Loading...
2020.2.24 Letters in support of 1770 13th - Teahouse designation William Bechhoefer, FAIA 825 10th Street Boulder,CO 80302-7551 e-mail: wbbaumd.edu 24 February 2020 City of Boulder Planning-Historic Preservation 1739 Broadway, 41 Floor PO Box 791 Boulder, CO 80306 To the Boulder Landmarks Board: Enclosed are 5 letters of support for landmarking the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Also enclosed is a copy of a letter written in 2015 by Dr. Hooman Koliji, a colleague from the University of Maryland, who was visiting me here in Boulder. At the time I thought the landmarking process was more imminent than it turned out to be, so I asked him for a recommendation. As you can see from the letter,he is well qualified. You may already have received this letter,but I wanted to make sure you have it. Sinely F William Bechhoefer, AIA *Professor Emeritus of Architecture,University of Maryland, College Park, MD *Friends of The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse UNIVERSITYof DENVER ARTS, HUMANITIES&SOCIAL SCIENCES Department of English February 10, 2020 Dear City of Boulder Landmarks Board Members: I hereby add my name to the City of Boulder citizens who wish to gain Landmark status for the architectural wonder of the Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse. Members of my family have often enjoyed our experience of the Teahouse. And we all value and recognize the marvelous contribution it makes to our city. Thanks for your kind attention to this letter. ours respectfully, Diana Wilson Professor Emerita The Academy 970 Aurora Avenue Apt. A205 Boulder, CO 80302 Sturm Hall,495 12000 E.Asbury Ave. Denver,CO 80208-0940 1 Main:303.871.2266 1 Fax:303.871.2853 1 www.du.edu/english Frances A Burton 832 Lincoln Pl. Boulder, CO 80302 Landmarks Board City of Boulder Dear Board Members, I write in support of granting Landmark status to the Dushanbe Teahouse. Its architecture and history are unique in Boulder,and perhaps in the entire country.Granting it Landmark status would ensure its integrity for the future and would allow it to look and function as the people of Tajikstan intended when they gave it to their sister city. Sincerely yours, Frances Burton February 20, 2020 To: City of Boulder Landmarks Board: The Boulder Dushanbe Teahouse has long been a very enjoyable place for my family to take ourselves and sometimes out of town guests for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The tale of the reason for the gift, and for the long struggles to receive, store, and finally erect it has long been one of our favorite stories to tell. I would like to think of many people in Boulder enjoying the Teahouse for many years to come. ���&. V"4�-Z Martha Van Sickle 833 10" Street,A301 Boulder, CO, 80302 February 12, 2020 To City of Boulder Landmarks Board Boulder, Colorado From Nan Phifer 833 loth Street Boulder, Colorado Dear Landmarks Board Members: I write to encourage you to grant landmark status for the Dushanbe Teahouse. It is a meaningful gift to our residents, it is extraordinarily intricate, and it represents friendship with people who live far from us. To care for and preserve a thing of beauty that expresses international friendship is important. Thank you for considering my request. Yours truly, �'w- 'Pitt, Nan M. Phifer z�i.z, ,� o � o f � � �� � � �� �� � -e�� .�� 3 - 8,y, somas 4 gasC,�� /� UNIVERSITY OF College Park,Maryland 20742-1411 MARYLAND 301.405.8000 TEL 301.314.9583 FAX http://www.arch.umd.edu School of Architecture, Planning&Preservation Architecture•Historic Preservation- Urban Studies and Planning Boulder City Council 1777 Broadway St. Boulder, CO 80302 Re: Dushanbe Tea House July 28,2015 Dear Members of the City Council, I am writing this letter in strong support of Dushanbe Tea House to achieve landmark status. I had a chance to visit the Tea House on an occasion of visiting my dear colleague Prof. Bechhoefer,and had a chance to observe this valuable structure. I found Dushanbe Tea House(Dushanbe means Monday, and there are still popular Dushanbe Bazaar in many cities across Persian Plateau),very charming and beautiful, and certainly a valuable building and an asset to the public life and the beautiful City of Boulder. The design invokes the idea of garden pavilions(Kooshk). The details and ornaments were intricate and relate to Tajik and Afghan architecture (which are under the umbrella of Persian traditions). The ceiling ornamentals were paintings informed by glazed tiling utilized in Tajik architecture, and the wooden columns represent beautiful work of craftsmanship. The use of general patterns(as opposed to geometric patterns)became widely popular after the 15th century across the entire plateau(great examples in Ottoman and Safavid architecture). Since I have not completed research on any Tajik architecture,I cannot tell for sure the authenticity of the ornaments in terms of use of vegetal patters, compositions,and color. However,the overall patterns and colors certainly have strong references to vernacular Tajik/Afghan architecture and overwhelmingly represent Tajik culture. I can tell that spatial references (coffers-like spaces, and other volumes in the ceiling) seem to be authentic and address vernacular architecture(flat ceilings with small cupolas). Ironically, since Boulder is a city in the mountain, such type of roof structures is frequently found in mountainous vernacular architecture of Iran and the region. I found Dushanbe Tea House invaluable in terms of being a cultural delegate to a large region of the world with rich cultures that exceeds Tajikistan. With over 15 years of research and practice in that general region and here in the United States, I can say with confidence that Dushanbe Tea House embodies cultural and architectural values of its origin and much deserves to be valued accordingly. I have travelled extensively internationally and in the U.S., and such cultural representative with this degree of elaboration are rare. I urge members of the City Council and the Public to advocate a landmark status for Dushanbe Tea House, so the City can further cherish this gem. Please do not hesitate to contact me if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, oiv�l F to's Hooman Koliji,M.Arch, MLA,PhD Associate Professor School of Architecture Planning and Preservation University of Maryland College Park Editorial Board: Nexus Network Journal:Architecture and Mathematics Past: Assistant Professor of Architecture and Landscape Architecture School of Architecture and Urban Planning Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.