.
style Art Deco
Address 203214th Street Nearby is another impressive Art Deco
Architect Robert Otto Boller design, the 1935 Boulder Theater at
Date 1935 203214th Street by Robert Otto Boller.
Name Boulder Theater (The fine Art Deco styling by Boller is
the product of a thorough remodel of
t} t an older theater building.) The spectac-
ular Art Deco facade of the Boulder
„,,,.a'•n~'1il ''i 4p ~3 ~i ill
Theater is clad in polychrome terra-
cotta panels most likely made by the
Denver Terra Cotta Company.
The Moderne style is another early
modern style seen in Boulder in the
form of a major example, Boulder High
School at 1604 Arapahoe Street from
style Modente 1936 by Earl Chester Morris, with the
Address 1604 Arapahoe Street younger Huntington serving as archi-
Architect Earl Chester Morris, Denver; tect of record. There are few buildings
Glenn H. Huntington, Boulder in Colorado as well conceived and exe-
Date 1936 cuted as is Boulder High School.
Name Boulder High School
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Mid-Century Modem Architecture
According to the parameters determined by the City of Boulder's Planning
Department, this report focuses on modern architecture from the target peri-
od of 1947 to 1980.
Like the earlier Modern architecture, the buildings from this period make a
significant contribution to the established character of Boulder.
In the first half of the twentieth century Modernism was simply one of sev-
eral competing approaches to architectural design, but traditional architec-
ture, in the form of historic revival styles, was much more popular. In the
second half of the century, on the other hand, Modernism was unrivaled in
its dominance of American architecture until the 1990s. There are many rea-
sons for this.
An unusual factor in the development of Modem architecture in the United
States in the late 20th century was the widespread effect of the Second
World War.
The rise of Nazism in Germany, and its later conquest of much of the rest of
Europe, led to the mass migration to the United States of intellectuals, artists
and architects. The Nazis denounced Modernism in the arts, in particular
Modern architecture. Instead, they favored a romantic revivialist style based
on Neo-Classicism, backward-looking to match their reactionary politics.
Modern architects were forbidden to practice, and those who weren't sent to
concentration camps fled with their lives, most of them winding up in the
United States. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, European culture, notably
the European wing of the Modern movement, was transported whole to the
United States - chased here by the Nazis.(5)
Modern architecture in Boulder reveals the influence of European vanguard
design especially in the buildings done in the International Style and its
Miesian variant.
Another parallel current in postwar architecture that is seen in Boulder is
the American-originated Modernism best represented by the many Usonian
style buildings in the city. Frank Lloyd Wright developed the Usonian style
in the 1930s. It was soon after adopted by a younger generation of post-war
house designers. Usonian style buildings are even now being constructed.
Interestingly, those European designers, like the Usonians, were the concep-
tual heirs to the zeitgeist of America's own Richardsonian-Romanesque and
later Chicago style architecture including Prairie. So Modem architecture in
the postwar period as seen in Boulder and across the country represents
both European and American currents contemporaneously.
r
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
The Audience in Boulder for Modern Architecture
Beginning in the 1950s, CU grew substantially. This period also saw the
establishment in town of several separate government-funded research insti-
tutions, and a number of private research and technology facilifies.(6)
These research institutions, both public and private, also made a contribu-
tion to Modern architecture in Boulder by attracting the same kind of people
as the university did - intellectuals. And, as noted above, intellectuals were
then, as they are now, Modern architecture's greatest supporters. The rela-
tively high percentage of these college-educated people in Boulder is the
reason why there is a higher than normal percentage of Modern style build-
ings in the city, in comparison to other cities in the region.
Types of Modem Buildings in Boulder
Modern architecture constructed in the target period in Boulder falls into
several building types. Residential architecture emerges as the most abun-
dant building type and it is among Boulder's houses that some of the finest
Modem buildings in the city may be found. However, larger Modernist
buildings, including commercial and industrial structures, offices, shops,
churches and even a limited number of high-rises are also found in Boulder.
Among the styles displayed in Boulder's residences during this time, first
and foremost is the Usonian style. Usonian style residences are the single
largest Category of buildings in this survey. Boulder has more fine Usonian
residences than any other style and type of building.
Residences in other styles are also seen in Boulder dating from the target
period including the International Style, Expressionism, Rustic Modernism,
Formalism, Brutalism and Late Modernism.
The larger Modernist buildings also feature many of the same styles, but
unlike those in the residential category, Usonian does not predominate.
Instead the International style and its stylistic progeny, the Miesian style and
Late Modernism, are more often seen.
Modem Architects in Boulder
This survey reveals that there were several architects and architectural firms
working in Boulder at the time. These Boulder-based designers created
many of the most important Modern buildings in this survey.
Surely the most heralded local modem architect from this period is the late
Charles A. Haertling whose work pushed Usonian to its Expressionist mar-
gins. Everything that Haertling designed is noteworthy (see http://www.
atomix.com/haertling/). Other important architects who made significant
contributions to the built environment in Boulder during the postwar period
are James Hunter, Tician Papachristou, Hobart D. Wagener, L. Gale Abels,
Roger J. Easton, Carl Worthington and the firm of Nixon and Jones, among
others, many of whom were drawn to Boulder to be on the CU faculty.(7)
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Prominent out-of-town architects - including some from Denver - also
have contributed Modern landmarks to Boulder's city-scape, notably the
firms of I.M. Pei Associates from New York and Pereira and Luckman
Associates from California.
Modern Neighborhoods
Modem architecture from the 1940s to the 1970s is distributed throughout
the city. Some areas, though, are particularly rich in fine Modern buildings.
These include the Chautauqua, Baseline and Flagstaff neighborhoods, the
west end of Mapleton Hill into Knollwood, Wonderland Hill and Table
Mesa.
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
The Survey of Modem Buildings
Following is a list of sixty-five important Modem buildings in Boulder con-
structed between 1947 and 1980. The structures have been organized by
style. Within each style, buildings are listed in roughly chronological order.
This list does not include all the Modern buildings in Boulder from this time
period. We have made every effort to include the finest examples, but the
limitation of an arbitrary number, in this case, sixty-five, has meant that
some fine buildings have been unavoidably left off the final list. Hopefully,
future surveys will more fully identify these other fine buildings.
Selection Criteria
The buildings on this list may be evaluated to have "exceptional architectur-
al significance" according to the guidelines set forth by the United States
Department of the Interior's National Register of Historic Places.
These listed buildings possess "exceptional architectural significance"
according to objective standards such as recognized design excellence,
accomplished construction craft, and noteworthy structural and site plan-
ning. Other more subjective criteria were also considered including historic
factors, geographic distribution and building-type diversity.
Identification of Modern Architectural Styles
The significant Modem buildings in Boulder on this survey have been sort-
ed according to style. For a discussion of the stylistic terms used in describ-
ing Modernist buildings, refer to Marcus Whiffen, American Architecture
Since 1780: A Guide to the Styles, Cambridge, The MIT Press, 1992. The archi-
tectural styles seen in Boulder during the defined period of 1947 through
1980 have been placed in a roughly chronological order as follows:
International Style
Miesian
Usonian
Expressionism
Rustic Modernism
Formalism
Brutalism
Late Modernism
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
Footnotes
(1) Post Modem, including its neo-traditional wing, is a part of the Modern
movement. But vaguely traditional style buildings, the most common stylistic type
in contemporary residential architecture, are not. The distinction between Post
Modem and contemporary traditional style buildings is a subtle one. Post Modern
buildings feature historical elements assembled in ways not indicated by their
precedents in historic architecture. In the traditional style buildings, on the other
hand, references are made to historical architecture specifically, an d within the
framework of a customary formal order. This self-conscious refl exivism in tradition-
al style architecture indicates that these "old tirney" buildings are not examples of
, but rather its polar opposite,
Modern architecture, as Post Modem buildings are
historic revivalism.
(2) After CU's Board of Regents rejected the establishment of a separate school
of architecture, a degree program in architecture, still within the College of
Engineering, was approved in 1949. Clarence Eckel, then the dean of the College of
Engineering, appointed an advisory board of local architects to help establish an
accredited degree program in architecture at CU. This advisory board was partly
made up of prominent Denver architects of the time, including Robert Fuller, who
served as chairman, along with Casper Hegner, Gordon Jamieson and Gordon
White. Boulder's James Hunter also served on this board.
It was in 1950, that CU first initiated a separate degree in architecture. In 1952, the
Regents approved the creation of a Department of Architecture and Architectural
Engineering within the College of Engineering. The new department's first chair-
man was Thomas Hansen, with Cal Briggs, DeVon Carlson and Robert Rathburn
serving as the original faculty.
(3) The first generation of buildings on the CU campus which line the Norlin
Quadrangle illustrate a variety of styles in addition to the Richardsonian-
Romanesque of Woodbury Hall and Hale Science. These styles range from the
Victorian Italianate of Old Main from 1876 by architect E. H. Dimick, to the
Collegiate Gothic style of the Mackey Auditorium designed in 1909 and completed
in 1922 by the prominent Denver firm of Gove and Walsh.
The year before, in 1921, Hellems Arts and Sciences was built, the first of many
Neo-Tuscan style buildings constructed on the campus. Hellems was designed by
Philadelphia architect Charles Z. Klauder who also served as campus planner.
Klauder developed CU's characteristic Neo-Tuscan style in which Italian ornamen-
tal devices have been used on simple rectilinear buildings. These Klauder buildings
have rough hewn Lyons sandstone walls and red terra-cotta file roofs. In addition to
Hellems, Klauder designed many campus buildings and with them established the
distinctive character of the campus. Even today, buildings on campus must adhere
to strict design guidelines that stipulate that new construction be compatible with
the Klauder-originated Neo-Tuscan style.
(4) The Neo-Tuscan style launched on campus by Philadelphia architect
Charles Z. Klauder dominated the design of campus buildings from the 1920s to the
1950s. In the 1960s, however, genuinely Modernist buildings, incorporating a few
key elements characteristic of the Neo-Tuscan style, notably the use of rough-hewn
Lyons sandstone and red terra-cotta roof tiles, began to be built. The first of these
was the Brutalist style Engineering Sciences Center from 1963 by Architectural
Associates of Colorado, with W. C. Muchow serviLig as partner-in-charge. The
Formalist style 1965 Regent Hall by Meyer and Ayers is another example of a 1960s
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Modernist building designed to be compatible with the existing Neo-Tuscan style of
the campus established by Klauder.
(5) The Nazis were relentless in their malevolence and in addition to their well
known genocide directed against Jews, Gypsies, gays and communists, they also
sought to extinguish cultural Modernism in Europe. The Nazis hated Modern art
and architecture, labeling it "degenerate," "Bolshevik," and "Jewish."
As early as 1933, Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party had attacked Modern art and
architecture. It was in that year that the Nazis closed the Bauhaus, the German art
school that was a center for Modernism and the International Style. Among its fac-
ulty were some of the greatest architects of the 20th century including Ludwig Mies
van der Rohe, Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. They and many of their colleagues
and former students wound up in the United States where they joined the faculties
of America's premier architecture schools. Other Modem architects and teachers
from elsewhere in Nazi-occupied Europe also immigrated to the United States
before, during and after World War II. These emigres encouraged the establishment
of Modem architecture which then became the dominant mode in the United States
in the second half of the 20th century.
Though far from either front, Boulder was nonetheless heavily impacted by World
War II in ways other than the appearance of European-inspired Modern architec-
ture. In the 1940s the Department of the Navy established the Navy Language
School which brought hundreds of sailor-scholars to the campus, flooding the then-
small town of Boulder.
With the defeat of the Nazis in 1945, there began a post-war boom in Boulder's pop-
ulation which led to a surge in building. The GI Bill of Rights provided financial
aide for veterans who swamped the nation's colleges and universities, including
CU. This rapid increase in CU's enrollment and consequent increase in Boulder's
population created the urgent need for new buildings.
Another impact of the second world war was the development of new synthetic
materials some of which would find uses in construction technology.
(6) A political decision was made in Boulder in the post-war era to attract clean
industry and not to allow heavy industry. More than anyone else, one individual -
Bascombe Birmingham - was responsible. Birmingham personally lobbied the
Eisenhower administration so that the National Bureau of standards (now
NIST/NOAA) would be built in Boulder in the 1950s. The bureau is housed in a si$-
nificant Modem building Other government research facilities followed, as did pri-
vate firms which were also often quartered in first rate Modem buildings, notably
the National Center for Atmospheric Research. In this case it was Ed Wolff who lob-
bied in Washington. These institutions, both public and private, attracted the same
kind of people that the CU did - intellectuals. And, it was among this demographic
group that Modem architecture found its most ardent supporters.
(7) The experimental nature of Modem architecture in Boulder could not have
been achieved without the exceptional talents of construction engineers and contrac-
tors who developed new materials and methods of building. These firms solved
design and structural issues related to the creation of dramatic and unconventional
forms, expansive areas of glass, finished cast-in-place concrete, foam shell forms and
exposed structural elements.
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
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`yn 9~1aZ*>
w.i?l~itistyle International Style
Address 2205 Broadway
Architect James Hunter
Date 1949
Name Masonic Lodge of Boulder
I
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style International Style
Address 1777 Broadway
Architect James Hunter
Date 1951
Name City of Boulder Municipal Building
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style International Style
Address 889 17th Street
Architect James Hunter
Date 19505
Name Community Montessori School
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Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style International Style
Address 325 Broadway
Architect Pereira and Luckman Associates
Date 1954
Name National Bureau of Standards (NIST NOAA NTIA)
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style International Style
Address 1345 28th Street
Architect
Date 1950s
Name Clarion / Regal Harvest House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Address 1922 Broadway
Architect James Hunter
Date 1950s
Name Public Service Building / Alfalfas
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style International Style
Address 1055 Adams Circle
Architect Nixon and Jones
Date 1950s; Additions, 1960s
Name Golden West Manor
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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' C62 ix~g g°~R~°b~b a'a~8tisb°2°Gb ~~k°3
Style Miesian
Address 1375 Walnut Street
Architect James Hunter
Date 1956
Name Colorado Building / Joslins / Vectra Bank
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 1836 Baseline Road
Architect
Date 1949
Name Greider House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 1818 Baseline Road
Architect
Date 1951
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 896 17th Street
Architect
Date 1951
Name Hazel Berries House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000 p~
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Style Usonian
Address 2960 Broadway
Architect
Date 1950s
Name Red Arrow Apartments
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 1121 Broadway
Architect Tician Papachristou
Date 1950s
Name University Shops
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 200 Abbey Place
Architect Tician Papachristou
Date 1950s
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 455 Christmas Tree Drive
Architect William Smith
Date 1956
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 29, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 1900 King Street
Architect Tician Papachristou
Date 1958
Name Sampson House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 575 Euclid Avenue
Architect Papachristou and Havekost with Charles Haertling
Date 1959
Name Sirotkin House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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xE Ei~ r s
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Style Usonian
Address 595 Euclid
Architect Papachristou and Havekost with Charles Haertling
Date 1959
Name Jesser House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 650 Pennsylvania Avenue
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1960
Name Herbert Noble House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 420 Christmas Tree Drive
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1960
Name Knudsen House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 950 28th Street
Architect Nixon and Jones
Date 1960
Name First Christian Church and School
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 1360 Gillespie Drive
Architect Nixon Brown Brokaw and Bowen
Date 1960s
Name South Boulder Recreation Center
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 900 28th Street
Architect Hobart D. Wagener
Date 1960
Name Lotus Building
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 1025 Rosehill Drive
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1962
Name Kreuger House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 125 Bellevue Drive
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1963
Name Willard House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 719 Walnut Street
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1966
Name Alpine Knitting Mills
I
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Usonian
Address 165 Green Rock Drive
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1969
Name Menkick House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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style Usonian
Address 955 Linden Drive
Architect Carl Worthington
Date 1976
Name Carl Worthington House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 430 Christmas Tree Drive
Architect
Date 1956
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Style Expressionism
Address 819 6th Street
Architect
Date 1957
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 1405 Bellevue Drive
Architect
Date 1950s
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 1290 Folsom Street
Architect Hobart D. Wagener
Date 1960s
Name Methodist Student Center
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 1001 8th Street
Architect Hobart D. Wagener
Date 1960s
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 1202 Folsom Street
Architect Ditzen, Rowland, Mueller and Associates
Date 1963
Name University Lutheran Student Center Chapel
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 711 Willowbrook Lane
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1964
Name Volsky House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 601 Kalmia Avenue
Architect Philip Carlton Jones
Date 1966
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 415 Drake Street
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1967
Name Caldwell House
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Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 2401-2403 Broadway
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1968
Name Boulder Valley Eye Clinic
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 550 College Avenue
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1968
Name Wilson House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 760 Flagstaff Road
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1969
Name Kahn House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 3752 Wonderland Hill Avenue
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1972
Name Brenton House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Style Expressionism
Address 65 Bellevue Drive
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1972
Name Davis House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Expressionism
Address 17th Street and Canyon Boulevard
Architect Everett / Ziegel
Date 1974
Name National State Bank / Norwest
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000 ;ry~era ~l S97S. PA~. ~ A,y+~p\ S.
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. , the t 3 0
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Style Rustic Modernism
Address 2300 Broadway
Architect Hobart D. Wagener
Date 1964
Name Mountain Savings and Loan Association
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Rustic Modernism
Address 460 College Avenue
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1967
Name Damman House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Rustic Modernism
Address 7060 Roaring Fork Trail
Architect Hobart D. Wegener
Date 1960s
Name Wegener House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Rustic Modernism
Address 910 28th Street
Architect Hobart D. Wagener
Date 1969
Name Institute of Behavioral Sciences
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Rustic Modernism
Address 1300 Canyon Boulevard
Architect Hobart D. Wagener
Date 1969
Name Midland Savings and Loan /Atrium Building
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Rustic Modernism
Address 805 Circle Drive
Architect Dave Carson
Date 1972
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Formalism
Address 1317 Mapleton Avenue
Architect Langhart / MaGuire / Barngrover
Date 1959
Name Sacred Heart Catholic School
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Formalism
Address 1636 16th Street
Architect Roger J. Easton
Date 1964
Name Easton Office Building
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Formalism
Address 1150 Maxwell Avenue
Architect L. Gale Abels
Date 1967
Name Ellen Tye Dental Offices
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000 y!;
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Style Formalism
Address 2111 Arapahoe Avenue
Architect
Date 1960s
Name Naropa University
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Style Formalism
Address 1909 26th Street
Architect Roger J. Easton
Date 1971
Name IBM Sales Division Office
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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style Brutalism
Address 1850 Table Mesa Drive
Architect I. M. Pei Associates
Date 1966
Name National Center for Atmospheric Research
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Brutalism
Address 1600 28th Street
Architect
Date 1970s
Name Boulder Insurance Association
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Brutalism
Address 780 Flagstaff Road
Architect Charles A. Haertling
Date 1969
Name Jourgensen House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Brutalism
Address 3300 Penrose Place
Architect Everett / Ziegel
Date 1972
Name Geological Society of America
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
_ Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Late Modernism
Address 525 Aurora Avenue
Architect L. Gale Abels
Date 1976
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Late Modernism
Address 1135 Broadway
Architect L. Gale Abels
Date 1970s
Name Art Hardware
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Style Late Modernism
Address 770 6th Street
Architect Rigomar Thurmer
Date 1978
Name Alhadeff House
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Late Modernism
Address 2299 4th Street
Architect
Date 1970s
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 29, 2000
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Style Late Modernism
Address 2221 4th Street
Architect James Leese
Date 1970s
Name
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
Style Late Modernism
Address 1601 28th Street
Architect
Date 1970s
Name US Bank
Draft Boulder Modern Architecture Survey
- Submitted March 28, 2000
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Style Late Modernism
Address 30331risAvenue
Architect Everett / Ziegel
Date 1976
Name Iris Bank