HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 5B-E - Cover Memo for 14th Street Landmark DesignationsItem #5B-E, Page 1
M E M O R A N D U M
April 3, 2019
TO: Landmarks Board
FROM: Jim Robertson, Comprehensive Planning Manager
Lucas Markley, Assistant City Attorney II
Marcy Cameron, Historic Preservation Planner II
James Hewat, Senior Historic Preservation Planner
Caleb Gasparek, Historic Preservation Intern
SUBJECT: Landmarks Designations on the 1000 block of 14th Street
BACKGROUND:
The applications to designate eight buildings on the 1000 block of 14th Street as
individual landmarks were submitted by the property owner in 2015. Prior to this
(Aug. 26, 2015), the Landmarks Design Review Committee (Ldrc) reviewed a
demolition application for the building at 1005 14th St. Finding it potentially eligible for
landmark designation, the Ldrc referred the application to the full board. In response,
the applicant proposed to relocate the building to the adjacent lot at 1027 14th St. and to
designate it and seven other buildings on the 1000 block of 14th Street.
The Ldrc determined the relocated building would retain its historic integrity and
setting in the proposed location and approved the move based upon the understanding
that it would be subsequently landmarked. This corresponded with the submission of
designation applications for properties at 1027, 1031, 1045 and 1059 14th St. The
applications were held in an agreement between the owner and the City until the move
of the house from 1005 14th St. to 1027 14th St. was completed, and construction of the
new building on the corner of 14th Street and Euclid Avenue finished. The new building
is not proposed for landmark designation.
The proposed landmark boundaries include:
1. A portion of the property at 1027 14th St. (3 buildings) – HIS2015‐00280
2. The property at 1031 14th St. (3 buildings) – HIS2015‐00279
3. The property at 1045 14th St. (1 building) – HIS2015‐00283
4. The property at 1059 14th St. (1 building) – HIS2015‐00282
Item #5B-E, Page 2
Figure 1. Landmark Boundary Map
Figure 2. L to R: 1059, 1045, 1031 and 1027 14th St., 2019.
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SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANCE
The four properties are located on the west side of the 1000 block of 14th Street in the
University Hill Neighborhood. The properties are located within the boundaries of the
identified potential University Hill Historic District.
The first house on the block was the Edwardian Vernacular house constructed on the
northwest corner of 14th Street and Euclid Avenue in 1900 and moved approximately
500 feet north in 2016. A decade later, the three Foursquare houses at 1031, 1045 and
1059 14th St. were constructed, likely by the same builder. The growth of the University
of Colorado increased the demand for housing,
resulting in the construction of two alley
houses at 1027 and 1031 14th St. in 1922 and
1924. In 1926, architect Glen Huntington
designed the Greek Revival sorority house at
1027 14th St. The only non‐residential building
on the block is a small frame shed along the
alley at 1031 14th St., likely constructed in the
1920s.
The east side of the 1000 block of 14th Street
followed a similar pattern of development,
with the majority of houses constructed
between 1900 and 1920 and two apartment
houses constructed in 1946 and 1953.
As a group, the eight buildings represent the
University Hill neighborhood’s growth as the
University of Colorado (CU) expanded in the
early twentieth century. The houses served as
lodging for short‐term renters, often CU
students and faculty, and the houses are also
associated with prominent Boulder residents
and accomplished CU faculty.
Item #5B-E, Page 4
1027 14th St. – Glen Huntington Greek House, Swayne House and DeMuth House
Four buildings are located on the property at 1027 14th St.: a multi‐unit apartment
building constructed in 2016 (and not included in the recommended landmark
boundary); a fraternity house designed by Glen Huntington and built in 1926; an
Edwardian Vernacular house that was previously located at the corner of 14th Street and
Euclid Avenue; and a stone alley house built in 1923. The three historic buildings are
proposed for designation.
The two‐and‐a‐half stucco Colonial Revival
building was constructed in 1926 and
designed by Glen Huntington, who lived a
block away at the Huntington Arms.
Huntington was a prominent architect who
designed the Boulder County Courthouse
and the Boulder Bandshell. The building was
constructed for the Alpha Delta Pi sorority
(1926‐1930), and later occupied by the Phi
Sigma Delta fraternity (1931‐1946) before
being used as a boarding house between
1946‐1952. From 1953 to 1968 the building
housed the Zeta Beta Tau and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities from 1969 to 1973. In
1974 and 1975 the building again briefly served as a boarding house called La Hacienda.
The one‐and‐a‐half story Edwardian
Vernacular located north of the fraternity
house was constructed in 1900 and used as a
boarding house from 1906‐1911 before
passing through a series of short‐term
residents. Prominent residents include
Josephine Swayne and her daughter, Ida.
Josephine married oil tycoon Judge James
Swayne in 1887 and was known for her
philanthropic endeavors in Fort Worth,
Texas and for being one of the “lady
managers” of the 1893 Columbian Exposition
in Chicago. She also published a book, wrote
articles for the Daily Camera, and opened one of the first apartment complexes in the
University Hill area at 1127 Broadway.
1027 14th St. Colonial Revival House
Glen Huntington Greek House
1027 14th St. (formerly 1005 14th St.)
Edwardian Vernacular
Swayne House
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Swayne’s daughter Ida received a B.A and M.A from the University of Colorado and
went on to pursue a doctorate from Yale University, though she did not complete her
studies. From 1920 to 1958, she taught chemistry at CU Boulder and worked alongside
her neighbor and chemistry professor Frank E. E. Germann. Ida appeared in the
“American Men of Science, Who’s Who of American Women” and the “Nomenclature
of Organic Chemistry.” Ida was a member of many different societies and sororities at
CU, including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, the American Chemical Society, and the
Colorado‐Wyoming Academy of Sciences. While at the university she co‐authored
several textbooks that were used in chemistry departments.
The stone alley house was constructed in
1924 and rented to University of Colorado
students and faculty. Its first residents were
Percy and Virginia Paddock. A prominent
Boulder citizen, Paddock went on to serve as
postmaster for the city and resided at 1224
Grandview Ave. (now located at 1648 9th St.
and designated as a local landmark). The
alley house’s longest residents were the
DeMuth family, who lived there from 1949
until 1970. Frances DeMuth served as a
secretary for the Geology Department. Her
sons, Hal and Howard, lived here while they
attended CU. Frances later returned to school, earning a degree from CU and later
teaching in Nederland.
1031 14th St. – Veysey‐Cash House and the Jackson House
The two‐story brick house was constructed
in 1909 and was likely built by Benjamin
Nelson. Past residents of the Foursquare
house include Lillian Veysey, who operated
a boarding house at this address from 1920
until 1940, and Margaret Cash, who rented
out the rooms in the basement between 1946
and 1949.
1027 14th St. Stone Alley House
(historically addressed as 1027 14th St.)
DeMuth House
1031 14th St. Brick Foursquare
Veysey-Cash House
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The alley house, historically addressed as
1033 14th St., was constructed in 1923 and
served as student housing until 1946, when
Ellen Jackson lived there with her mother for
a decade. Ellen held two master’s degrees
and was the head of the documents library at
the University of Colorado.
A small accessory building is located north
of the alley house and straddles the property
line between 1031 and 1045 14th St. The
frame building has shiplap siding and a
gable roof. A shed roof addition is located
on the west side and has non‐historic doors.
1045 14th St. – Nelson‐Germann House
Like its neighbors to the north and south,
this house is an intact example of the
Foursquare style popular during the early
twentieth century. It was constructed and
possibly designed by Benjamin Nelson, a
widely‐known building contractor. He lived
here with his family until 1913. The
property’s most illustrious owner was Frank
Erhart Emmanuel Germann, a physicist,
physical chemist and university professor
who is considered a founding member of the
modern chemistry department of the
University of Colorado. The Germanns lived here from 1919 until 1951. Between 1953
and 1969, several religious groups were located in the building, including the Roger
1031 14th St. Frame Alley House
(historically addressed as 1033 14th St.)
Jackson House
1031 14th St. Frame Accessory Building
1045 14th St. Brick Foursquare
Nelson-Germann House
Item #5B-E, Page 7
Williams Baptist Student Center (1953‐1957), the Lutheran Student Foundation (1957‐
1964) and the Longs Peak Association (1964‐1969).
1059 14th St. – Beck‐Coppinger House
This handsome two‐story Foursquare house
was constructed by John Wesley Beck and
his wife, Rachel Amelia Runyon Beck in
1909. John was a Civil War veteran and
chaplain of the Nathaniel Lyon Post No. 5, a
fraternal organization for Civil War Union
veterans that existed in Boulder from 1881 to
1940. The Becks appear to have taken in
boarders during their ownership. Following
Rachel’s death in 1915, Mr. Beck remarried
and moved to 1815 Mapleton Ave. (a local
landmark). From 1915 until 1933, the
property passed between a series of short‐term owners and residents, including a
realtor and his family, a stenographer, teachers, saleswoman at a millinery, a widow
and police patrolman.
James and Edith Coppinger purchased the house in 1933 and lived there until 1961.
They moved to Boulder following James’ retirment as a truck salesman in Denver and
the couple offered furnished rooms for rent.
RECOMMENDED MOTION
If the board chooses to make a single motion, staff recommends the following language:
I move that the Landmarks Board recommend that the City Council designate the following properties as
local historic landmarks, with boundaries as described in the four staff memoranda dated April 3, 2019,
finding that they meet the standards for individual landmark designation in Sections 9‐11‐1 and 9‐11‐2,
B.R.C. 1981, and adopt the stated memoranda as the findings of the board:
1. a portion of the property at 1027 14th St. as a local historic landmark with the buildings to be
known as the Glen Huntington Greek House, the Swayne House and the DeMuth House;
2. the property at 1031 14th St. as a local historic landmark with the buildings to be known as the
Veysey‐Cash House and the Jackson House;
3. the property at 1045 14th St., to be known as the Nelson‐Germann House; and
4. the property at 1059 14th St., to be known as the Beck‐Coppinger House.
1059 14th St. Brick Foursquare
Beck-Coppinger House