Item 5C - National Register nomination for the David Hull Holmes HouseNPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
1
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
This form is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in National Register
Bulletin, How to Complete the National Register of Historic Places Registration Form. If any item does not apply to the property being
documented, enter "N/A" for "not applicable." For functions, architectural classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only
categories and subcategories from the instructions.
1.Name of Property
Historic name: David Hull Holmes House_____ __________________________________
Other names/site number: 5BL.1119 ______________________________________
Name of related multiple property listing: N/A
___________________________________________________________
(Enter "N/A" if property is not part of a multiple property listing
____________________________________________________________________________
2.Location
Street & number: _720 11th Street___ _________________________________________
City or town: _Boulder__________ State: _CO__________ County: _Boulder__________
Not For Publication: Vicinity:
____________________________________________________________________________
3.State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended,
I hereby certify that this X nomination ___ request for determination of eligibility meets
the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of Historic
Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60.
In my opinion, the property _X__ meets ___ does not meet the National Register Criteria.
I recommend that this property be considered significant at the following
level(s) of significance:
___national ___statewide _X_local
Applicable National Register Criteria:
___A ___B _X_C ___D
Signature of certifying official/Title:Date
______________________________________________
State or Federal agency/bureau or Tribal Government
In my opinion, the property meets does not meet the National Register criteria.
Signature of commenting official: Date
Title : State or Federal agency/bureau
or Tribal Government
n/a n/a
CLG DRAFT
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 1-6 page 2
______________________________________________________________________________
4. National Park Service Certification
I hereby certify that this property is:
entered in the National Register
determined eligible for the National Register
determined not eligible for the National Register
removed from the National Register
other (explain:) _____________________
______________________________________________________________________
Signature of the Keeper Date of Action
____________________________________________________________________________
5.Classification
Ownership of Property
(Check as many boxes as apply.)
Private:
Public – Local
Public – State
Public – Federal
Category of Property
(Check only one box.)
Building(s)
District
Site
Structure
Object
X
X
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 1-6 page 3
Number of Resources within Property
(Do not include previously listed resources in the count)
Contributing Noncontributing
_____2_______ _____________ buildings
_____________ _____________ sites
_____________ _____________ structures
_____________ _____________ objects
_____2_______ ______0__ ___ Total
Number of contributing resources previously listed in the National Register _________
____________________________________________________________________________
6.Function or Use
Historic Functions
(Enter categories from instructions.)
DOMESTIC/single dwelling
EDUCATION/education-related
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
Current Functions
(Enter categories from instructions.)
DOMESTIC/single dwelling
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 4
_____________________________________________________________________________
7.Description
Architectural Classification
(Enter categories from instructions.)
LATE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS
Italian Renaissance Revival
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___________________
___________________
___________________
___________________
Materials: (enter categories from instructions.)
Principal exterior materials of the property:
Foundation: STONE/Sandstone
Walls: STONE/Sandstone
Roof: ASPHALT
Narrative Description
(Describe the historic and current physical appearance and condition of the property. Describe
contributing and noncontributing resources if applicable. Begin with a summary paragraph that
briefly describes the general characteristics of the property, such as its location, type, style,
method of construction, setting, size, and significant features. Indicate whether the property has
historic integrity.)
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Summary Paragraph
The 1923 David Hull Holmes House is a two-story red sandstone dwelling located in the
University Place subdivision approximately one mile south of the central business district in
Boulder, Colorado. Designed by master architect David Hull Holmes, the home exhibits
characteristics of the Italian Renaissance Revival and Rustic style influences. The side-gable
two-story house faces west toward 11th Street. The main 50’ x 18.5’ two-story portion is
rectangular in plan with a 23’x 45’ L-shaped flat-roof one-story wing projecting to the south and
east. A 29’ x 36’ hipped-roof two-story rear addition was completed in 1925. The one-story wing
includes an 11’ x 23’ sun porch and is topped by an open-air terrace. The property slopes to the
east allowing for a walkout basement and interior one-car garage accessed via an asphalt
driveway leading from the alley. The house stands on 18” foundation walls of locally quarried
red Fountain Formation sandstone. The 16” exterior walls of the main house consist of
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 5
irregularly coursed, rock-faced red Fountain Formation sandstone set in buff-colored mortar.
Large red sandstone chimneys are centered on the north and south sides. The basement and first
floor walls of the addition are constructed of red sandstone with the second story clad in
unpainted wood shingles; the second story is wood frame construction and battered. The side-
gable roof over the main portion of the house is covered by asphalt shingles laid to create a false
thatched appearance and features an integrated drainage system and wide overhanging eaves
with beadboard soffits. A hipped roof of the same material and style covers the main portion of
the addition. The majority of windows are multi-light rectangular wood casement type set in
pairs and groups of three to nine with Lyons Red sandstone lintels and lug sills. A detached
garage was added at the northeast corner of the property c. 1949. The property retains a high
level of historic integrity.
The house stands at an elevation of 5625’, occupying a 93’ by 125’ parcel consisting of lots
number 18, 19 and 20, the north 3’ of lot 21 and the south 15’ of lot 17. Lot sizes within the
University Place subdivision measure 25’ wide by 125’ deep with many homes built on parcels
consisting of several lots. Situated between the University of Colorado Boulder campus and
Colorado Chautauqua National Historic Landmark District at the base of the iconic Flatirons
rock formations, the neighborhood is characterized by a mix of revival-style residences of
varying size and Craftsman bungalows, with the majority of homes constructed during the 1920s.
Most properties have detached garages adjacent to the alleys that bisect each block. The front of
the house is setback approximately 28’ from the street and 64’ from the alley. Setbacks within
the neighborhood vary from block to block and within the 700 block of 11th Street from parcel
to parcel. Once open grassland, the neighborhood now features large mature trees, well-tended
grass lawns, ornamental landscaping, and pedestrian sidewalks.
______________________________________________________________________________
Narrative Description
House, 1923, Resource A, Contributing, Photos 1-25
Front (West)
The front (west) façade of the house is symmetrical with eight pairs of casement windows
organized around a central arched inset entryway on the first and second stories and four pairs of
casement windows on the basement level (Photo 1). A 9”-thick slab of Lyons Red sandstone
forms a low stoop in front of the recessed entry, which is defined by a large red sandstone arch.
A small plaque to the right documents the history of the house and two non-historic lantern-type
light fixtures flank the arch. The upper portion of the arch is faced with a thick slab of buff
sandstone that extends from the springing line to the deck of a wrought iron balconet located
above the entrance (Photo 2). The walls within the recessed entry are plaster and a 5” thick slab
of Lyons Red sandstone forms the floor. The slab sits directly on the vigas that serve as ceiling
joists on the basement level and is visible from the interior living space. The stained wood
vertical plank entry door has a wrought iron door handle and is framed by rectangular slabs of
buff sandstone. The same stone is used as a type of baseboard within the recessed space. A mail
slot is located to the right of the door. Above the entry, 14-light French doors open onto the
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 6
balconet. Above the doors, a red sandstone lintel is supported by blocks of contrasting buff
sandstone. A pendant-style light fixture is attached to the soffit above the balconet.
On the first floor, two pairs of twelve-light rectangular casement windows are located on either
side of the entrance. The windows have buff-colored Loveland sandstone sills and are set within
larger arched openings with radiating red sandstone voussoirs and red sandstone lug sills. Within
each arched opening, the space above and below the window is infilled with buff sandstone. On
the second-story, pairs of twelve-light casement windows are aligned directly above the first
floor windows. The second-story windows have red sandstone lintels supported by blocks of
contrasting buff sandstone and red sandstone lug sills. At the basement level, pairs of eight-light
casement windows are aligned directly below the first floor windows. The windows are set
below grade within stone-walled window wells covered by iron grates. The stone-capped walls
of the window wells are raised slightly above grade. The windows feature red sandstone lintels
and lug sills. A single bare bulb light fixture is set between the paired windows.
At the north and south corners of the second story, the conductor boxes and small sections of the
integrated downspouts are exposed. The metal conductor boxes are decorated with a fleur-de-lis
motif (Photo 3).
South Side
The south wall of the main two-story section of the house is bisected by a large red sandstone
chimney. At the base of the chimney is an inset single-light basement-level fixed window
positioned to frame a view of the Flatirons to the southwest (Photos 4 and 23). The chimney
stack above the roof is constructed of contrasting red and buff sandstone and features an
overhanging stepped chimney hood (Photo 5). West of the chimney are windows on the first
story, second story and basement level matching those on the front (west) façade.
To the east of the chimney, a one-story, L-shaped flat-roof wing wraps around the southeast
corner of the two-story portion of the house. Stone parapet walls extend above the flat roof
defining the edges of a rooftop terrace. Above the one-story wing on the south side of the house,
a 24-light wood door with a red sandstone lintel supported by blocks of buff limestone connects
the second-story interior to the rooftop terrace (Photo 5). On both sides of the chimney, three
round clay pipes set in a triangular formation function as attic vents near the gable peak.
The south end of the one-story wing consists of a glassed-in sun porch with an interior garage
below. The stone walls of the sun porch and garage match the main portion of the house. The
west wall of the sun porch is visible from the street and features an eight-light wood exterior
entry door with four-light wood sidelight. A flight of stone stairs with an iron pipe handrail leads
from the porch to a sandstone walkway at grade (Photo 6).
The south wall of the sun porch features three large rectangular window openings with red
sandstone lintels supported by blocks of buff limestone and red sandstone lug sills (Photo 7). The
window units fill the upper two-thirds of the opening. Red sandstone sills sit directly below the
windows and at the base of the larger window opening. The area between the upper and lower
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 7
sills is infilled with buff sandstone (Photo 8). Each window unit consists of a three-light
casement window flanked by three-light sidelights, topped by a four-light transom. Below each
lower sill, four vigas project approximately 6” from the stone wall. The stone walls of the
basement are increasingly visible at this side as the ground slopes away toward the rear of the
property. On the south wall, below the center and east sun porch windows are two eight-light
casement windows with red sandstone lintels and lug sills that look into the interior garage space
(Photo 9).
East (Rear) Side
The one-story wing extends across the rear of the house and just the second story of the side-
gable portion of the house is exposed on the east side. On the second story, a 20’-wide hipped-
roof extension projects 4-1/2’ from the east wall onto the rooftop terrace (Photo 10). The
extension houses portions of the second-floor bathroom and east bedroom. On the south side of
the extension, a 24-light wood door with a large red sandstone lintel connects the east bedroom
to the rooftop terrace. The east wall of the extension includes a large window opening with a
large red sandstone lintel and red sandstone lug sill. The opening holds four three-light casement
windows. North of this window opening are two eight-light casement windows with smaller red
sandstone lintels and lug sills. The north side of the extension is covered by the 1925 addition.
South of the extension on the second-story east wall is a large window opening with a smaller
red sandstone lintel and lug sill containing three three-light casement windows (Photo 10).
At the rear of the house the basement level is fully above grade and the flat-roof wing of the
house is divided into four bays (Photo 11). A metal downspout bisects the rear wall and the four
bays. The southernmost bay includes the rear wall of the sun porch and the basement level
single-car interior garage (Photo 12). The rear wall of the sun porch features a window assembly
like those found on the south side of the porch, but larger. The opening contains five three-light
casement windows and a central four-light transom flanked by smaller single-light transoms and
features the same buff sandstone details as the other sun porch windows. The use of buff
sandstone details distinguishes this window opening from the others on this side of the building.
In contrast with the front façade, large red sandstone lintels with a smoother finish are utilized
above the larger window openings and the garage. A nine-panel, three-light wood overhead
garage door is located directly below the sun porch. The adjacent bay to the north consists of two
vertically aligned matching window assemblies consisting of four three-light casement windows.
The bay to the north of the downspout features two small eight-light casement windows with
smaller red sandstone lintels and sills that mark the location of the basement-level and first-floor
bathrooms.
The northernmost bay includes a large basement-level entrance with a squared projecting bay
above. The entrance features a 24-light wood door with wood screen flanked by 24-light
sidelights (Photo 13). Large slabs of red sandstone form a patio outside the entrance. A large
square-cut wood timber supported by large red sandstone blocks projecting from the walls forms
the lintel above the entryway. Three vents arranged in a triangle formation are located south of
the entry. The squared bay sits directly above the entry and is supported by nine large vigas that
project approximately 4’ from the wall. Light fixtures hang from the outermost vigas. The walls
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 8
of the projecting bay are slightly flared and clad with unpainted wood shingles. The roof of the
bay is flat with a slight overhang, shingled fascia, and boxed eaves. The east side features a
window opening with five three-light casement windows and a red sandstone sill; the south and
north sides are unfenestrated. Three horizontally-aligned round clay pipe vents are centered
above the projecting bay. To the north, the 1925 addition projects from the east wall. The
addition is discussed separately below.
North Side
The north wall of the 1923 house is bisected by a large red sandstone chimney that essentially
matches the south chimney (Photo 14). On this side, the vents at the top of the chimney have
been infilled with cementitious material. West of the chimney is a small 8.5’ x 18.5’ terrace
bounded on the east and north sides by walls constructed of rock-faced red sandstone with red
sandstone caps (Photo 15). Non-historic wood lattice separates the terrace from the front lawn. A
thick slab of Lyons Red sandstone forms the terrace floor. On the north terrace wall a coal chute
leads to a basement-level coal room below the terrace.
A single-light wood door with wood screen leads from the terrace into what was originally the
kitchen vestibule. The doors are set within an arched opening of the same design as the first floor
window openings on the front façade. A historic wrought-iron light fixture hangs east of the
entrance. East of the chimney on the first story is a small four-light casement window with a red
sandstone lintel and sill. On the second story there is a pair of twelve-light casement windows
matching those found on the second story of the front façade (Photo 21). The 1925 addition
extends from the northeast corner of this side and is described separately below.
1925 Addition
At the rear of the house, north of the flat-roofed wing, a three-level addition extends from the
east (rear) wall (Photo 16). The addition was designed by David Hull Holmes and constructed to
provide sleeping, storage, and kitchen space for the Alpha Omega Chi sorority after it purchased
the home in 1925. The addition consists of four components: a large hipped-roof portion
measuring approximately 19’ x 36’ with a 7’ x 35’ shed roof section extending to the north, an
approximately 7’ section connecting the addition to the northwest corner of the 1923 house, and
a one-story L-shaped glassed-in porch on the basement level. Each component is described
below.
Hipped-Roof Portion
The hipped-roof portion of the addition has exterior walls facing south and east (rear).The south
side features two window openings on the basement level. The east opening contains two three-
light casement windows and the west opening contains three three-light casement windows. The
same pattern is repeated on the first-floor level. All have steel lintels and sills formed by two
courses of red sandstone. The second story features four pairs of three-light casement windows
with wood sills and trim and a group of three two-light casement windows located west of the
rooftop terrace wall (Photos 10 and 16).
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 9
The east side features two pairs of three-light casement windows on the basement level with a
pair of three-light casement windows and a group of three three-light casement windows on the
first floor level. A group of seven three-light casement windows are located on the second story.
Downspouts extend from the roof to the ground marking the edges of the hipped roof portion.
The east wall of the shed roof portion extends north of the downspout (Photo 17).
Shed-Roof Portion
The shed roof portion of the addition has exterior walls facing east (rear), north, and west (front).
On the east side, an inset rear entrance with a three-panel single-light wood door leads into the
basement level. Above the east entry, a two-light second-story casement window with wood sill
and trim marks the location of an attic storage space (Photo 17).
On the north side of the house the ground slopes sharply away from the front of the house to the
rear and much of the basement level on this side is above grade. The north wall of the shed roof
section was constructed on top of a red sandstone garden wall built during the home’s initial
construction period. Unlike the 1923 portions of the house, the addition has a crawl space under
the basement level.
The north wall features a five-panel wood entry door with wood screen on the basement level
(Photo 18). The door opens onto a concrete stoop with pipe railings and steps leading to the west
and east. Two 1’ square vents are set above the entry. West of the entry on the basement level is
a series of three small arched window openings with radiating red sandstone voussoirs (Photo
19). Each opening includes a two-light awning window topped by a two-light arched transom.
The flat horizontal stones below the windows mark the top of the 1923 garden wall. A pair of
three-light casement windows and a group of three three-light casement windows are located on
the first story (Photos 18 and 19). There are no openings in the second-story wood-shingle-clad
portion of the wall. The shed roof features two hipped-roof dormers with three-light awning
windows. Simple wood brackets support the deeply overhanging eaves of the shed roof.
The west side includes a group of three three-light casement windows on the basement level, a
pair of twelve-light casement windows and a small two-light casement window on the first story,
and a small two-light casement window and a larger window of the same type on the second
floor. The basement level window has a steel lintel and double sandstone sill, the first-story
windows have sandstone lintels and double sills, and the second-story windows have wood sills
and trim. The glassed-in porch is connected to the south side of the west wall at the basement
level (Photo 20).
Connector
The connector joining the 1925 addition to the 1923 side-gable portion of the house faces north
and is clad with wood shingles on the first and second story (Photo 21). Windows in this area are
one-over-one double hung with wood sills and trim and historic wood screens. Two are located
on the second story and two on the first story. A portion of the glassed-in porch covers the
connector at the basement level and is described below.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 10
Glassed-in Porch
The glassed-in porch was constructed within an interstitial space created by construction of the
1925 addition. Originally screened, the porch was glassed in by the current owners after 1998.
The space is bounded on the west by the east wall of the basement level coal room, on the north
by the stone garden wall, on the east by the west wall of the 1925 addition, and by the north wall
of the 1925 connector and the northeast corner of the 1923 house (Photos 20 and 21). The L-
shaped wood frame porch sits within this space facing north and east. Its shed roofs are covered
by asphalt shingles and have no overhangs. Non-historic exterior gutters are installed at the
fascia. The north facing portion of the L has three three-light casement windows. The east facing
portion consists of large glass lights set within a wood framework surrounding a 24-light wood
door that opens into a small open-air space with a sandstone floor and metal drain. The north side
of the east-facing portion of the L is constructed on top of the 1923 stone garden wall. Beadboard
fills the half gable space above the three large fixed single-light windows on this side.
Interior, Photos 22-25
On the first story and basement level, interior spaces are organized around large living rooms
located on the south side of the house. On the first floor, the living room features plaster walls, a
coved ceiling and a fireplace with a stylized hood, stone hearth and simple classical mantel
supported by stone consoles (Photo 22). The large casement windows on the west and south
walls supply natural light that is augmented by indirect light provided by fixtures hidden behind
wood cornices located above the windows and doors. East of the fireplace, a 24-light door leads
to the sun porch on the south side of the house. The sun porch has painted stone walls on the
east, south and west sides and a beadboard ceiling. A recessed drainage gutter is located at the
base of the stone exterior walls. The original kitchen space is located on the north end of the first
floor and has been converted to a library.
The basement-level living room exhibits a rustic character with a flagstone floor and
wainscoting, stone walls, exposed vigas and timber beams, and a large fireplace surrounded by
smooth sandstone slabs (Photo 23). Above the fireplace, a window frames a view of the Flatirons
to the southwest. Natural light enters the space through the large casement windows set in
window wells on the west and south sides. A number of copper and mica light fixtures designed
by David Hull Holmes provide additional light (Photo 24). A door on the south side of the room
leads to the interior garage and the living room is connected to the back yard via the large
walkout entrance at the rear of the house. Other spaces on the basement level include a small
room originally envisioned as a servant’s room, a laundry room and a coal room.
The second story is devoted to three bedrooms that share a single bath. The bathroom retains its
pink-and-white porcelain tile floor and ceramic tile wainscoting as well as historic fixtures
(Photo 25). Both the south and east bedroom have access to the rooftop terrace on the east and
south sides of the house. Floors on the first and second story are wood; on the basement level
they are stone or concrete. The original light fixtures of various styles have been retained
throughout the house.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 11
Within the 1925 addition, the first-floor bedrooms at the rear of the house have been converted to
a modern kitchen and dining space, though care has been taken to retain historic wood panel
doors. The second-floor dormitory space has been divided and is now used as a master bedroom
and office. The basement-level bedrooms continue to be used as bedrooms. The sorority kitchen,
also on the basement level, originally included a California cooler. The kitchen appears to have
been updated in the late 1960s or early1970s, but remains spatially intact. All of the bathrooms
within the addition have been modernized; however a large historic shower fixture remains in
use in the first-floor bathroom.
Garage, pre-1949, Resource B, Contributing, Photos 26-29
A 12’ x 20’one-car detached wood frame garage is located at the northeast corner of the property
(Photo 26). The front-gable roof is covered with asphalt composition shingles. What appear to be
historic gutters and downspouts are attached below the slightly overhanging eaves. The 1923
sandstone garden wall forms the south wall of the garage, the other walls are clad with horizontal
wood drop siding (Photos 27 and 28). The alley (east) side features a wood beadboard overhead
garage door. The rear (west) side has an off-center wood slab door with a small five-sided light
(Photo 29). Black carriage-style light fixtures are set near the top of each gable end. A small
fixture with non-historic shade is located in the center of the north wall near the gutter.
Landscape, Photos 30-34
A historic walkway consisting of ten 6’ x 4’ slabs of Lyons Red sandstone leads from the public
sidewalk to the front entry (Photos 1 and 30). Two large pine trees are located at the northeast
and southwest corners of the front yard. The northwest corner features two large red boulders,
mid-sized conifer trees and shrubs, an aspen tree and other bushes. Rose bushes and other
flowering plants grow along the edge of the lawn near the front of the house. Virginia Creeper
covers large portions of the home’s sandstone walls.
A two-track Lyons Red sandstone walkway leads from the public sidewalk across the lawn to the
terrace on the north side of the house (Photo 30). A marble statue of a young man sculpted by
David Hull Holmes’ grandnephew, Jesse Franklin Holmes, stands at the end of the north terrace
wall (Photo 15). A low 18” irregularly coursed rock-faced red sandstone wall with sandstone cap
extends from the terrace toward the street. On the north side of the wall, a pathway leads to a red
metal pipe and chain-link gate at the northwest corner of the 1925 addition and continues on to a
green chain-link gate at the alley (Photos 31 and 28).
The backyard features a continuation of the red sandstone wall that extends from the northeast
corner of the addition to the alley and then along the rear (east) property line, terminating at an
integrated burn pit on the north side of the driveway. The majority of the wall is obscured from
view by a thick growth of Virginia Creeper. In celebration of their 50th wedding anniversary, the
current property owners constructed a stone pier of similar design on the south side of the
driveway and installed a wrought iron decorative archway that extends from the non-historic pier
to the historic stone wall (Photo 32). The sandstone wall averages 5’ in height and partially
encloses a mowed grass lawn with ornamental plants around its perimeter, Lyons Red sandstone
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Section 7 page 12
walkways, a wood rotary clothesline and a non-historic fountain. Plantings include two apple
trees, a grape arbor, lilac bushes, and a rhubarb patch (Photo 33).
On the east side of the property, a sandstone path leads from the backyard to a decorative iron
gate at the southeast corner of the sun porch (Photo 34). The stepped walkway continues to the
entrance to the sun porch on the west side of the house.
Alterations
Historic photos suggest very few exterior alterations have been made to the house after the
addition was completed in 1925 (Figures 9-10, 20-25). Construction of the addition likely
involved removal of a screen porch on the north side of the home that is documented in the
original drawings prepared by Holmes (Figures 12-13). Installation of windows in the openings
on the south and east sides of the sun porch also occurred ca. 1925 per historical photos (Figures
9 and 21). Per the current owners, the rear entry door and sidelights on the basement level were
moved about 6’ from the location documented in the original drawings to their present position
(Photo 13). This is believed to have occurred when the addition was constructed. Holmes’s
drawings for the 1925 addition document four small arched windows on the north side of the
addition, where today there are only three (Figure 18 and Photo 19). A door is now located in the
fourth window position and may represent a later alteration or a change in plans during
construction (Photo 18). Regardless, the design and material of the doors suggest they are
sufficiently old to be considered historic.
The original sliding doors of the interior garage were replaced at some point, likely during the
mid-twentieth century based on the design and materials of the existing door (Photo 12).
Sometime after 1949, the wood shingle roof was replaced by asphalt composition shingles while
maintaining the roof’s distinctive rounded edges.
The 1925 screen porch on the home’s north side was glassed in ca. 1998. On the front, carriage
type light fixtures were installed on either side of the front entry ca. 2004 (Photo 2). These were
installed in locations where wiring was in place historically but no fixtures had been installed.
According to assessor records, the detached garage was constructed prior to 1949. It does not
appear that any significant alterations have been made to the garage, which is now used for
storage and as a workshop.
Relatively minor additions have been made to the landscape over time, including installation of a
chain-link gate near the garage and a decorative wrought iron gate at the southeast corner of the
sun porch and placement of large boulders in the front yard (Photos 28 and 34). A small Italian-
style fountain, small grape arbor, and the commemorative archway were recently added at the
rear of the property (Photos 11 and 32).
The interior has been remodeled since 1998 but the original layout has been largely maintained
as have the home’s interior character defining features. All doors, hardware and fixtures removed
from the interior are currently stored in the detached garage.
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Integrity
The David Hull Holmes House retains excellent integrity with very few alterations to the house
occurring after construction of the 1925 addition. The home sits in its original location and the
surrounding neighborhood remains much as it did when its development was largely complete in
the early 1930s. When designing the addition, Holmes took care to ensure the large addition was
well-integrated into the original design and did not adversely impact the integrity of his earlier
work. When designing the addition, Holmes used the same, or very similar, materials that he
used in 1923 and attached the addition to the house in way that largely preserved the home’s
original design, materials, workmanship and interior configuration. When viewed from the street,
the size of the addition is masked. The materials, connector and shed roof Holmes used on the
addition’s north side make the addition appear much smaller than it actually is and allow the
1923 house to continue to read as the primary mass. Construction of the detached garage circa
1949 at the northeast corner of the property did not affect the integrity of the house or the
addition and preserved the historic sandstone garden wall by integrating the wall into the
garage’s structural system.
The home has been owned by members of the Holmes family since it was reacquired in 1935 and
is currently occupied by David Hull Holmes’s grandniece, Caroline Stepanek and her husband
Joseph. The family has carefully preserved the home’s historic materials and character-defining
features including doors, windows and exterior decorative elements as well as interior features
and spaces. A minor erosion of integrity of design and materials has occurred due to replacement
of the original sliding garage doors and remodeling of some interior spaces within the 1925
addition, however the home retains all seven aspects of integrity to a high degree and clearly
conveys its significance as an excellent example of the work of architect David Hull Holmes as
he adapted the Italian Renaissance Revival style to reflect the local conditions in Boulder,
Colorado, during the early 1920s.
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_________________________________________________________________
8.Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria
(Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register
listing.)
A.Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of our history.
B.Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
C.Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values,
or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack
individual distinction.
D.Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history.
Criteria Considerations
(Mark “x” in all the boxes that apply.)
A.Owned by a religious institution or used for religious purposes
B.Removed from its original location
C.A birthplace or grave
D.A cemetery
E.A reconstructed building, object, or structure
F.A commemorative property
G.Less than 50 years old or achieving significance within the past 50 years
X
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Areas of Significance
(Enter categories from instructions.)
ARCHITECTURE___
___________________
Period of Significance
1923-25____________
___________________
Significant Dates
1923_______________
1925_______________
___________________
Significant Person
(Complete only if Criterion B is marked above.)
___________________
___________________
___________________
Cultural Affiliation
___________________
___________________
___________________
Architect/Builder
Holmes, David Hull___
___________________
Statement of Significance Summary Paragraph (Provide a summary paragraph that includes
level of significance, applicable criteria, justification for the period of significance, and any
applicable criteria considerations.)
The David Hull Holmes house is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of Architecture
as an excellent representation of the work of master architect David Hull Holmes. It is also
significant as a fine example of the Italian Renaissance Revival style adapted to reflect the local
materials and conditions in Boulder, Colorado, and the type of grand dwellings constructed in the
University Place subdivision during the height of the neighborhood’s development in the 1920s.
The period of significance extends from 1923, the date Holmes completed construction of the
residence, through 1925, when construction of the large rear addition was completed by Holmes
for the Alpha Chi Omega sorority.
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______________________________________________________________________________
Narrative Statement of Significance (Provide at least one paragraph for each area of
significance.)
The David Hull Holmes House is locally significant under Criterion C in the area of Architecture
as a grand, finely crafted example of the work of master architect David Hull Holmes as he
adapted the Italian Renaissance Revival style and his eclectic aesthetic to the available materials
and local conditions in Boulder, Colorado. During the 1920s, many architects, including Holmes,
relied on revivalist styles to evoke regional heritage or picturesque ideals. In Tucson, where
Holmes spent the bulk of his productive career, Spanish Colonial Revival and Mission Revival
architecture became a popular means of referencing the area’s Spanish and Mexican past. In his
early twenties, Holmes lived briefly in Boulder before joining the faculty at the Territorial
University in Tucson in 1898. When Holmes returned to Boulder in 1917, he brought with him
years of experience executing revivalist architecture as well as an appreciation for quality
materials and craftsmanship gained during his education at the Manual Training School in St.
Louis. In Tucson, Holmes’s work exhibited a willingness to experiment, especially in the homes
he designed for himself.
When faced with the prospect of designing a home for his parents in Boulder, Holmes again
emphasized materials and craftsmanship and adapted the Italian Renaissance Revival vocabulary
to reflect the local materials and regional influences at work in Boulder. The home’s rectangular
plan, rock-faced masonry walls, symmetrical façade with arched window openings, central
arched inset entry, second floor balconet, sun porch wing and rooftop terrace are in keeping with
Italian Renaissance Revival residential architecture as defined by Virginia Savage McAlester in
A Field Guide to American Houses. To this Holmes added details that spoke to his roots in the
southwest, such as vigas and wrought iron, but also firmly grounded his design in the local
landscape by utilizing the same red sandstone that forms Boulder’s iconic Flatirons rock
formations to construct the home’s walls. Holmes’s appreciation for Boulder’s natural beauty
was clearly evident in the way he provided multiple opportunities for views of the Flatirons from
both indoor and outdoor spaces.
Holmes’s design choices may also have represented a desire to connect his design to the nearby
University of Colorado campus and the “Colorado Style" that architect Charles KIauder
promoted in his 1918 development plan for the campus. Heavily influenced by Italian vernacular
architecture, Klauder’s designs are characterized by walls of locally quarried sandstone, tile
roofs, buff limestone trim, and black metal accents. Holmes’s original plans for the home
included a tile roof, which would have strengthened the relationship between the home and the
nearby campus.
It is unknown why Holmes chose to change the roof material and design after the initial drawings
were complete, but the growing popularity of Rustic style architecture in Colorado’s mountain
communities may have influenced his decision. In 1922, architect William Bowman incorporated
a roof with a false thatched appearance when designing the Rustic style Fairplay Hotel (National
Register #07001395, 2008). Located in the mountain community of Fairplay, the hotel is clad in
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wood shingle siding, a common feature of Rustic style buildings. Holmes used the same material
to a small degree at the rear of the home in 1923 and to much greater effect in his 1925 addition.
The wood shingle roof and siding paired well with the home’s rock-faced sandstone walls and
large stone chimneys. The Rustic style emphasized the use of natural materials to foster a
connection with the surrounding mountain landscape and Holmes’s material choices were
consistent with this approach.
Holmes designed a limited number of buildings while living in Colorado and the David Hull
Holmes House is the finest known example of his work in Boulder. Other examples of similar
size and grandeur in Boulder have been heavily altered and no longer convey Holmes’s
architectural vision. With the exception of the ten-year period when the home was occupied by
the Alpha Sigma Chi sorority, the home has remained under Holmes family ownership and
retains an exceptionally high level of integrity.
Historic Context
Settlement of Boulder
Archaeological evidence suggests that bands of hunter-gatherers roamed the Boulder Valley
more than 9,000 years ago. By the mid-sixteenth century Ute people hunted elk, deer and other
mountain game in the region and camped along Boulder Creek during the winter months. In the
early 1800s, Southern Arapaho moved into the area, followed by the Cheyenne, challenging the
Utes for control over their traditional hunting and wintering lands. Acquisition of the Louisiana
Territory by the United States in 1803 prompted exploration of Colorado by Euro-Americans and
encouraged the establishment of trading outposts at Fort Laramie and Bent’s Fort. Trade brought
economic opportunities for the native population but also conflict and disease. During this time
thousands of native people died from smallpox and competing groups clashed over limited
resources.
In 1851, the Treaty of Fort Laramie attempted to foster peace by formalizing native territorial
boundaries. As a result of the treaty, the Arapaho were granted rights to the Boulder Creek area.
However, the discovery of gold by a group of prospectors led by William Russell in 1858 soon
created new conflicts for the Arapaho in the Boulder Valley.
Encouraged by the success of Russell’s group, goldseekers flocked to Colorado and into
traditional native lands. In the fall of 1858, a group of prospectors from Nebraska City led by
Captain Thomas Aikins built an encampment near Boulder Creek. When the Arapaho leader
Niwot (Left Hand) discovered Aikins and his men camped within traditional Arapaho wintering
grounds he agreed to let them stay through the spring. Niwot’s decision would soon have
disastrous consequences for the Arapaho and other natives who frequented the Boulder Valley.
During the winter Aikins and his fellow prospectors searched the creeks above their camp for
signs of precious metal and in December Aikins’s son James found pay dirt in a tributary of
Fourmile Creek they dubbed Gold Run. News of the discovery spread rapidly and the Gold Hill
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mining camp quickly sprang up near the site of their discovery, marking the beginning of
permanent Euro-American settlement in the Boulder area.
As more and more prospectors rushed to the region, others saw opportunity in providing the
miners with the tools and supplies they needed to survive. In February 1859 a group led by A. A.
Brookfield organized the Boulder City Town Company with the intent of establishing a townsite
east of Boulder Canyon where the north/south route along the foothills intersected the pathway
into the Boulder Canyon. Formation of the Boulder Mining District followed in July and
provided a means for regulating the area’s booming mining activity.
The gold rush was at its peak when Congress passed the act forming the Colorado Territory on
February 28, 1861, and the fledgling town of Boulder was chosen as the county seat of Boulder
County, one of the seventeen original territorial counties. Ten days prior to passage of the act,
the Arapaho had agreed to allow settlement of their lands and by 1865 the native population had
been essentially pushed out of the region. Later that year Territorial Governor William Gilpin
signed legislation to create a state university in Boulder, an event that would have far-reaching
implications for the town’s development.
The town grew slowly throughout the 1860s, primarily serving as a supply town for the nearby
mining camps.1 On November 4, 1871, Boulder incorporated. The town’s first trustees included
Anthony Arnett, James P. Maxwell, Marinus G. Smith, Frederick A. Squires, and Alpheus
Wright.2
Arnett had purchased 200 acres of pasture land in southwest Boulder in 1865 and was a
passionate advocate for establishment of the state university in Boulder.3 Development of the
university had stalled due to a lack of funding, but gained momentum after a group of local
residents, including Arnett, donated 44.9 acres for the university campus. In 1874 the legislature
challenged Boulder’s citizens to raise $15,000 in matching funds to construct the university’s
first building and residents rose to the occasion. The necessary monies were secured and
construction of Old Main began in September 1875. The university opened in September 1877
with two teachers and forty-four students.4
The arrival of railroad service in 1873 via the Colorado Central and Denver and Boulder Valley
railroads encouraged population growth and the city began to quickly evolve. By 1880, the city’s
population had leapt to 3,069 and 19 residential subdivisions ringed Boulder’s Pearl Street
business district. As historians Tom and Laurie Simmons note, citizens at this time were divided
1 The 1870 Census indicated that Boulder possessed seventy-seven dwellings (only four more than in 1860) and 343
residents. Lots within the 1,280-acre townsite were expensive—$1,000 for a 50’ x 140’ lot—but construction within
the new settlement was soon underway. By 1860 seventy-three homes had been built, though a quarter of them stood
vacant, and the town boasted 174 residents, predominantly male. Tom and Laurie Simmons, Boulder Survey of
Historic Places Survey Report (University Hill), 1991, 15. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid.
4 Wilbur Fiske Stone, ed. History of Colorado, Volume 1 (Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1918), 603-4
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in their aspirations for the town, with some seeking to emphasize Boulder’s educational, cultural,
and resort opportunities, while others advocated for industrialization.5
The former would
eventually win out and profoundly affect the development of Boulder and more specifically the
open prairieland between the university campus and the towering Flatirons to the west.
Development of the University Place Addition
As Boulder’s reputation as an education and heath mecca began to grow, investors sought to
capitalize on the anticipated demand for residential property. In June 1890 the Denver and
Boulder Land and Investment Company purchased 194 acres of undeveloped land west of the
university campus with plans to subdivide the area into 1,820 lots. The investment company,
formed by Humphrey E. Chamberlin, Granville Malcom, and Warren H. McLeod included a
large number of Nova Scotians among its stakeholders.6 Platted that same year, the University
Place Addition encompassed an area from Sixth through Eighteenth Streets and from College to
Baseline Road and included grazing land once owned by Anthony Arnett. The Fulton Brothers
real estate firm headed by Charles W. and Richard T. Fulton sold lots on behalf of the investment
group.7
In the late 1880s tuberculosis became a major public health concern and many tuberculosis
sufferers moved to Colorado on the advice of doctors who believed patients would benefit from
the sunny, dry climate and clean mountain air. The first building constructed in the University
Place subdivision, the Mount St. Gertrude Academy (5BL.1471), established by the Sisters of
Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 10th and Aurora Streets in 1892, was founded to serve the
educational needs of both healthy children and those afflicted by pneumonia and tuberculosis.
The large, four-story brick building designed by Denver architect Alexander Cazin in the
Richardsonian Romanesque style stood alone in the windswept subdivision for many months.
In an attempt to increase interest in the neighborhood, the Fulton Brothers offered a special
incentive. The first ten people who agreed to build a home costing more than $2,500 would
receive four lots free of charge, a potential savings of as much as $400.8 Even with this
enticement sales were slow and it became clear that further investment in infrastructure was
needed to attract buyers. After an attempt to establish a streetcar line connecting University Place
with downtown Boulder failed, the Denver and Boulder Land and Investment Company scaled
back its ambitions and established a bus line that carried residents to the Pearl Street commercial
district.9
Sales began to pick up, but the Silver Panic of 1893 coupled with a weak agricultural market
depressed Colorado’s economy and no lots were sold in 1894.10
5 Simmons and Simmons, 16.
The Denver and Boulder Land
6 Ibid., 22. 7 Ibid.; Portrait and Biographical Record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania (New York and Chicago: Chapman
Publishing Company, 1897), 982. 8 Simmons and Simmons, 23-4. Lots were priced at $25 to $100 depending on location. 9 Ibid., 24.
10 Ibid.
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and Investment Company persevered in the hopes that Boulder’s economy would improve,
believing that “the whole question is one of demand; the property is desirable, attractive, well
situated, and will sell quickly as any if the demand can be created.”11 About 40 percent of the
lots had been sold by this time but few homes built—historic photos document only a small
number of large handsome homes scattered throughout the neighborhood ca. 1895.12
The University Place investors undoubtedly understood that the fortunes of the neighborhood
were tied to the success of the University of Colorado and watched with anticipation as the
university grew steadily. Under the leadership of president James H. Baker, the university
undertook an ambitious capital improvement program, constructing a number of new buildings
and landscaping the campus grounds. Between 1893 and 1894 the university enrollment doubled,
presumably as a result of the campus expansion and perhaps in part due to the lack of
employment opportunities as a result of the economic depression.13
The attractiveness of the neighborhood grew considerably when an eighty-acre parcel south of
University Place at the base of the Flatirons was selected as the site of the Texas-Colorado
Chautauqua, now a National Historic Landmark district (NRIS.78000830, 5BL.361, NHL listed
2006). Organized by a group of Texas teachers and Boulder citizens in 1898, the group
established a cultural and educational summer retreat, constructing an auditorium, dining hall,
and other buildings at the base of Boulder’s Flatirons. The area quickly gained popularity with
families seeking a wholesome, educational, and culturally uplifting vacation (Figure 1).
Infrastructure improvements continued to benefit the University Place subdivision and increase
its appeal. In 1899, the Denver and Boulder Land and Investment Company revived its plans for
a streetcar line and this time met with success. The new line began operations in June 1899.14
The Denver and Boulder Land and Investment Company’s success at securing the streetcar line
proved to be a turning point in the neighborhood’s fortunes. The demand that investors had
hoped for began to build and a number of brick and stone residences were constructed in the
early 1900s. As the Simmonses note, “Citizens began to see the advantages of the residential
area in terms of its proximity to the University, its convenient access to downtown Boulder, and
its closeness to the natural beauty of the Chautauqua grounds.”15 By 1900, Boulder’s population
had grown to 6,150 and University Place continued to gain residents.16 The University Hill
School (5BL.1114) at Sixteenth and Broadway opened in 1906 and commercial businesses,
restaurants, and a movie theater opened along Thirteenth Street.17
11 “Report Concerning the Transactions of the Denver and Boulder Land and Investment Company For the Period of
Five Years,” 30 July 1895, quoted in Simmons and Simmons, 26.
12 Ibid., 24. See BHS-208-2-29, Boulder Historical Society photograph collection, Carnegie Library for Local
History, Boulder. 13 Frederick S. Allen, The University of Colorado: 1876-1976 (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., 1976),
55. 14 Phyllis Smith, A History of Boulder's Transportation, 1858-1984 (Boulder: City of Boulder, 1984), 17. 15 Simmons and Simmons, 27. 16 Ibid., 17.
17 Ibid., 30.
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In 1917 the Colorado General Assembly passed a ten-year mill levy to provide funds for building
improvements at the University of Colorado campus, which at the time included only three or
four architecturally significant buildings executed in a variety styles. University president
George Norlin and the Board of Regents sought to establish a unified campus appearance and
hired the Philadelphia firm of Day and Klauder to develop a campus master plan. Charles
Klauder’s plan, inspired by the picturesque rustic architecture he had encountered while traveling
in the mountains of northern Italy, utilized Boulder’s distinctive local sandstone as a primary
building material. The Board of Regents embraced Klauder’s “Colorado Style” architecture and
approved his master plan for the campus in 1918. By 1920, a ten-year, $1 million campus
building plan was underway with the first building constructed in the new style, the Hellems Arts
and Sciences Building, completed in 1921 (Figure 2).18
Construction in the neighborhood boomed following World War I and nearly 50 percent of
homes in University Place and other University Hill subdivisions were constructed during the
1920s.19 The neighborhood was popular with professors, students, and business professionals as
well as individuals who moved to Boulder for health reasons. A number of architects designed
homes in the University Hill area during the 1920s including Glen H. Huntington and Margaret
Read.20 Other homes were likely based on popular pattern books that featured fashionable
revivalist styles or on plans developed by experienced contractors who frequently worked in the
area such as Charles Van Note, John Nelson, and Alonzo Denham.21
The Denver and Boulder Land and Investment Company encouraged property owners to build in
brick and stone and many deeds issued during this time included a clause stating that, “no
building can be constructed to cost less than $1500 and must be built of brick, stone, or a
combination of the two.”22
The investors’ preference for masonry is evident in the University
Place neighborhood, where the vast majority of homes were constructed of brick or stone, and
many incorporated local stone. The designs created by architects and executed by builders
reflected popular trends in late nineteenth- and early twentieth-century residential architecture.
Tudor, Spanish, and Colonial Revival styles were popular and Craftsman bungalows represented
nearly one-third of homes built. Homes varied in size from large two-story homes of more than
5,000 square feet to modest one-story bungalows. Development in the neighborhood took a
dramatic downturn in 1930s as a result of the economic depression that began in 1929. As the
economy recovered after the end of World War II, Minimal Traditional and Ranch type homes
were built on the few remaining undeveloped lots.
David Hull Holmes
David Hull Holmes was born on July 18, 1874, in St. Louis, Missouri, the son of Jesse Holmes
and Clara Hull and the eldest of three brothers. As a teenager he attended the Manual Training
18 Allen, 88-9. 19 Ibid., 49. 20 Ibid., 35. 21 Ibid., 34-5.
22 Jane Valentine Barker, Historic Homes of Boulder County (Boulder: Pruett Publishing Co., 1979), 183.
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School affiliated with St. Louis’s Washington University.23 Established by Calvin M. Woodward
in 1879, the high school was the first of its kind in the United States, offering a curriculum that
emphasized drafting and shopwork in addition to traditional subjects.24
Woodward believed that
manual training was essential for proper intellectual and moral education and a means of
restoring the value and dignity of hand labor. In 1887 he wrote:
Theory and practice, then, must go hand in hand; and, in order that the practice
may be adequate to the theory, the hand and eye and head must receive previous
careful training,— the hand in the use of instruments and tools; the eye in
measuring distances and angles, in detecting peculiarities of form, and in
observing the details of a construction; the head in a knowledge of the common
properties of the commonest material substances, such as wood, stone, iron, glass,
etc.25
Among the school’s best known alumni were architects Charles and Henry Greene who
graduated shortly before Holmes enrolled.26
After graduating in 1892, Holmes remained in St. Louis, working for the architectural firm of
Eames and Young and studying mechanical and architectural drafting at Washington
University.27 In 1895, illness forced Holmes to move west to improve his health. He traveled
through the southwest, pausing in San Antonio and Santa Barbara before settling in Boulder.28
During this time his enthusiasm for architecture appeared to wane and he expressed a youthful
cynicism about his prospects in Boulder, “I think my architectural venture will be more in the
line of cheap draughting than interesting original work for the reason that most of the people are
after something cheap and cannot appreciate good work when they see it.”29
Holmes advertised his services as an architect in the Boulder Daily Camera in 1896, but how
successful he was at attracting clients is unclear.30
23 Graduates of the Manual Training School of Washington University (St. Louis, Missouri: Washington University,
1908), 72.
To date, no examples of his work during this
time have been found. In September 1898, Homes married Helen Pierce of Denver and shortly
afterward accepted a position teaching at the Territorial University in Tucson (now the
University of Arizona). He received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University in 1901
24 Charles Penney Coates, History of the Manual Training School of Washington University (Washington:
Government Printing Office, 1923), 8.
25 Calvin Milton Woodward, The Manual Training School: Comprising a Full Statement of its Aims, Methods, and
Results, with Figured Drawings of Shop Exercises in Woods and Metals (Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1887), 255. 26 Gary David Matthews, “Holmes and Holmes, Architects, 1905-1912” (master’s thesis, University of Arizona,
1969), 6; Graduates of the Manual Training School of Washington University, 13, 15. 27 Matthews, 6; by 1894 Holmes was also teaching drawing at the State University in Columbia, Missouri (now the
University of Missouri). A Catalogue of the Teachers, Students, Course of Study, and Methods of Instruction in the
Manual Training School of Washington University, 1893-1894 (St. Louis: Nixon-Jones Printing Co. 1894), 77. 28 Matthews, 6. 29 Holmes’s letter to his father, Jesse Holmes, 1896, quoted in Matthews, 6.
30 Boulder Daily Camera, January 27, 1896 through February 3, 1896.
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and headed the university’s Manual Training and Drafting Department during the early 1900s,
teaching drawing and mechanical arts (Figure 3).31 The University took advantage of his skills as
a draftsman and he was asked to prepare and revise drawings for a number of campus
buildings.32 Holmes designed three buildings within the Arizona University Campus Historic
District (NRIS.86001254, 1986) including Herring Hall, completed in 1903.33
He also served as
project manager for construction projects both on campus and off.
Supervising construction of the Carnegie Institution’s Desert Botanical Laboratory at Tumamoc
Hill (NRIS.66000190, NHL listed 1965) outside Tucson exposed Holmes to innovative
ventilation techniques employed by the building’s architect, S.F. Forbes. Constructed in 1903
using native volcanic rock quarried nearby, the hipped roof building featured wide overhanging
eaves with large iron grates in the soffits and a zinc ridge vent. Cool outside air was drawn
through the soffit grates into the large attic space as warmer air exited through the zinc ridge
vents.34 Holmes was asked to design an addition to the building and quickly agreed. Completed
in 1906, the addition doubled the size of the laboratory building, extending it in a U-shape and
adding a physical lab, a physiology lab, a chemistry workshop, a greenhouse for horticultural
experiments, and a horticultural workshop.35
The years spent working at the Desert Botanical Laboratory had a lasting impact on Holmes who
experimented with ventilation techniques and employed deep overhanging eaves in many of his
designs.36
It also appears to have reignited his desire to produce interesting and original work.
In January 1905, the Tucson Daily Citizen announced that Joel H. Huntsman, a local automobile
dealer and copper mine investor, would be building a large and expensive home designed by
Holmes.37
The following month, Holmes’s brother Jesse (Jack) Holmes arrived from St. Louis,
presumably to provide assistance as Holmes attempted to take on private commissions while
juggling his university duties.
In 1905, Holmes announced his resignation from the University of Arizona and formed the firm
of Holmes and Holmes with his brother. David was the creative force with Jack serving as chief
draftsman and project manager. At its peak, the firm would employ a staff of six.38
31 Matthews, 10; Tucson Daily Citizen, May 31, 1900; A Catalogue of the Teachers, Students, Course of Study, and
Methods of Instruction in the Manual Training School of Washington University, 1903-1904, 79.
Between
32 Tucson Daily Citizen, December 14, 1903; Matthews, 10-12.
33 University of Arizona Campus Historic District National Registration Form, 1986, on file with the National Park
Service. 34 Matthews, 14-16. 35 National Register of Historic Places, Desert Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution, Tuscson, Pima County,
Arizona, National Register #66000190.
36 Matthews, 18. 37 “J. H. Huntsman’s $10,000 Home,” Tucson Daily Citizen, January 1, 1905;
http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/borderman/bmpt8.php accessed 6/30/18.
38 Matthews, 24.
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1904 and 1912, Holmes was responsible for designing over 30 buildings in Tucson.39 According
to Historic and Architectural Resources of Downtown Tucson Arizona (National Register MPDF,
accepted 2003), the firm’s work was “defined by prominent clients, an eclectic mix of
architectural styles and innovative design solutions.” Their projects represented a wide range of
building types including residences, commercial blocks, hotels, churches, hospitals, and
educational buildings, “requiring a versatility matched by no other Tucson architect at that
time.”40
The residential designs produced by Holmes and Holmes during this period were in keeping with
the prevailing preference for revival styles and the firm is credited with introducing the Tudor
Revival style into Tucson’s local design vocabulary (Figure 4).41 As was common in the
southwest, revival styles associated with Spanish architectural traditions were particularly
popular in Tucson. The homes Holmes designed for a number of his clients clearly followed the
conventions of Spanish and Mission Revival architecture but with slight modifications that set
them apart from more faithful revivalist designs (Figure 5).42
A number of Holmes-designed
residences are located within Tucson’s National Register-listed El Presidio and West University
historic districts (NRIS.76000379, 1976 and NRIS.80004240, 1980, respectively). Holmes was
not the only Tucson architect to move beyond strict revivalism. Both Henry C. Trost, who
designed a number of Tucson’s significant buildings between 1899 and 1905, and Henry O.
Jaastad, one of Tucson’s most prominent architects, displayed a willingness to experiment with
traditional models.
The firm’s commercial designs reflected the impact of the Chicago School on commercial
architecture in the early 1900s. In designing the 1906 Hittinger Block (NRIS.03000907, 2003),
Holmes used steel to great effect, creating a nearly transparent first floor storefront. The
building’s classical details were restrained, an aesthetic he repeated in his early commercial
work, and included arched entries and a series of small arched windows on the building’s east
side (Figure 6).
Holmes introduced new materials to Tucson’s traditional building vocabulary, employing
California Pressed Brick in his non-residential work and experimenting with alternatives to the
ubiquitous white stucco that clad the majority of Tucson’s residential buildings, including the
first home he built for himself, a stripped down interpretation of the Spanish Colonial Revival
style completed in 1907.43
39 Historic and Architectural Resources of Downtown Tucson Arizona Multiple Property Documentation Form,
accepted 9/12/2003, on file with the National Park Service.
When designing his second home at 742 E. University Boulevard in
1911, Holmes experimented with the bungalow form and the Craftsman style, using “clinker”
brick to construct the home’s walls, atypical porch piers and tall chimney (Figure 7). The home
40 Ibid. 41 Matthews, 18. Holmes’s designs for the E. L. Vail House (1905) and H. H. Rockwell House (1907) featured the
steeply pitched gabled roofs and half-timbering typical of the Tudor Revival style. 42 See Holmes’s designs for the L.H. Hofmeister House. J. Knox Corbett House, George Tompkins House
documented in Matthews. 43 Matthews, 26, 46. The first house Holmes built for himself in Tucson at 827 South 3rd Avenue has been heavily
modified and no longer conveys his original design intent.
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is now a contributing building within Tucson’s West University Historic District
(NRIS.80004240, 1980).
In 1912, David and Jack Holmes moved their firm to San Diego where they received
commissions to design a number of grand hotels and large auto dealerships in the city’s central
commercial district.44
The city was preparing to open the Panama-California Exposition, a two
year celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal on January 1, 1915, and the building boom
that was underway likely attracted the two brothers to San Diego. Some excellent examples of
Holmes’s work from this time survive, including the Hotel Churchill (San Diego Local
Landmark #634, 2004) (Figure 8) and the Panama/Senator Hotel (NRIS.84001182, 1984).
By 1914 Jesse and Clara Holmes had joined their sons in San Diego, suggesting that the Holmes
brothers intended to stay in California for some time.45 However, the unexpected death of David
and Jack’s brother Horace Holmes in 1917 quickly precipitated a move east. Horace Holmes left
behind his pregnant widow, Cecil Holmes, and two young daughters. A son, Horace B. Holmes
Jr., was born four months after his father’s death from pneumonia.46 David and Jack Holmes
arrived in Boulder in 1917, taking up residence in the Boulderado Hotel (NRIS.094001226,
1994).47
Jesse and Clara Holmes would soon follow.
Construction of the David Hull Holmes House
Boulder County deed records indicate that Horace Burbank Holmes speculated extensively in
mining and residential real estate after moving to Boulder in 1901 to attend the University of
Colorado where he was a charter member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.48 Between 1901
and 1917, Horace Holmes acquired and sold hundreds of residential parcels primarily in the
University Place and Floral Park subdivisions and with a group of investors platted the
Broadway Heights subdivision.49 Horace regularly bought and sold mining properties and owned
the lucrative Luckie #2 tungsten mine near Boulder Falls and its associated mill.50 Boulder
County records suggest that Horace’s father, Jesse, was a partner in his son’s mining and real
estate business while living in St. Louis and San Diego. After Horace’s death, it appears Jack
Holmes took the lead in managing Horace’s mining interests.51
44 San Diego Union, October 20, 1912; April 6, 1913; June 15, 1913; August 24, 1913; April 26, 1914.
The wartime economy limited
demand for the skills of an architect but increased the demand for tungsten and for a short time
45 1914 San Diego City Directory, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018).
46 Colorado, County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006; 1910 United States Federal Census,
(Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018); Claude T. Reno, ed., The Alpha Tau Omega Palm, Vol. XXXVII
(Allentown, Pennsylvania: Alpha Tau Omega, 1917), 223.
47 1917 Boulder City Directory, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018).
48 Reno, 223. 49 Boulder County Office of Clerk & Recorder, https://recorder.bouldercounty.org, accessed 30 June 2018). 50 Horace B. Holmes Jr. oral history interview recorded 3 June 1986 by Maria Rodgers
(http://oralhistory.boulderlibrary.org, accessed 30 June 2018). 51 1918 Boulder City Directory, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995; 1920 United States Federal Census
(Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018); Alexander Dunbar, American Mining Manual (Chicago: The Mining
Manual Company, 1920), 159. The 1918 directory lists Jesse H. Holmes Jr. as secretary of the Tungsten Mining Co.
while no occupation is listed for David Holmes. By the 1920 census, David reported his occupation as “architect”
while Jack Holmes reported his occupation as mill manager, presumably of the Luckie #2 Tungsten Mill.
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David Holmes pursued mining interests as well.52 In 1918, Jesse Holmes transferred lots 5, 6,
and 7 in the Mapleton subdivision to David, who quickly built a home where he and his wife
Helen lived.53 David’s parents and Jack Holmes continued to live at the Boulderado Hotel. By
1920, David had resumed his architecture career, likely working out of his home at 570 Highland
Avenue. 54
In May 1922, David Hull Holmes’s wife, Helen, acquired lots 18, 19, and 20 in Block 32 of the
University Place Addition and quickly transferred the land to her father-in-law, Jesse Holmes.55
Norman B. Elderkin of Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, Canada, had acquired the land in 1892
from the Denver & Boulder Land and Investment Company, the developers of the University
Place Addition, for the sum of one dollar.56 Elderkin remained in Canada and the undeveloped
land was soon acquired by Boulder County due to unpaid property taxes.57 In 1902 real estate
speculator James H. Gilfillan of Colorado Springs acquired the lots and several others via
treasurer’s deed.58 Lot 18 was eventually split off and sold to B. A. Johnson and lots 19 and 20
passed into the hands of Meda H. Bean before the two Boulder County residents sold their
undeveloped property to Helen Holmes in 1922.59 The Holmes family already owned lots 21, 22,
and 23 to the south and Jesse Holmes purchased lots 15, 16, and 17 to the north from Emma S.
Fulton in October 1922, consolidating a total of nine undeveloped lots for the family.60
David
Hull Holmes began drawing plans for an attractive stone home for his parents in the center of
this acreage.
Construction likely began in the summer of 1922 and was completed in July 1923 for $25,633.61
The contractors who executed the plans are unknown, but the level of craftsmanship suggests
that experienced firms were employed. In compliance with the wishes of the subdivision’s
developers, the home was built of red Fountain Formation sandstone quarried at the base of the
iconic Red Rocks formations in what is today Settler’s Park.62 The family owned a large parcel
of land that included Red Rocks and the quarry until 1920 when David Hull Holmes deeded the
land to the City of Boulder for use as a public park.63
52 David Hull Holmes to A. A. Paddock, editor of the Boulder Daily Camera, January 17, 1944. Boulder Daily
Camera Archive, Carnegie Local History Library, Boulder.
Other local stone was used as well,
including Loveland Buff and Lyons Red sandstone. Holmes’s experience managing construction
53 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 417, 42. 54 1920 United States Federal Census (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018).
55 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 479, 195-196; Book 475, 527; Book 490, 263, 324.
56 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 157, 122.
57 Naturalization Index of the Superior Court for Los Angeles County, California, 1852-1915 (Ancestry.com,
accessed 30 June 2018). Elderkin would remain in Canada until 1903 when he immigrated to California.
58 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 233, 46; 1902 Colorado Springs City Directory, U.S. City Directories, 1822-
1995 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018). 59 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 479, 195-196. 60 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 490, 113. Emma S. Fulton may have been related in some way to the Fulton
brothers who served as real estate agents for the Denver and Boulder Land Investment Company, but evidence of a
connection not uncovered during research. 61 Holmes family records in possession of Caroline and Joseph Stepanek. 62 Per Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
63 Boulder County Deed Records, Book 435, 257.
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of the Desert Botanical Laboratory in Tucson, which also utilized locally quarried stone, likely
proved helpful during this time.
The home’s Italian Renaissance Revival design was in-keeping with the revivalist idiom Holmes
favored in Tucson and San Diego, but represented a shift away from his more overtly Spanish-
influenced work. Holmes use of vigas and wrought iron, however, clearly reflected his time
spent in the southwest. His penchant for using unusual materials was also on display in his
decision to use repurposed telephone poles as vigas.64
Holmes’s plans originally called for a tile
roof, but as-built the home featured a wood shingle roof with deeply overhanging curved
eaves—a change perhaps inspired by the Rustic style architecture popular in Colorado’s resort
communities during the 1920s. Notable interior features included coved ceilings, indirect
lighting, and rustic copper and mica interior light fixtures designed by Holmes. The basement
living space conveyed a lodge-like feel, with stone wainscoting, a flagstone floor, exposed wood
vigas and one of the home’s most unique features—a small angled window set purposefully to
frame a striking view of the Flatirons to the southwest (Figure 25).
Holmes also employed local stone when designing the property’s landscape features,
constructing a garden wall and terrace from the same sandstone as the house. A separate
sandstone wall built along the southern property line would later form part of the foundation for
the house Holmes built for himself and his wife to the south on lots 21, 22, and 23 in 1927. The
surrounding landscape was surprisingly bare when the home was first built, consisting primarily
of small spruce and pine trees planted in the front lawn (Figures 9 and 10).
David’s parents would never occupy the grand house their son designed for them. Jesse Holmes
fell ill and passed away in 1924 at age 81 and Clara Holmes continued to live at the Boulderado
Hotel until her death in 1929.65 In August 1925, Clara entered into a contract with the Nu
Chapter House Association of Alpha Sigma Chi sorority to sell the home. Clara agreed to sell the
house for $32,500 with the stipulation that an addition to the house would be constructed “in
strict accordance” with plans and specifications prepared by David H. Holmes (Figures 17-19).66
The groundbreaking for the new wing took place on August 5th of 1925.67
64 Ellen Bull, “David H. Holmes Designed House in Which He, Mrs. Holmes Live,” Boulder Daily Camera, April 7,
1962.
The contract suggests
that a few of the home’s details had remained unfinished at the time of Jesse Holmes’s death,
specif ying that Clara would “perform the removal and installation of fixtures of all kinds, and
unit or units of heating plant,” glass in the south sun porch, and convert the heating system to a
coal burning plant that would be adequate to heat the house and the addition “under all weather
65 U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018); 1926 and 1928 Boulder City
Directory, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018). 66 Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Records, Book 530, 161.
67 Holmes family records.
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conditions.”68 The Holmes family would bear the cost of constructing the addition, which was
estimated at $7,500, and have the home ready for the sorority to occupy by November 1, 1925.69
Alpha Chi Omega, 1926-1934
On Sunday, January 24, 1926, the Nu chapter of the Alpha Chi Omega sorority held a house-
warming party for faculty and out-of-town guests at their new chapter house at 720 11th Street.
A second party for students took place the following Sunday. The Denver Post announced the
events, commenting that the formal opening of Alpha Chi Omega’s new home was “of great
interest in college circles” and noting the home’s stone construction and “Italian architecture.”70
The Nu chapter of Alpha Chi Omega sorority was first established at the University of Colorado
on September 6, 1907, with nine charter members. After briefly occupying a house at the corner
of 12th and Pennsylvania the chapter moved frequently, occupying a number of homes in the
University Hill area between 1907 and 1925. Alpha Chi Omega was one of six sororities
installed at Boulder during this time, with an active membership of 14 women in 1911. At that
time women represented 35 percent of the university’s total student population of 1,005. Ninety-
one women had joined the sorority by 1916.71
Why the sorority chose to purchase 720 11th Street is unknown, but the appeal of a handsome
architect-designed home was likely a factor in the chapter’s decision to purchase the impressive
stone house from Clara Holmes. As historians Tom and Laurie Simmons note, during the 1920s
each of the University of Colorado’s fraternities and sororities “hoped to build a substantial and
architecturally significant chapter house which would represent the group’s image to the outside
world.”72
The large two-story addition designed by David Hull Holmes for the sorority included a large
second floor dormitory with space for nine single beds, four small bedrooms and a two-shower
washroom on the first floor, and a kitchen, cook’s room and two additional bedrooms on the
basement level. The dining room, den, and living rooms in the 1923 portion of the house were
available for social events and meetings, as was the walled garden space at the rear of the home.
According to histories produced by Alpha Chi Omega in 1911 and 1917, weekly meetings were
held at the Boulder chapter houses as well as monthly musical programs and other social events
such as teas, dances, rush parties, dinners, and “beefsteak fries.”73 It is presumed that the same
type of meetings and social events took place at 720 11th Street after 1926. The sorority chose to
relocate again in 1933, and the Holmes family reacquired the property in 1934.74
68 Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Records, Book 530, 161
69 Ibid. 70 Denver Post, January 23, 1926. 71 Mabel Harriet Siller, The History of Alpha Chi Omega (Alpha Chi Omega, 1911), 178-9; Florence Arzelia
Armstrong, The History of Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity (1885-1916) (Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Pub. Co,
1917), 87-8. 72 Simmons and Simmons, 36. 73 Siller, 179; Armstrong, 87-8.
74 Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Records, Book 602, 296.
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David Holmes was living in New York when Alpha Chi Omega returned ownership of 720 11th
Street to the Holmes family. His wife, Helen, had died in 1929 and shortly afterward David and
Jack Holmes moved to New York, where the brothers managed the Thomas Young Nurseries in
Bound Brook, New Jersey, the largest commercial growers of orchids in the world at the time.75
In April 1935, Holmes married LaVergne Ducasse Edmond, whom he had met while traveling in
France.76 After the wedding the couple moved to Boulder, taking up residence in the home he
had designed for his parents.77
Holmes’s Work in Colorado
When David Hull Holmes first returned to Colorado in 1917 he was 43 years old, an age when
many architects were just beginning to master their craft. Jack Holmes’s career had taken him in
other directions and David practiced alone in Boulder, where he was also active in local civic
matters, serving as chairman of the Chamber of Commerce’s highway and community hospital
committees and as a member of the City’s park board.78 Between 1917 and 1929 he “engaged in
building enterprises in Boulder, Denver, Rifle, Colo. and Los Angeles” but the full extent of his
work during this time remains unknown.79
It is clear, however, that the apex of Holmes’s career
occurred during his time spent in Tucson and San Diego.
During his brief hiatus away from Boulder between 1929 and 1935, Holmes may have practiced
in a limited basis in New York, but it was not his primary occupation.80 After returning to
Boulder in 1935 at age 62, Holmes identified himself as an architect, but how actively he
practiced is unclear. It is likely he produced few, if any, significant designs during the 1930s—
the country was in the throes of an economic depression and Holmes was nearing retirement age.
By 1940 he no longer identified himself in the Boulder City Directory as an architect and shifted
his energies to civic and philanthropic pursuits until his death on January 19, 1967.81 The
following table documents the buildings known to be designed by Holmes in Colorado.82
Site Number Address Site Name Date
5BL.4504 570 Highland Street, Boulder Holmes House 1918
5BL.3175 703 11th Street, Boulder Ekeley Residence 1919
5BL.3203 850 12th Street, Boulder Brice Residence 1920
5BL.3195 747 12th Street, Boulder Cowgill Residence (rear addition) ca. 1920s
75 Boulder Daily Camera, November 25, 1929.
76 Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018).
77 1936 Boulder City Directory, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018).
78 Boulder Daily Camera, January 20, 1944. 79 Ibid. 80 1930 United States Federal Census (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018). 81 U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014 (Ancestry.com, accessed 30 June 2018). 82 The 1909 home at 1610 Hillside Road (5BL.3764) in Boulder where Horace Holmes lived for a short time
between 1910 and 1913 is sometimes identified as a David Hull Holmes design. While this is possible, David Hull
Holmes was living and working in Tucson at the time and no direct evidence supports the theory that he designed
the house. In 76 Historic Homes of Boulder County Jane Barker lists 1600 Hillside Road (5BL.3859) as a Holmes-
designed house. Built in 1905, it is unlikely that Holmes designed this house for the same reasons.
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5BL.1119 720 11th Street, Boulder David Hull Holmes House 1923
N/A 1075 Logan Street, Denver Bunker House ca. 1925
5BL.1473 1123 Baseline Road, Boulder Holmes/Storke House 1927
N/A 789 Gaylord Street, Denver Osmer House 1927
The Osmer House at 789 Gaylord Street in Denver (within the locally designated Seventh
Avenue Historic District) shares a number of similarities with the David Hull Holmes House and
both represent excellent examples of Holmes’s adaptation of his eclectic revivalist aesthetic to
the regional conditions along Colorado’s Front Range. Like the David Hull Holmes House, the
Osmer House (Figure 26) is built of native sandstone with a central inset arched entry and
wrought iron balconet above. The home’s narrow multi-light metal casement windows and sun
porch were featured in a 1927 ad for the International Casement Company (Figure 26). Of these
two homes, the David Hull Holmes House retains the strongest overall integrity. Holmes
designed a third house in the same style for Arthur H. Bunker circa 1925 that was presumably
demolished in 1963.83
The 1918 residence at 570 Highland Street (Figure 28) and the house Holmes designed at 850
12th Street (Figure 29) in 1920 are in-keeping with the white stucco-clad homes he designed
during the later part of his career in Tucson. Both homes are notable for their clean, bold lines,
deep roof overhangs and stripped-down simplicity. A large front addition was added to 570
Highland in the mid-twentieth century and it unfortunately no longer conveys its significance as
an example of Holmes’s work. The integrity of 850 12th Street is high and the home is currently
owned by Holmes’s grandniece, Caroline Stepanek and her husband Joseph.
Holmes reportedly served as a consultant on the design of the Ekeley Residence, a Tudor Revival
home located across the street from the home he built for his parents. With its stone first-story
walls and faux half timbering, the home bears a resemblance to the 1907 H. H. Rockwell House
Holmes designed in Tucson (Figure 4). Nearby, Holmes completed a rear addition to the Cowgill
residence at 747 12th Street in the 1920s. Marthana Cowgill and her sister, Josephine, operated a
nursing home for tuberculosis sufferers at the residence, later purchasing the Mesa Vista
Sanatorium, where they continued to treat patients.
The most unique of the known buildings attributed to Holmes is the home he designed and built
for himself and his wife Helen in 1927 next door to the home he built for his parents (Figure 30).
Executed in local brick and stone the home combined elements characteristic of Holmes’s earlier
work with a distinctive eclectic flare. Holmes intentionally set the house well back from 11th
83 The original drawings for a house Holmes designed for an Arthur Bunker are included in the David Hull Holmes
Collection at the University of Colorado Boulder Special Collections and Archives. In 1926 Arthur H. Bunker
moved from his residence on Emerson Street to 1075 Logan Street in Denver and it is likely that the house Holmes
designed stood at this address. In 1963 a high-rise apartment building was constructed in this location and the
Bunker house presumably demolished. According to Bunker’s obituary in the May 20, 1964, New York Times,
Bunker lived in Denver after World War I where he was president of the Radium Company of Colorado before
purchasing the Thomas Young Nurseries in 1927. David and Jack Holmes would leave Boulder to work for
Bunker’s company in 1929.
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Street to avoid obstructing views of the Flatirons from the basement, sun porch and rooftop
terrace of the family home next door. Particularly notable are the unique masonry techniques
used to construct the home’s central arched entry. Holmes reportedly acquired used fire bricks
from a local brick maker who was dismantling his kilns and used the bricks to expand the stone
wall along the north edge of his property. After the death of his wife in 1929, Holmes sold the
house to university professor Frederic Putnam Storke.84
Unfortunately the Holmes/Storke House
has been heavily altered and no longer conveys Holmes’s original design intent.
No commercial work in Colorado has been attributed to Holmes to date, but he and LaVergne
Holmes platted two subdivisions within five acres of land they owned south of Baseline Road
near their home. Before they platted the Benson Addition and Holmes Addition subdivisions in
1948 and 1952, respectively, David Holmes maintained a Victory Garden and swimming pond
on the land. Sketches that he prepared envisioned the subdivision built out with red-roofed
Spanish Colonial Revival style homes arranged around a cul-de-sac. Unfortunately, the project
did not evolve as anticipated and his vision never came to fruition.85
Holmes Family 1967-present
Before his death in 1967, David Hull Holmes and his second wife LaVergne were active in
Boulder’s civic and social circles. During World War II Holmes served on Boulder’s Office of
Price Administration (OPA) and the couple actively supported England with bond drives and
contributions to Cooperative for American Remittances to Europe (CARE) and Bundles for
Britain. LaVergne Holmes received a thank you note in 1948 from Princess Elizabeth of Great
Britain for her efforts. After the war, David Holmes was a strong advocate for the paving of
Colorado’s principal highways and helped to establish the Boulder-Denver Toll Road (now part
of U.S. Highway 36) in the early 1950s.
After her husband’s death, LaVergne Holmes lived in the couple’s home until shortly before her
death in 1972. Judge Horace B. Holmes Jr., the nephew of David Holmes, and wife June,
inherited the house from LaVergne. Judge and June Holmes lived in the nearby Mapleton Hill
neighborhood and rented the family home at 720 11th Street to various tenants until the 1990s.
The home was featured in Jane Valentine Barker’s 1976 book, 76 Historic Homes of Boulder,
Colorado and in the 2011 book Vintage and Artistic Homes of Boulder by photographer Gayl
Gray.
Horace Burbank Holmes II and June Seydel met at the University of Colorado at Boulder and
married in 1940. During World War II Horace served in the U.S. Navy while June stayed in
Boulder caring for their young daughters Caroline and Charlotte. While Horace was overseas,
David Hull Holmes purchased 541 Highland Ave (5BL.535.43) in the Mapleton Hill
84 Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Records, Book 581, 239.
85 David Holmes platted the Benson Addition, while Lavergne was the owner of record for the Holmes Addition.
Holmes established development restrictions for the Benson Addition, limiting the number of homes to eight and
requiring that homes be constructed of masonry, have at least six rooms and 1500 square feet. Boulder County Clerk
and Recorder Records, Book 840, 294.
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neighborhood for the young couple. After returning from the war, Horace “Bud” Holmes II
served as deputy district attorney in Boulder, later becoming a county judge and ending his
career as a district judge. Both Bud and June were active in civic causes and helped form the
Mapleton Hill Historic District and Attention Homes, a non-profit organization serving at-risk
youth. In 1990 the home was listed as a Boulder historic landmark.
In 1998, Judge Holmes and June sold the University Place home they inherited from David Hull
Holmes to their daughter Caroline and her husband, Joseph Stepanek. Caroline Holmes met
Joseph Stepanek at Boulder’s Casey Junior High in 1956, marrying in 1967. They attended the
University of Colorado at Boulder and after graduate school Joseph joined the U.S. Agency for
International Development. While working for the federal government the couple and their three
daughters lived in Bangladesh 1972-77, Indonesia 1979-83, Kenya 1983-87, Tanzania 1987-91,
and Zambia 1994-96, returning to Boulder between postings. They are now retired and live full
time in the house Caroline’s great uncle designed for her great grandparents.
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_____________________________________________________________________
9. Major Bibliographical References
Bibliography (Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form.)
A Catalogue of the Teachers, Students, Course of Study, and Methods of Instruction in the
Manual Training School of Washington University, 1893-1894. St. Louis: Nixon-Jones
Printing Co. 1894.
Allen, Frederick S. The University of Colorado: 1876-1976. New York: Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc., 1976.
Arizona. Pima County, Tucson. 1910 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images.
Ancestry.com.
Armstrong, Florence Arzelia. The History of Alpha Chi Omega Fraternity (1885-1916).
Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Pub. Co., 1917.
Barker, Jane Valentine. 76 Historic Homes of Boulder County. Boulder: Pruett Publishing Co.,
1979.
Boulder City Directories. U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Ancestry.com.
Boulder County Office of Clerk & Recorder Records
Boulder Daily Camera Photograph Collection, Carnegie Library for Local History, Boulder,
Colorado.
Boulder Daily Camera. January 27-February 3, 1896, November 25, 1929; January 20, 1944.
Boulder Historical Society Photograph Collection, Carnegie Library for Local History, Boulder,
Colorado.
Bull, Ellen. “David H. Holmes Designed House in Which He, Mrs. Holmes Live.” Boulder Daily
Camera, April 7, 1962.
Coates, Charles Penney. History of the Manual Training School of Washington University.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1923.
Colorado. Boulder County. 1910 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital images.
Ancestry.com.
Colorado, County Marriage Records and State Index, 1862-2006. Ancestry.com.
Colorado. Boulder County, Boulder. 1910, 1920, 1930 U.S. Census, population schedules.
Digital images. Ancestry.com.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 34
David Hull Holmes clip file, Boulder Daily Camera archive, Local History Collection, Carnegie
Library for Local History, Boulder, Colorado.
David Hull Holmes Collection, COU-794, Special Collections and Archives, University of
Colorado Boulder Libraries.
Denver Post. January 23, 1926.
Dunbar, Alexander. American Mining Manual. Chicago: The Mining Manual Company, 1920.
Graduates of the Manual Training School of Washington University. St. Louis, Missouri:
Washington University, 1908.
Gray, Gayl. Vintage and Artistic Holmes of Boulder. Boulder: Johnson Books, 2011.
Holmes, David Hull. Letter to A. A. Paddock, editor of the Boulder Daily Camera, January 17,
1944. Boulder Daily Camera Archive, Carnegie Local History Library, Boulder, Colorado.
Holmes, Horace B., Jr. Interview by Maria Rodgers, recorded June 3, 1986. Maria Rodgers Oral
History Program Collection, Carnegie Library for Local History, Boulder, Colorado.
Horace B. Holmes, Jr. clip file, Boulder Daily Camera archive, Local History Collection,
Carnegie Library for Local History, Boulder, Colorado.
Matthews, Gary David. “Holmes and Holmes, Architects, 1905-1912.” Master’s thesis,
University of Arizona, 1969.
Missouri. St. Louis County, St. Louis. 1880 and 1900 U.S. Census, population schedules. Digital
images. Ancestry.com.
National Register of Historic Places nomination files.
Naturalization Index of the Superior Court for Los Angeles County, California, 1852-1915.
Ancestry.com.
New Jersey. Middlesex County, Middlesex, 1930 U.S. Census, population schedule. Digital
images. Ancestry.com.
Portrait and Biographical Record of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. New York and
Chicago: Chapman Publishing Company, 1897.
Reno, Claude T. ed., The Alpha Tau Omega Palm, Vol. XXXVII. Allentown, Pennsylvania:
Alpha Tau Omega, 1917.
San Diego City Directories, U.S. City Directories, 1822-1995. Ancestry.com.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 35
San Diego Union. October 20, 1912; April 6, 1913; June 15, 1913; August 24, 1913; April 26,
1914.
Siller, Mabel Harriet. The History of Alpha Chi Omega. Alpha Chi Omega, 1911.
Simmons, Tom and Laurie Simmons. Boulder Survey of Historic Places Survey Report
(University Hill), 1991.
Smith, Phyllis. A History of Boulder's Transportation, 1858-1984. Boulder: City of Boulder,
1984.
Stone, Wilbur Fiske, ed. History of Colorado, Volume 1. Chicago: S. J. Clarke Publishing
Company, 1918.
Tucson Daily Citizen. May 31, 1900; December 14, 1903; January 1, 1905.
U.S. Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current. Ancestry.com.
U.S. Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014. Ancestry.com.
Virginia, Select Marriages, 1785-1940. Ancestry.com.
Woodward, Calvin Milton. The Manual Training School: Comprising a Full Statement of its
Aims, Methods, and Results, with Figured Drawings of Shop Exercises in Woods and Metals.
Boston: D.C. Heath & Co., 1887.
___________________________________________________________________________
Previous documentation on file (NPS):
____ preliminary determination of individual listing (36 CFR 67) has been requested
____ previously listed in the National Register
____ previously determined eligible by the National Register
____ designated a National Historic Landmark
____ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey #____________
____ recorded by Historic American Engineering Record # __________
____ recorded by Historic American Landscape Survey # ___________
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 36
Primary location of additional data:
_X__ State Historic Preservation Office
_ ___ Other State agency
_ ___ Federal agency
_X__ Local government
_X_ _University
___ _ Other
Name of repository: _____________________________________
Historic Resources Survey Number (if assigned): _5BL.1119_______
______________________________________________________________________________
10. Geographical Data
Acreage of Property _less than one______________
Use either the UTM system or latitude/longitude coordinates
Latitude/Longitude Coordinates (decimal degrees)
Datum if other than WGS84:__________
(enter coordinates to 6 decimal places)
1. Latitude: Longitude:
2. Latitude: Longitude:
3. Latitude: Longitude:
4. Latitude: Longitude:
Or
UTM References
Datum (indicated on USGS map):
NAD 1927 or NAD 1983
1. Zone: 13 Easting: 476242 Northing: 4427846
2. Zone: Easting: Northing:
3. Zone: Easting: Northing:
4. Zone: Easting : Northing:
X
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 37
Verbal Boundary Description (Describe the boundaries of the property.)
The nominated area consists of all of lots 18, 19 and 20, the north 3’ of lot 21 and the south
15’ of lot 17, Block 32, University Place plat, which is equivalent to Boulder County
Assessor parcel number 146331330006.
Boundary Justification (Explain why the boundaries were selected.)
The nominated area encompasses all of the area historically associated with the property.
______________________________________________________________________________
11. Form Prepared By
name/title: _Caroline and Joseph Stepanek, edited by Amy Unger___________________
organization: _property owner________________________ ___________________
street & number: _720 11th Street_____________ _______________________________
city or town: Boulder____________________ state: _CO______ zip code:_80302_____
e-mail: jcvstep@infionline.net
telephone:_________________________
date:_July 6, 2018____________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Additional Documentation
Submit the following items with the completed form:
• Maps: A USGS map or equivalent (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's
location.
• Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous
resources. Key all photographs to this map.
• Additional items: (Check with the SHPO, TPO, or FPO for any additional items.)
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 38
Photographs
Submit clear and descriptive photographs. The size of each image must be 1600x1200 pixels
(minimum), 3000x2000 preferred, at 300 ppi (pixels per inch) or larger. Key all photographs
to the sketch map. Each photograph must be numbered and that number must correspond to
the photograph number on the photo log. For simplicity, the name of the photographer,
photo date, etc. may be listed once on the photograph log and doesn’t need to be labeled on
every photograph.
Photo Log
Name of Property: David Hull Holmes House
City or Vicinity: Boulder
County: Boulder State: CO
Photographer: Amy Unger
Date Photographed: June 2018
Description of Photograph(s) and number, include description of view indicating direction of
camera:
1 of 34: West (front) side, camera facing east.
2 of 34: West (main) entrance, camera facing east.
3 of 34: West (front) side. Detail of visible portion of integrated roof drainage system with
decorative fleur-de-lis design (south side of front façade). Camera facing east.
4 of 34: West (front) and south sides, camera facing northeast.
5 of 34: South side, second story. Taken from rooftop terrace, camera facing west-northwest.
6 of 34: West side of one-story sun porch, camera facing east.
7 of 34: South and east sides of sun porch, camera facing west-northwest.
8 of 34: South side, camera facing east-northeast. Note double sills and vigas below sun
porch windows.
9 of 34: South side, detail of vigas and basement level window below the center sun porch
window. Camera facing north-northeast.
10 of 34: East (rear) side. Rooftop terrace and second story of main side-gable portion
showing hipped roof extension, north chimney and part of the south wall of the 1925
addition. Camera facing north-northwest.
11 of 34: East side, one-story wing. Camara facing west-southwest.
12 of 34: East side, south and center bays of one-story wing. Camera facing west-northwest.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 39
13 of 34: East (rear) entrance, camera facing northwest.
14 of 34: North side. West wall of shed-roof portion and north wall of connector, 1925
addition (first and second stories). North wall of main side-gable section of 1923 house,
showing north entrance, partially walled terrace. Camera facing east-southeast.
15 of 34: Partially-walled terrace at north entrance. Sculpture sits against sandstone garden
wall running east-west. Camera facing northeast.
16 of 34: South side, 1925 addition, hipped-roof portion. Camera facing northwest.
17 of 34: East (rear) side, hipped-roof and shed-roof portions, 1925 addition. Camera facing
west-northwest.
18 of 34: North side, east end of shed-roof portion. Camera facing east-southeast.
19 of 34: North side, west end of shed-roof portion. Camera facing south-southwest.
20 of 34: North side, west wall of shed-roof section, connector, and L-shaped shed-roof
glassed-in porch. 1925 sandstone garden wall is in foreground. Camera facing southeast.
21 of 34: North side. West wall of shed-roof portion, connector, L-shaped shed-roof glassed-
in porch, all constructed 1925. East end of second story, main side-gable portion, constructed
1923. Camera facing south-southeast.
22 of 34: Interior, first-floor living room. Hooded fireplace (center), interior access to sun
porch (left) and casement windows (right). Note coved ceilings and wood cornices above the
windows and door. The cornices hide fixtures that provide indirect lighting. Camera facing
south-southwest.
23 of 34: Interior, basement level living room. Fireplace with window providing view of the
Flatirons at left. Camera facing southwest.
24 of 34: Interior, basement level living room. Copper and mica light fixtures designed by
David Hull Holmes for the house with ceiling vigas visible above. Camera facing east-
southeast.
25 of 34: Interior, second floor bathroom. The bathroom retains its historic materials, finishes
and fixtures. Camera facing east-southeast.
26 of 34: East (alley) side, ca. 1949 detached garage. Camera facing west-southwest.
27 of 34: Detail of east (alley) side of ca. 1949 detached garage showing sandstone garden
wall that forms the south wall of the garage. Camera facing north-northwest.
28 of 34: North side of ca. 1949 detached garage. Camera facing west-southwest.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 40
29 of 34: West side of ca. 1949 detached garage and 1923 sandstone garden wall that forms
the south wall of the garage. Camera facing east-southeast.
30 of 34: West side, north side of front lawn. Camera facing northeast.
31 of 34: North side yard, camera facing west.
32 of 34: East (rear) landscaping. Non-historic column (left) and commemorative arch over
rear driveway. Historic sandstone burn pit and garden wall (right). 1925 addition in
background. Camera facing northwest.
33 of 34: East (rear) lawn. Roof of detached garage is visible center-left. Camera facing
north.
34 of 34: South side yard, camera facing east.
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applications to the National Register of Historic
Places to nominate properties for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to list properties, and to amend existing listings. Response
to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 U.S.C.460
et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 100 hours per response including
time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding
this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Office of Planning and Performance Management. U.S. Dept. of the Interior,
1849 C. Street, NW, Washington, DC.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 41
Location Map
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 42
Sketch Map
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 43
Figures
Figure 1: The University Place subdivision ca. 1905. The Colorado Chautauqua grounds are visible in the upper right at the
base of the Flatirons. Boulder Historical Society Collection, Carnegie Library for Local History, BHS 208-2-29.
Figure 2: The 1921 Hellems Arts and Sciences Building was the first University of Colorado building designed by Charles
Klauder in the “Colorado Style” after adoption of Klauder’s campus master plan in 1918. Photograph dated May 1922. Boulder
Historical Society Collection, Carnegie Library for Local History, BHS 240-2-30.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 44
Figure 3: David H. Holmes, far right, teaching a drawing class at Arizona University, ca. 1901. From A Photographic History of
the University of Arizona, University of Arizona Foundation.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 45
Figure 4: 1907 H. H. Rockwell House, 405 West Franklin, Tucson, Arizona. From El Presidio Historic District National Register
file.
Figure 5: Cheney House. El Presidio Historic District National Register file.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 46
Figure 6: The Hittinger Block (JC Penney/Chicago Store), Tucson, Arizona, ca. 1906. University of Arizona Special Collections.
Figure 7: Second house David Holmes built for himself at 742 E. University Boulevard in Tucson. https://www.rentcafe.com.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 47
Figure 8: Hotel Churchill, San Diego, California, ca. 1915. David Marshall Collection.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 48
Figure 9: David Hull Holmes House, ca. 1923. Courtesy of Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
Figure 10: David Hull Holmes House, ca. 1923. Courtesy of Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 49
Figure 11: Front Elevation, original drawings for 720 11th Street, ca. 1922. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 50
Figure 12: North and South Elevations, original drawings for 720 11th Street, ca 1922. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 51
Figure 13: East (Rear) Elevation, original drawings for 720 11th Street, ca. 1922. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 52
Figure 14: Basement Plan, original drawings for 720 11th Street, ca. 1922. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 53
Figure 15: First Floor Plan, original drawings for 720 11th Street, ca. 1922. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 54
Figure 16: Second Floor Plan, original drawings for 720 11th Street, ca. 1922. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 55
Figure 17: 1925 Addition, South and East Elevations, original drawings. Courtesy of Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 56
Figure 18: Shed Roof Portion, Connector, Glassed-in Porch of the 1925 Addition, East and North Elevations, original drawings.
Courtesy of Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 57
Figure 19: Floorplans, 1925 Addition. Courtesy of Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 58
Figure 20: Alpha Chi Omega sorority chapter house, ca. 1926, Boulder Public Library, Carnegie Library for Local History.
Figure 21: Alpha Chi Omega sorority chapter house, ca. 1928.1928 Coloradan.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 59
Figure 22: David Hull Holmes House ca. 1950s. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph Stepanek.
Figure 23: David Hull Holmes House, 1962. Boulder Daily Camera photograph collection, Boulder Public Library, Carnegie
Library for Local History.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 60
Figure 24: First floor living room, 1962. Boulder Daily Camera photograph collection, Boulder Public Library, Carnegie
Library for Local History.
Figure 25: Basement living room, 1962. Boulder Daily Camera photograph collection, Boulder Public Library, Carnegie Library
for Local History.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 61
Figure 26: Osmer House, 789 Gaylord Street, Denver, ca. 2018. Tulia.com
Figure 27: The sun porch Holmes designed for the Osmer House was featured in a 1927 advertisement in The House Beautiful.
https://www.periodpaper.com, accessed July 9, 2018.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 62
Figure 28: 570 Highland Avenue, Boulder. Photo by Amy Unger.
Figure 29: 850 12th Street, Boulder. Photo by Amy Unger.
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service / National Register of Historic Places Registration Form
NPS Form 10-900 OMB No. 1024-0018
David Hull Holmes House Boulder, CO
Name of Property County and State
Sections 9-end page 63
Figure 30: Holmes/Storke House, 1123 Baseline Road, Boulder, ca. 1986. Boulder Public Library, Carnegie Library for Local
History.
Figure 31: LaVergne Ducasse Edmond (left) and David Hull Holmes (right) circa 1940s. Courtesy Caroline and Joseph
Stepanek.
Photo 1: West (front) side, camera facing east.
Photo 2: West (main) entrance, camera facing east.
Photo 3: West (front) side. Detail of visible portion of integrated roof drainage system with decorative fleur-de-
lis design (south side of front façade). Camera facing east.
Photo 4: West (front) and south sides, camera facing northeast.
Photo 5: South side, second story. Taken from rooftop terrace, camera facing west-northwest.
Photo 6: West side of one-story sun porch, camera facing east.
Photo 7: South and east sides of sun porch, camera facing west-northwest.
Photo 8: South side, camera facing east-northeast. Note double sills and vigas below sun porch windows.
Photo 9: South side, detail of vigas and basement level window below the center sun porch window. Camera
facing north-northeast.
Photo 10: East (rear) side. Rooftop terrace and second story of main hipped roof portion showing shallow
hipped roof projection, north chimney and part of the south wall of the 1925 addition. Camera facing north-
northwest.
Photo 11: East side, one-story wing. Camara facing west-southwest.
Photo 12: East side, south and center bays of one-story wing. Camera facing west-northwest.
Photo 13: East (rear) entrance, camera facing northwest.
Photo 14: North side. West wall of shed-roof portion, connector, 1925 addition (first and second stories). North
wall of main side-gable section of 1923 house, showing north entrance, partially walled terrace. Camera facing
east-southeast.
Photo 15: Partially walled terrace of north entrance. Sculpture sits against sandstone garden wall running east-
west. Camera facing northeast.
Photo 16: South side, 1925 addition, hipped-roof portion. Camera facing northwest.
Photo 17: East (rear) side, hipped-roof and shed-roof portions, 1925 addition. Camera facing west-northwest.
Photo 18: North side, east end of shed-roof portion. Camera facing east-southeast.
Photo 19: North side, west end of shed-roof portion. Camera facing south-southwest.
Photo 20: North side, west wall of shed-roof section, connector, and L-shaped shed-roof glassed-in porch. 1925
sandstone garden wall is in foreground. Camera facing southeast.
Photo 21: North side. West wall of shed-roof portion, connector, L-shaped shed-roof glassed-in porch, all
constructed 1925. East end of second story, main side-gable portion, constructed 1923. Camera facing south-
southeast.
Photo 22: Interior, first-floor living room. Hooded fireplace (center), interior access to sun porch (left) and
casement windows (right). Note coved ceilings and wood cornices above the windows and door. The cornices
hide fixtures that provide indirect lighting. Camera facing south-southwest.
Photo 23: Interior, basement level living room. Fireplace with window providing views of the Flatirons at left.
Camera facing southwest.
Photo 24: Interior, basement level living room. Copper and mica light fixtures designed by David Hull Holmes for
the house with ceiling vigas visible above. Camera facing east-southeast.
Photo 25: Interior, second floor bathroom. The bathroom retains its 1923 materials and finishes. Camera facing
east-southest.
Photo 26: East (alley) side, ca. 1949 detached garage. Camera facing west-southwest.
Photo 27: Detail of east (alley) side of ca. 1949 detached garage showing sandstone garden wall that forms the
south wall of the garage. Camera facing north-northwest.
Photo 28: North side of ca. 1949 detached garage. Camera facing west-southwest.
Photo 29: West side of ca. 1949 detached garage and 1923 sandstone garden wall that forms the south wall of
the garage. Camera facing east-southeast.
Photo 30: West side, north side of front lawn. Camera facing northeast.
Photo 31: North side yard, camera facing west.
Photo 32: East (rear) landscaping. Non-historic column (left) and commemorative arch over rear driveway.
Historic sandstone burn pit and garden wall (right). 1925 addition in background. Camera facing northwest.
Photo 33: East (rear) lawn. Roof of detached garage is visible center-left. Camera facing north.
Photo 34: South side yard. Camera facing east.