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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 09/18/2018 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 120, 2018, DESIGNATAgenda Item 7 Item # 7 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY September 18, 2018 City Council STAFF Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner Brad Yatabe, Legal SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 120, 2018, Designating the Evans/Reidhead Property, 707 West Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, Colorado, as a Fort Collins Landmark Pursuant to Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This item is a quasi-judicial matter and if considered on the discussion agenda, it will be considered in accordance with the procedures described in Section 1(e) of the Council’s Rules of Meeting Procedures adopted in Resolution 2018-034. The purpose of this item is to consider the request for landmark designation of the Evans/Reidhead Property, 707 West Mountain Avenue, for its important associations with James (Jim) Reidhead, and as an excellent example of a Dutch Colonial Revival style home in Fort Collins. This is a voluntary designation at the property owner’s request. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION The Evans/Reidhead Property is significant under Fort Collins Landmark Designation Standard B as the home of notable Fort Collins resident James (Jim) Reidhead, who spearheaded several development and preservation efforts in Fort Collins and Larimer County including the Downtown Development Authority, University Connections, and the Rural Land Use Center. The house also qualifies under Standard C for its embodiment of the Dutch Colonial Revival style, including such elements as the steeply-pitched gambrel roof, long, shed dormer, and cornice returns. This house is also the only example in Fort Collins of a Dutch Colonial Revival style home designed by prominent local architect Montezuma Fuller. CITY FINANCIAL IMPACTS Recognition of this property as a Fort Collins Landmark enables its owners to qualify for local financial incentive programs available only to Landmark designated properties. BOARD / COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION At its August 15, 2018, regular hearing, the Landmark Preservation Commission unanimously (7-0, Dunn recused, Bello absent) adopted a resolution recommending adoption of an ordinance by Council for landmark designation. Agenda Item 7 Item # 7 Page 2 PUBLIC OUTREACH The Landmark Preservation Commission held a public hearing on this item at its August 15, 2018, meeting. ATTACHMENTS 1. Location Map (PDF) 2. Landmark Preservation Commission Resolution (PDF) 3. Landmark Designation Form (PDF) 4. Signed Landmark Agreement (PDF) 5. Staff Report (PDF) 6. PowerPoint Presentation (PDF) Fullana Elementary W Oak St W Olive St S Grant Ave S Whitcomb St N Grant Ave N Loomis Ave S Washington Ave N Whitcomb St N Washington Ave Wood St Akin Ave Bungalow Ct Woodford Ave S Loomis Ave Laporte Ave W Mountain Ave 707 W Mountain © SITE 1 inch = 250 feet ATTACHMENT 1 ATTACHMENT 2 Revised 08-2014 Page 1 Fort Collins Landmark Designation LOCATION INFORMATION: Address: 707 West Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521 Legal Description: West 1/2 OF Lot 2, East 30 feet OF Lot 3, Block 280, Loomis Addition, Fort Collins Property Name (historic and/or common): Evans/Reidhead Property OWNER INFORMATION: Name: Reidhead James D/Donna J Company/Organization (if applicable): N/A Phone: (970) 224-5421 Email: reidhead@comcast.net Mailing Address: 707 W Mountain Avenue, Fort Collins, CO 80521 CLASSIFICATION: Category Ownership Status Present Use Existing Register Building Public Occupied Commercial Nat’l Register Structure Private Unoccupied Educational State Register Site Religious Object Residential District Entertainment Government Other FORM PREPARED BY: Name and Title: Reyana Jones, Intern Based on an Architectural Inventory Form completed by Humstone Consulting and additional research Address: City of Fort Collins, Historic Preservation Division, P.O. Box 580, Fort Collins, CO 80522 Phone: (970) 224-6078 Email: kmcwilliams@fcgov.com (Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Manager) DATE: June 7, 2018 Planning, Development & Transportation Services Community Development & Neighborhood Services 281 North College Avenue P.O. Box 580 Fort Collins, CO 80522.0580 970. 740 970. 134- fcgo m ATTACHMENT 3 Revised 08-2014 Page 2 TYPE OF DESIGNATION and BOUNDARIES Individual Landmark Property Landmark District Explanation of Boundaries: The boundaries of the property being designated as a Fort Collins Landmark correspond to the legal description of the property, which encompasses .21 acres. Historic resources on the property consist of the 1922 house, 1924 garage, and historic driveway. SIGNIFICANCE and INTEGRITY Properties are eligible for designation if they possess both significance and exterior integrity. Significance is the importance of a site, structure, object or district to the history, architecture, archeology, engineering or culture of our community, State or Nation. For designation as Fort Collins Landmarks or Fort Collins Landmark Districts properties must meet one (1) or more of the following standards: Standard A: Events. This property is associated with events that have made a recognizable contribution to the broad patterns of the history of the community, State or Nation. It is associated with either (or both) of these two (2) types of events: 1. A specific event marking an important moment in Fort Collins prehistory or history; and/or 2. A pattern of events or a historic trend that made a recognizable contribution to the development of the community, State or Nation. Standard B: Persons/Groups. This property is associated with the lives of persons or groups of persons recognizable in the history of the community, State or Nation whose specific contributions to that history can be identified and documented. Standard C: Design/Construction. This property embodies the identifiable characteristics of a type, period or method of construction; represents the work of a craftsman or architect whose work is distinguishable from others by its characteristic style and quality; possesses high artistic values or design concepts; or is part of a recognizable and distinguishable group of properties. Standard D: Information potential. This property has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history. Exterior Integrity is the ability of a site, structure, object or district to be able to convey its significance. The exterior integrity of a resource is based on the degree to which it retains all or some of seven (7) aspects or qualities: location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. All seven qualities do not need to be present for a site, structure, object or district to be eligible as long as the overall sense of past time and place is evident. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE and EXTERIOR INTEGRITY The Evans/Reidhead Property is significant under Fort Collins Standards B and C. Under Standard B, association with a recognizable local person, this property served as the home of notable Fort Collins resident James (Jim) Reidhead, who spearheaded several development and preservation efforts in the city including the Downtown Development Authority. The house also qualifies under Standard C for its embodiment of the Dutch Colonial Revival style, including elements like a steeply-pitched gambrel roof, long, shed dormer, and cornice returns. This house is also the only example in Fort Collins of a Dutch Colonial Revival style home designed by prominent local architect Montezuma Fuller. Revised 08-2014 Page 3 The Evans/Reidhead Property retains excellent integrity: Standard A: Location. This property is located where it was originally constructed. The house has not been moved since its 1922 construction, nor has the garage since its 1924 construction. Standard B: Design. This property retains a combination of elements that create its historic form, plan space, structure, and style. The historic portion of the house appears largely unchanged. Renovations include a roof, balustrade, and columns for the existing concrete porch on the façade; the porch’s Tuscan columns match those on the portico. Although the porch roof’s exposed rafter tails do not appear elsewhere on the house, they align with Colonial Revival style and mirror those on the 1924 garage. These changes to the porch are reversible and do not significantly impact the design of the house. The addition to the south elevation of the house is not visible from the street and features Dutch Colonial details that are compatible with the original design; the intersecting gambrel addition features shed dormers and windows matching the historic portion. The garage retains integrity similarly, with no apparent alterations to its design. Standard C: Setting. This property retains a character and relationship with its surroundings that reflect how and where it was originally situated in relation to its surrounding features and open space. This property is situated on Mountain Avenue in the Loomis Addition, an area that is still primarily single-family residential. The broad avenue retains its central greenspace. The houses surrounding this property reflect the original character of the neighborhood and do not compromise the property’s setting. The property retains the historic driveway it shares with its neighbor to the west; the neighbor’s garage has been removed, but the Evans/Reidhead Property garage still sits on its side of the driveway. Standard D: Materials. This property retains much of the historic physical elements that originally formed the property. The house and garage retain original materials, including exterior walls, windows, and doors. Shingles in the front dormer have been replaced with material like the original. The roof was likely wood shingled previously but is now made of more durable asphalt shingles. Windows from the house’s original south wall, which was altered during the construction of the rear addition, were integrated into the east side of the addition. The addition uses stucco, matching the original portion of the house. The dormers of the addition resemble the dormer on the façade, including the wooden shingles. The garage remains a frame structure, as it was in 1924, with what is likely its original hardware. Standard E: Workmanship. This property possesses evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. This consists of evidence of artisans' labor and skill in constructing or altering the building, structure or site. The house exhibits workmanship through its portico, whose Tuscan columns and segmental arch emphasize the front door. The shed dormer on the façade is also striking, running two-thirds the length of the building. The garage’s large, wooden door slides sideways along an extended track like many garage doors from this period. During the building’s alteration in 2000, the owner, Jim Reidhead, and his wife, Donna, took considerable care to arrange for details to reflect the original house, including matching window casings, column details, and more. Standard F: Feeling. This property expresses the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period or time. This results from the presence of physical features that, taken together, convey the property's historic character. The design and setting of this property evoke the historical context of growth and neighborhood development in the Loomis Addition during the early twentieth century. The situation of the garage on the alleyway running behind the houses facing Mountain similarly elicits the feeling of the city’s early automobile era. Standard G: Association. This property retains an association, or serves as a direct link to, an important historic event or person. In its design, this property retains an association with notable Colorado architect Montezuma Fuller. This property also served as the home of Jim Reidhead, a prominent member of the community and advocate of preservation and city development, who directed the construction of the 2000 rear addition. Revised 08-2014 Page 4 HISTORICAL INFORMATION Montezuma Fuller, the architect of 707 W. Mountain, was born in 1858 in Horton, Nova Scotia. In his youth, he worked as a ships’ carpenter and later went to Kingston, New York, where he met his wife Anna Graham in 1879- 80. He moved to Fort Collins in 1880, where he became a skilled carpenter and builder. Anna, her parents, and siblings joined him later that year and they married in 1881. Fuller had a natural ability to draw and became known as an architect; he was soon named the first architect in residence in Fort Collins. Fuller’s son, two grandsons, and great grandson all became architects. Fuller is responsible for the design of over seventy-five buildings in Fort Collins. Historic newspapers confirm Fuller’s design of the Evans/Reidhead house.1 The Evans/Reidhead Property is the only known Dutch Colonial Revival-style building Fuller designed in Fort Collins despite the popularity of the design. Fuller incorporated typical Dutch Colonial Revival details including a steeply-pitched gambrel roof, long shed dormer, cornice returns, and Georgian elements, like the shallow fanlight and segmental-pediment portico supported by Tuscan columns emphasizing the front door. Additionally, the house closely resembles a drawing by architect William Radford, which appeared in a 1919 Fort Collins Courier. During the early twentieth century, the Courier regularly featured houses designed by the Radford Architecture Company of Chicago and architect W.W. Purdy, suggesting the popularity of similar designs during this period.2 Although there is no evidence that Fuller designed the 1924 garage, it has details characteristic of Colonial Revival design and embodies shape and accessibility emblematic of garages in Fort Collins in the early twentieth century. Despite their absence on the main building, the garage’s exposed rafter tails are typical of Colonial Revival buildings. The garage’s small size, a one-car construction, and its positioning, on the rear of the lot against an alley, are representative of garages designed for the early automobile era in Fort Collins. Its large, wooden, sliding door is indicative of its early twenties construction and contrasts with more common swinging or roll-up door designs. The setting of this property suggests a connection to Fort Collins’s City Beautiful efforts. City Beautiful movement adherents believed that improving surroundings would improve citizens’ well-being and pursued this goal by widening streets, adding greenspaces, using classical design elements, and ordering spaces. This property lies on a block with an uncommon T-shape, which creates lots with significant yard space; this long, narrow property provided ample space for gardening or landscaping, still evident despite a rear addition. Furthermore, lots on the north side of the block, like the Evans/Reidhead Property, face Mountain Avenue because of this configuration, overlooking the wide, green avenue. These aspects of this property allude to the City Beautiful movement’s emphasis on greenspace.3 Over its history, the Evans/Reidhead Property reflected the development of the Loomis Addition during the 1920s. Mountain Avenue thrived during this period as the street was paved almost all the way to the newly developed park at its west end. Construction of the Evans/Reidhead Property coincided with the pavement of Mountain Avenue and occurred shortly after the construction of the Mountain trolley line to City Park, demonstrating a connection to Fort Collins’s transportation history. Middle and upper-class businessmen and professionals moved into the Loomis Addition during this period as the local economy recovered from World War I and began to grow again. The residents of 707 W Mountain mirror this demography and growth. 1 Virginia Bennett, “Colorado Architects Biographical Sketch: Montezuma Fuller” (Denver: History Colorado), http://legacy.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/OAHP/Guides/Architects_fuller_montezuma.pdf; “Personals” Fort Collins Courier, February 28, 1922. 2Mary Humstone, Rheba Massey, and Carly-Ann Anderson, “Loomis Addition Historic Context,” Prepared for the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Program (Fort Collins, CO: Humstone Consulting, 2015), 97-98. 3Humstone, et al., 45-46. Revised 08-2014 Page 5 Harry Evans and his wife Joey Lee Evans were the first owners of this house, constructed by R. R. Lindenmeier in 1922. They owned the Evans Book Store and later the Colorado Typewriter and Office Equipment Co. Inc. Joey was treasurer and later president of the latter business. In 1944, the Evans sold their home to Roberta and Edward W. Withrow, who then sold it to Charles and Olive Sandidge in 1945. Eugene and Patricia Markley purchased this property in 1948 and resided there until 1957. The Markleys owned a local business, Markley Ford Motors (then located at 246 N. College), which opened in 1936 and is still owned and operated by the Markley family today. From 1957-1966, Lawrence J. and Gertrude McMillan owned this home. Lawrence was an instructor at Colorado A&M, worked with the local 4-H chapter and university extension services, and later functioned as director of conference services. In 1966, William T. Franklin, professor of agronomy at CSU, and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased the home. After William’s death, Elizabeth continued to live there until she sold the home to Jim and Donna Reidhead in 1991.4 Jim and Donna Reidhead were prominent in the early preservation movement in Fort Collins. They, with their partners Mr. and Mrs. Carey Hewitt, started “The Cupboard,” a retail kitchenware store, in 1972 in the historic Northern Hotel building on College Ave. Jim Reidhead went on to help restore several buildings in Old Town through his role as project manager for Old Town Associates/E. E. Mitchell, and Co., managing a renovation and construction team from 1981 to 1985. He was part of the original Old Town Square project in the 1980s, working with Gene Mitchell to revitalize that area of Fort Collins. He helped form the Downtown General Improvement District and the Downtown Development Authority. At Colorado State University, Jim began a program of technical building preservation and community development where he worked with cities and towns throughout the state. Jim also worked as the Director of Land Planning and Marketing at Phantom Canyon Ranch, helping to preserve more than ten thousand acres of land, including one of the last remaining roadless canyons in Colorado. In 1997, Jim started the Rural Land Use Center in Larimer County, an innovative conservation-oriented land development program. In 2009, Jim became the director of Univer-City Connections, a group dedicated to mobilizing citizens within their community to strengthen connections between Colorado State University, downtown Fort Collins, and the Poudre River. The Reidhead family has lived at 707 W Mountain longer than any previous owner.5 Throughout his life in Fort Collins, Jim Reidhead’s respect for and participation in preservation extended to his own home. When he and his wife Donna Reidhead bought this property in 1991, Jim ensured the historical integrity of their home during the construction of an addition to the back of their property. Jim and Donna took great care to make the addition unobtrusive from the street and paid attention to details, like matching new windows and dormers with the original style and materials. The condition of this property represents Jim’s dedication to preservation in the city as a whole. Since he and his wife moved to Fort Collins the 1970s, Jim’s eye for space and development, and his passion for preservation, encouraged his civic engagement. Parts of Fort Collins would not look the way they do today without the efforts of Jim Reidhead.6 4 Fort Collins City Directories; “4-H Grain Marketing Awards Program,” Colorado State University Digital Collections, https://dspace.library.colostate.edu/bitstream/handle/10217/186067/ACGF0220_DIP.pdf?sequence=1. 5 David Young, “UniverCity Changes Directors; Doug Johnson Will Leave Just Before End of Two-Year Term,” Coloradoan, October 19, 2009. 6 Pat Ferrier, “’Elder Statesman’ of Downtown Fort Collins Dies,” Coloradoan, November 2, 2016. Revised 08-2014 Page 6 ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION Construction Date: April 17, 1922 Architect/Builder: Montezuma Fuller Building Materials: Stucco, concrete foundation Architectural Style: Dutch Colonial Revival Description: Situated on the south side of Mountain Avenue, the Evans/Reidhead Property features a house and a garage. The original two-story Dutch Colonial Revival-style house is rectangular in plan, with an asphalt-shingled side-gambrel roof and front porch; an intersecting, gambrel-roofed addition extends to the rear. The house rests on a poured concrete foundation, and the exterior walls are covered with stucco. Composition shingles sheath the steeply- pitched gambrel roof, which features cornice returns on the east and west elevations. A partial-width, shed- roofed dormer projects from the north (front) slope, and a brick chimney rises from the center of the ridge. An exterior, stuccoed chimney on the east elevation terminates in a metal stove pipe above the roof. Windows on the older portion of the house are the original wood four-over-one and six-over-one double-hung sashes, excluding basement windows, which are paired under awnings. Windows on the addition match those of the original in style. The north façade is nearly symmetrical, with a central front door between matching window sets consisting of a large stationary window flanked by narrow casement windows. Sidelights and a fanlight frame the wood-paneled door and its upper lights. A small portico with Tuscan columns supporting a segmental pediment shelters the entrance. Concrete steps with a wood railing lead up to the portico. A concrete porch extends to the east of the portico with wooden railings and Tuscan columns supporting a low-pitched shed roof. The concrete deck is original, and the roof and railing were added in 1991. The front dormer is centered on the roof slope and runs approximately two-thirds the width of the roof. At each end of the dormer are paired four-over-one windows. The wall section between them is covered in wood shingles and has a central smaller pair of four-light windows. The matching dormer on the south elevation is mostly obscured by the addition. There is a basement window on the west side of the façade. The west elevation has two basement windows, a single and a paired double-hung window on the first floor to the left and right, respectively, and two single double-hung windows on the second floor. The east elevation has one single double-hung window on the left side of the first floor and two on the second floor. The south elevation of the house is an addition (2000) that continues the Dutch Colonial Revival theme of the house. The addition consists of an intersecting, two-story gambrel-roofed ell. At the south end of the ell, the second story is cantilevered, creating an inset, open porch on the ground level. Tuscan columns, like those on the portico, support this porch. The first floor of the south elevation has a paired, double-hung window and an entry door to its left. The projected second floor has a symmetrical window arrangement: top-justified, two six-over- one windows flank a pair of small, six-light windows; a third small, six-light window of the same size is centered above the inner pair. To the left of the porch on the ell’s south elevation, there is a paired four-over one-window. The east and west elevations of the ell each have two six-over-one windows on the first floor and shed-roofed dormers on the second floor with one paired set of windows to the south and one single window to the north. Two of the windows on the second-floor east side are from the original house, moved from the remodeled southern elevation. The east elevation also has a chimney toward its north side. The dormers on both east and west elevations are sheathed with wood shingles like those on the north-facing dormer on the original portion of the house. The first story of the ell is flush with the east wall of the original house. The west side is slightly inset, exposing a narrow portion of the original south wall. It has a west-facing door sheltered by a shed-roofed porch Revised 08-2014 Page 7 matching the 1991 façade porch. The door is accessible by a concrete deck. There is an original four-over-one window on the original south elevation and a smaller four-over-one window to the right of the door. An 18.2’ X 12.3’ garage, constructed in 1924, lies southwest of the house on the alley. The single-car garage has a gable roof with composition shingles and exposed rafter tails, drop siding with corner-boards, and large, sliding wood doors on the north and south elevations. The door likely retains its original hardware. The door’s track extends off the edge of the structure, so the door can open fully to accommodate a vehicle; this design choice allowed for the garage to be smaller. The two-sectioned garage door has a wide horizontal beam in the middle, making it resemble a barn door. There is a four-light window on the east elevation and a horizontally symmetrical three-light window on the west elevation. Bill Franklin took out a permit for a new garage in 1977, but there is no evidence to suggest this garage was ever built based on the dimensions, location, and materials of the existing garage and testimony from the current owner, Donna Reidhead.7 The front lawn is bisected by a concrete walk from the sidewalk to the house. To the west of the house is a historic driveway that runs from Mountain Avenue to the alley. The driveway consists of two concrete strips with gravel in between; the property line between 707 W Mountain and the adjacent house splits this driveway. The front porch is bordered by planting beds with low flagstone walls. Cedar plank fencing surrounds the property on three sides. There is a grape arbor on the west side of the backyard and a brick and flagstone patio to the east of the back-porch addition. A large tree was transplanted from the backyard to the front yard. Because of the age of these features, only the driveway is considered historic. On July 25, 1921 Harry Evans received a warranty deed from Almeda Belle (Mrs. W.N.) de Armond for the east half of Lot 2 and east thirty feet of Lot 3. The 1922, Fort Collins Courier states, “M. W. Fuller, architect, is drawing plans for a two story, six room concrete and stucco residence to be built at once for Harry Evans. It will be located in the 700 block on W. Mountain. The contract will be let within a day or two. It will be of Dutch Colonial design and will be a beautiful and well-appointed home.” R. R. Lindenmeier built the six-room frame dwelling for $5000. On June 27, 1924, Harry Evans received a permit to build a frame garage, and August 13, 1943, Harry Evans reroofed the house. In 1991, the Reidheads (current owners) added the railings and roof to the front porch on the east end of the façade. Solar panels were added some time before the Reidheads bought the property but were removed in the mid-nineties. The concrete porch is original and appears in a photograph dated 1922 as well as the 1948 and 1967 tax assessor photographs (figures 2 and 3). Jim and Donna Reidhead built a new addition on the south elevation in 2000 with a compatible Dutch Colonial design. These alterations were approved by the Fort Collins Landmark Preservation Commission. 8 7 Donna Reidhead, Interviewed by Reyana Jones, Fort Collins, CO, June 6, 2018. 8 Deed, Book 427, 531, Larimer County Court House, Fort Collins, CO; “Personals,” Fort Collins Courier, February 28, 1922; Fort Collins History Connection, Bldg. Permit Record, April 17, 1922, http://database.history.fcgov.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/bp/id/3560/rec/1; Fort Collins History Connection, Bldg. Permit Record, June 27, 1924, http://database.history.fcgov.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/bp/id/3947/rec/2; Fort Collins History Connection, Bldg. Permit Record, August 13, 1943, http://database.history.fcgov.com/cdm/singleitem/collection/bp/id/8349/rec/4; Donna Reidhead, Interview; 707 W Mountain Tax Assessor Records 1948, 1967, Local History Archive, Fort Collins Museum of Discovery, Fort Collins, CO. Revised 08-2014 Page 8 REFERENCE LIST or SOURCES of INFORMATION Bennett, Virginia. “Colorado Architects Biographical Sketch: Montezuma Fuller.” History Colorado. http://www. legacy.historycolorado.org/sites/default/files/files/OAHP/Guides/Architects_fuller_montezuma.pdf. Colorado State University Digital Collections. Colorado State University. Fort Collins, CO. https://dspace.library.colostate.edu/. Deed. Book 427. Larimer County Court House. Fort Collins, CO. Ferrier, Pat. “’Elder Statesman’ of Downtown Fort Collins Dies.” Coloradoan. November 2, 2016. Fort Collins History Connection. Fort Collins Museum of Discovery and Poudre River Public Library District. Fort Collins, CO. https://history.fcgov.com/. Humstone, Mary, Rheba Massey, and Carly-Ann Anderson. “Loomis Addition Historic Context.” Prepared for the City of Fort Collins Historic Preservation Program. Fort Collins, CO: Humstone Consulting, 2015. Local History Archive. Fort Collins Museum of Discovery. Fort Collins, CO. Reidhead, Donna. Interviewed by Reyana Jones. Fort Collins, CO. June 6, 2018. Young, David. “UniverCity Changes Director; Doug Johnson Will Leave Just Before End of Two-Year Term.” Coloradoan. October 19, 2009. Revised 08-2014 Page 9 MAPS and PHOTOGRAPHS Sketch Map Revised 08-2014 Page 10 Figure 1: c. 1922 Photograph Figure 2: 1948 Tax Assessor Photograph Revised 08-2014 Page 11 Figure 3: 1967 Tax Assessor Photograph Figure 4: North façade (Reyana Jones) AGREEMENT The undersigned owner(s) hereby agrees that the property described herein be considered for local historic landmark designation, pursuant to the Fort Collins Landmark Preservation Ordinance, Chapter 14 of the Code of the City of Fort Collins. I understand that upon designation, I or my successors will be requested to notify the Secretary of the Landmark Preservation Commission at the City of Fort Collins prior to the occurrence of any of the following: Preparation of plans for reconstruction or alteration of the exterior of the improvements on the property, or; Preparation of plans for construction of, addition to, or demolition of improvements on the property DATEDthis ___ '2 \ '$ +- \ lJ...,u .1 .o.aa...... _ ___ dayof J ~ Owner Name (please print) Owner Signature State of OJ\ Orc&ci.:o )ss. County of l-0..X \ 'f¥..C 3 1 Subscribed and sworn before me this _ _ \ _st _ day of J -lA -=.. LLA -=-:1 Notary Revised 08-2014 Page9 I 201!)_. , 201_n_, ATTACHMENT 4 Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 1 STAFF REPORT August 15, 2018 Landmark Preservation Commission PROJECT NAME EVANS/REIDHEAD PROPERTY, 707 WEST MOUNTAIN AVENUE - APPLICATION FOR FORT COLLINS LANDMARK DESIGNATION STAFF Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner PROJECT INFORMATION PROJECT DESCRIPTION: This item is to consider the request for a recommendation to City Council regarding landmark designation for the Evans/Reidhead Property, an excellent example of a Dutch Colonial Revival style home from the early 1920s and home of Jim Reidhead. APPLICANT: Donna Reidhead, Owner RECOMMENDATION: Approval EXECUTIVE SUMMARY COMMISSION ACTION Chapter 14, Article II of the Municipal Code, “Designation Procedures,” provides the process and standards for designation of a property as a Fort Collins Landmark. The Commission shall adopt a motion providing a recommendation on eligibility to City Council. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE and EXTERIOR INTEGRITY The Evans/Reidhead Property is significant under Fort Collins Standards B and C. Under Standard B, association with a recognizable local person, this property served as the home of notable Fort Collins resident James (Jim) Reidhead, who spearheaded several development and preservation efforts in the city including the Downtown Development Authority. The house also qualifies under Standard C for its embodiment of the Dutch Colonial Revival style, including elements like a steeply-pitched gambrel roof, long, shed dormer, and cornice returns. This house is also the only example in Fort Collins of a Dutch Colonial Revival style home designed by prominent local architect Montezuma Fuller. The current owner of this property, Donna Reidhead, has submitted an application requesting consideration for Fort Collins local landmark designation. The Evans/Reidhead Property retains excellent integrity: Standard A: Location. This property is located where it was originally constructed. The house has not ATTACHMENT 5 Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 2 been moved since its 1922 construction, nor has the garage since its 1924 construction. Standard B: Design. This property retains a combination of elements that create its historic form, plan space, structure, and style. The historic portion of the house appears largely unchanged. Renovations include a roof, balustrade, and columns for the existing concrete porch on the façade; the porch’s Tuscan columns match those on the portico. Although the porch roof’s exposed rafter tails do not appear elsewhere on the house, they align with Colonial Revival style and mirror those on the 1924 garage. These changes to the porch are reversible and do not significantly impact the design of the house. The addition to the south elevation of the house is not visible from the street and features Dutch Colonial details that are compatible with the original design; the intersecting gambrel addition features shed dormers and windows matching the historic portion. The garage retains integrity similarly, with no apparent alterations to its design. Standard C: Setting. This property retains a character and relationship with its surroundings that reflect how and where it was originally situated in relation to its surrounding features and open space. This property is situated on Mountain Avenue in the Loomis Addition, an area that is still primarily single- family residential. The broad avenue retains its central greenspace. The houses surrounding this property reflect the original character of the neighborhood and do not compromise the property’s setting. The property retains the historic driveway it shares with its neighbor to the west; the neighbor’s garage has been removed, but the Evans/Reidhead Property garage still sits on its side of the driveway. Standard D: Materials. This property retains much of the historic physical elements that originally formed the property. The house and garage retain original materials, including exterior walls, windows, and doors. Shingles in the front dormer have been replaced with material like the original. The roof was likely wood shingled previously but is now made of more durable asphalt shingles. Windows from the house’s original south wall, which was altered during the construction of the rear addition, were integrated into the east side of the addition. The addition uses stucco, matching the original portion of the house. The dormers of the addition resemble the dormer on the façade, including the wooden shingles. The garage remains a frame structure, as it was in 1924, with what is likely its original hardware. Standard E: Workmanship. This property possesses evidence of the crafts of a particular culture or people during any given period in history or prehistory. This consists of evidence of artisans' labor and skill in constructing or altering the building, structure or site. The house exhibits workmanship through its portico, whose Tuscan columns and segmental arch emphasize the front door. The shed dormer on the façade is also striking, running two-thirds the length of the building. The garage’s large, wooden door slides sideways along an extended track like many garage doors from this period. During the building’s alteration in 2000, the owner, Jim Reidhead, and his wife, Donna, took considerable care to arrange for details to reflect the original house, including matching window casings, column details, and more. Standard F: Feeling. This property expresses the aesthetic or historic sense of a particular period or time. This results from the presence of physical features that, taken together, convey the property's historic character. The design and setting of this property evoke the historical context of growth and neighborhood development in the Loomis Addition during the early twentieth century. The situation of the garage on the alleyway running behind the houses facing Mountain similarly elicits the feeling of the city’s early automobile era. Standard G: Association. This property retains an association, or serves as a direct link to, an important historic event or person. In its design, this property retains an association with notable Colorado architect Montezuma Fuller. This property also served as the home of Jim Reidhead, a prominent Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 3 member of the community and advocate of preservation and city development, who directed the construction of the 2000 rear addition. HISTORICAL INFORMATION Montezuma Fuller, the architect of 707 W. Mountain, was born in 1858 in Horton, Nova Scotia. In his youth, he worked as a ships’ carpenter and later went to Kingston, New York, where he met his wife Anna Graham in 1879-80. He moved to Fort Collins in 1880, where he became a skilled carpenter and builder. Anna, her parents, and siblings joined him later that year and they married in 1881. Fuller had a natural ability to draw and became known as an architect; he was soon named the first architect in residence in Fort Collins. Fuller’s son, two grandsons, and great grandson all became architects. Fuller is responsible for the design of over seventy-five buildings in Fort Collins. Historic newspapers confirm Fuller’s design of the Evans/Reidhead house. The Evans/Reidhead Property is the only known Dutch Colonial Revival-style building Fuller designed in Fort Collins despite the popularity of the design. Fuller incorporated typical Dutch Colonial Revival details including a steeply-pitched gambrel roof, long shed dormer, cornice returns, and Georgian elements, like the shallow fanlight and segmental-pediment portico supported by Tuscan columns emphasizing the front door. Additionally, the house closely resembles a drawing by architect William Radford, which appeared in a 1919 Fort Collins Courier. During the early twentieth century, the Courier regularly featured houses designed by the Radford Architecture Company of Chicago and architect W.W. Purdy, suggesting the popularity of similar designs during this period. Although there is no evidence that Fuller designed the 1924 garage, it has details characteristic of Colonial Revival design and embodies shape and accessibility emblematic of garages in Fort Collins in the early twentieth century. Despite their absence on the main building, the garage’s exposed rafter tails are typical of Colonial Revival buildings. The garage’s small size, a one-car construction, and its positioning, on the rear of the lot against an alley, are representative of garages designed for the early automobile era in Fort Collins. Its large, wooden, sliding door is indicative of its early twenties construction and contrasts with more common swinging or roll-up door designs. The setting of this property suggests a connection to Fort Collins’s City Beautiful efforts. City Beautiful movement adherents believed that improving surroundings would improve citizens’ well-being and pursued this goal by widening streets, adding greenspaces, using classical design elements, and ordering spaces. This property lies on a block with an uncommon T-shape, which creates lots with significant yard space; this long, narrow property provided ample space for gardening or landscaping, still evident despite a rear addition. Furthermore, lots on the north side of the block, like the Evans/Reidhead Property, face Mountain Avenue because of this configuration, overlooking the wide, green avenue. These aspects of this property allude to the City Beautiful movement’s emphasis on greenspace. Over its history, the Evans/Reidhead Property reflected the development of the Loomis Addition during the 1920s. Mountain Avenue thrived during this period as the street was paved almost all the way to the newly developed park at its west end. Construction of the Evans/Reidhead Property coincided with the pavement of Mountain Avenue and occurred shortly after the construction of the Mountain trolley line to City Park, demonstrating a connection to Fort Collins’s transportation history. Middle and upper-class businessmen and professionals moved into the Loomis Addition during this period as the local economy recovered from World War I and began to grow again. The residents of 707 W Mountain mirror this demography and growth. Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 4 Harry Evans and his wife Joey Lee Evans were the first owners of this house, constructed by R. R. Lindenmeier in 1922. They owned the Evans Book Store and later the Colorado Typewriter and Office Equipment Co. Inc. Joey was treasurer and later president of the latter business. In 1944, the Evans sold their home to Roberta and Edward W. Withrow, who then sold it to Charles and Olive Sandidge in 1945. Eugene and Patricia Markley purchased this property in 1948 and resided there until 1957. The Markleys owned a local business, Markley Ford Motors (then located at 246 N. College), which opened in 1936 and is still owned and operated by the Markley family today. From 1957-1966, Lawrence J. and Gertrude McMillan owned this home. Lawrence was an instructor at Colorado A&M, worked with the local 4-H chapter and university extension services, and later functioned as director of conference services. In 1966, William T. Franklin, professor of agronomy at CSU, and his wife, Elizabeth, purchased the home. After William’s death, Elizabeth continued to live there until she sold the home to Jim and Donna Reidhead in 1991. Jim and Donna Reidhead were prominent in the early preservation movement in Fort Collins. They, with their partners Mr. and Mrs. Carey Hewitt, started “The Cupboard,” a retail kitchenware store, in 1972 in the historic Northern Hotel building on College Ave. Jim Reidhead went on to help restore several buildings in Old Town through his role as project manager for Old Town Associates/E. E. Mitchell, and Co., managing a renovation and construction team from 1981 to 1985. He was part of the original Old Town Square project in the 1980s, working with Gene Mitchell to revitalize that area of Fort Collins. He helped form the Downtown General Improvement District and the Downtown Development Authority. At Colorado State University, Jim began a program of technical building preservation and community development where he worked with cities and towns throughout the state. Jim also worked as the Director of Land Planning and Marketing at Phantom Canyon Ranch, helping to preserve more than ten thousand acres of land, including one of the last remaining roadless canyons in Colorado. In 1997, Jim started the Rural Land Use Center in Larimer County, an innovative conservation-oriented land development program. In 2009, Jim became the director of Univer-City Connections, a group dedicated to mobilizing citizens within their community to strengthen connections between Colorado State University, downtown Fort Collins, and the Poudre River. The Reidhead family has lived at 707 W Mountain longer than any previous owner. Throughout his life in Fort Collins, Jim Reidhead’s respect for and participation in preservation extended to his own home. When he and his wife Donna Reidhead bought this property in 1991, Jim ensured the historical integrity of their home during the construction of an addition to the back of their property. Jim and Donna took great care to make the addition unobtrusive from the street and paid attention to details, like matching new windows and dormers with the original style and materials. The condition of this property represents Jim’s dedication to preservation in the city as a whole. Since he and his wife moved to Fort Collins the 1970s, Jim’s eye for space and development, and his passion for preservation, encouraged his civic engagement. Parts of Fort Collins would not look the way they do today without the efforts of Jim Reidhead. ARCHITECTURAL INFORMATION Construction Date: April 17, 1922 Architect/Builder: Montezuma Fuller Building Materials: Stucco, concrete foundation Architectural Style: Dutch Colonial Revival Description: Situated on the south side of Mountain Avenue, the Evans/Reidhead Property features a house and a garage. The original two-story Dutch Colonial Revival-style house is rectangular in plan, with an asphalt- shingled side-gambrel roof and front porch; an intersecting, gambrel-roofed addition extends to the rear. Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 5 The house rests on a poured concrete foundation, and the exterior walls are covered with stucco. Composition shingles sheath the steeply-pitched gambrel roof, which features cornice returns on the east and west elevations. A partial-width, shed-roofed dormer projects from the north (front) slope, and a brick chimney rises from the center of the ridge. An exterior, stuccoed chimney on the east elevation terminates in a metal stove pipe above the roof. Windows on the older portion of the house are the original wood four-over-one and six-over-one double-hung sashes, excluding basement windows, which are paired under awnings. Windows on the addition match those of the original in style. The north façade is nearly symmetrical, with a central front door between matching window sets consisting of a large stationary window flanked by narrow casement windows. Sidelights and a fanlight frame the wood-paneled door and its upper lights. A small portico with Tuscan columns supporting a segmental pediment shelters the entrance. Concrete steps with a wood railing lead up to the portico. A concrete porch extends to the east of the portico with wooden railings and Tuscan columns supporting a low-pitched shed roof. The concrete deck is original, and the roof and railing were added in 1991. The front dormer is centered on the roof slope and runs approximately two-thirds the width of the roof. At each end of the dormer are paired four-over-one windows. The wall section between them is covered in wood shingles and has a central smaller pair of four-light windows. The matching dormer on the south elevation is mostly obscured by the addition. There is a basement window on the west side of the façade. The west elevation has two basement windows, a single and a paired double-hung window on the first floor to the left and right, respectively, and two single double-hung windows on the second floor. The east elevation has one single double-hung window on the left side of the first floor and two on the second floor. The south elevation of the house is an addition (2000) that continues the Dutch Colonial Revival theme of the house. The addition consists of an intersecting, two-story gambrel-roofed ell. At the south end of the ell, the second story is cantilevered, creating an inset, open porch on the ground level. Tuscan columns, like those on the portico, support this porch. The first floor of the south elevation has a paired, double-hung window and an entry door to its left. The projected second floor has a symmetrical window arrangement: top-justified, two six-over-one windows flank a pair of small, six-light windows; a third small, six-light window of the same size is centered above the inner pair. To the left of the porch on the ell’s south elevation, there is a paired four-over one-window. The east and west elevations of the ell each have two six-over-one windows on the first floor and shed- roofed dormers on the second floor with one paired set of windows to the south and one single window to the north. Two of the windows on the second-floor east side are from the original house, moved from the remodeled southern elevation. The east elevation also has a chimney toward its north side. The dormers on both east and west elevations are sheathed with wood shingles like those on the north- facing dormer on the original portion of the house. The first story of the ell is flush with the east wall of the original house. The west side is slightly inset, exposing a narrow portion of the original south wall. It has a west-facing door sheltered by a shed-roofed porch matching the 1991 façade porch. The door is accessible by a concrete deck. There is an original four-over-one window on the original south elevation and a smaller four-over-one window to the right of the door. An 18.2’ X 12.3’ garage, constructed in 1924, lies southwest of the house on the alley. The single-car garage has a gable roof with composition shingles and exposed rafter tails, drop siding with corner- boards, and large, sliding wood doors on the north and south elevations. The door likely retains its original hardware. The door’s track extends off the edge of the structure, so the door can open fully to accommodate a vehicle; this design choice allowed for the garage to be smaller. The two-sectioned garage door has a wide horizontal beam in the middle, making it resemble a barn door. There is a four- Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 6 light window on the east elevation and a horizontally symmetrical three-light window on the west elevation. Bill Franklin took out a permit for a new garage in 1977, but there is no evidence to suggest this garage was ever built based on the dimensions, location, and materials of the existing garage and testimony from the current owner, Donna Reidhead. The front lawn is bisected by a concrete walk from the sidewalk to the house. To the west of the house is a historic driveway that runs from Mountain Avenue to the alley. The driveway consists of two concrete strips with gravel in between; the property line between 707 W Mountain and the adjacent house splits this driveway. The front porch is bordered by planting beds with low flagstone walls. Cedar plank fencing surrounds the property on three sides. There is a grape arbor on the west side of the backyard and a brick and flagstone patio to the east of the back-porch addition. A large tree was transplanted from the backyard to the front yard. Because of the age of these features, only the driveway is considered historic. On July 25, 1921 Harry Evans received a warranty deed from Almeda Belle (Mrs. W.N.) de Armond for the east half of Lot 2 and east thirty feet of Lot 3. The 1922, Fort Collins Courier states, “M. W. Fuller, architect, is drawing plans for a two story, six room concrete and stucco residence to be built at once for Harry Evans. It will be located in the 700 block on W. Mountain. The contract will be let within a day or two. It will be of Dutch Colonial design and will be a beautiful and well-appointed home.” R. R. Lindenmeier built the six-room frame dwelling for $5000. On June 27, 1924, Harry Evans received a permit to build a frame garage, and August 13, 1943, Harry Evans reroofed the house. In 1991, the Reidheads (current owners) added the railings and roof to the front porch on the east end of the façade. Solar panels were added some time before the Reidheads bought the property but were removed in the mid-nineties. The concrete porch is original and appears in a photograph dated 1922 as well as the 1948 and 1967 tax assessor photographs (figures 2 and 3). Jim and Donna Reidhead built a new addition on the south elevation in 2000 with a compatible Dutch Colonial design. These alterations were approved by the Fort Collins Landmark Preservation Commission. STAFF EVALUATION Staff finds that the Evans/Reidhead Property qualifies for Fort Collins Landmark designation under Designation Standards B and C as an excellent example of a Dutch Colonial Revival style residence associated with notable Fort Collins resident James Reidhead with a preponderance of exterior integrity. The dwelling continues to uphold all seven aspects of integrity. SAMPLE MOTIONS If the Commission finds that the Evans/Reidhead Property meets one or more of the criteria for Fort Collins landmark designation, the Commission shall adopt the following motion: That the Landmark Preservation Commission pass a resolution recommending that City Council designate the Evans/Reidhead Property as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with Municipal Code Chapter 14, based on the property’s significance under Standards B and C, for its association with resident James Reidhead and design as an Dutch Colonial Revival style residence, and its preponderance of exterior integrity. If the Commission finds that the Evans/Reidhead Property does not meet the criteria for landmark designation, it shall adopt a motion to this effect, and state its reasoning. Agenda Item 3 Item # 3 Page 7 ATTACHMENTS 1. Landmark Designation Owner Agreement (PDF) 2. Location Map (PDF) 3. Photographs (DOCX) 4. Reference Materials (DOCX) 5. Staff Presentation (PDF) 1 Application for Fort Collins Landmark Designation – Evans/Reidhead Property Yani Jones, Historic Preservation Intern Landmark Preservation Commission 08.15.2018 ATTACHMENT 6 Location and Context 2 c. 1922 Loomis Addition, c. 1928 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property Façade, North Elevation 3 c. 1922 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property Façade, North Elevation 4 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property South Elevation 5 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property East Elevation 6 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property West Elevation 7 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property Garage 8 707 W Mountain –Evans/Reidhead Property 9 Montezuma Fuller Alpert Block Laurel School (330 E Laurel) Peter Anderson House (300 S. Howes) 10 707 W Mountain –Evans/Reidhead Property Jim Reidhead acting as director of the Larimer County Rural Land Use Center Reidhead was involved with the Old Town Square project in the 1980s. Reidhead served as director of UniverCity Connections. 707 W Mountain–Evans/Reidhead Property • Constructed in 1922 • Standard B: People – Associated with Jim Reidhead, a community member influential in city development, especially the establishment of Old Town Square • Standard C: Design/Construction – Montezuma Fuller architect; Dutch Colonial Revival style • Exterior Integrity: Location, Design, Setting, Materials, Workmanship, Feeling, and Association 11 Role of the Landmark Preservation Commission Chapter 14, Article II of the Municipal Code, “Designation Procedures:” • Determine if property meets the criteria of a Fort Collins landmark • Must possess both significance and exterior integrity • Context of the area surrounding the property shall be considered Sec. 14-22(a): If all owners consent in writing, and a majority of Commission approves: • Commission may adopt a resolution recommending to the City Council the designation 12 -1- ORDINANCE NO. 120, 2018 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS DESIGNATING THE EVANS/REIDHEAD PROPERTY, 707 WEST MOUNTAIN AVENUE, FORT COLLINS, COLORADO, AS A FORT COLLINS LANDMARK PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 14 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS, pursuant to City Code Section 14-2, the City Council has established a public policy encouraging the protection, enhancement and perpetuation of historic landmarks within the City; and WHEREAS, by resolution adopted on August 15, 2018, the Landmark Preservation Commission (the “Commission”) determined that the Evans/Reidhead Property at 707 West Mountain Avenue in Fort Collins, as more specifically described in the legal description below (the “Property”), is eligible for landmark designation pursuant to City Code Section 14-5 for its high degree of exterior integrity, and for its significance to Fort Collins under Landmark Standard B (Persons) as the former residence of James Reidhead and Standard C (Design/Construction) as an excellent example of a Dutch Colonial Revival home in Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, the Commission further determined that the Property meets the landmark criteria set forth in City Code Section 14-5, is eligible for designation as a landmark, and has recommended to the City Council that the Property be designated as a landmark; and WHEREAS, the owner of the Property has consented to such landmark designation and desires to protect the Property; and WHEREAS, such landmark designation will preserve the Property’s significance to the community; and WHEREAS, the City Council has reviewed the recommendation of the Commission and desires to follow such recommendation and designate the Property as a landmark; and WHEREAS, designation of the Property as a landmark is necessary for the prosperity, civic pride, and welfare of the public. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That the Property located in the City of Fort Collins, Larimer County, Colorado, described as follows, to wit: -2- WEST HALF OF LOT 2, EAST 30 FEET OF LOT 3, BLOCK 280, LOOMIS ADDITION CITY OF FORT COLLINS, COUNTY OF LARIMER, STATE OF COLORADO be designated as a Fort Collins Landmark in accordance with City Code Chapter 14. Section 3. That alterations, additions and other changes to the buildings and structures located upon the Property will be reviewed for compliance with City Code Chapter 14, Article III, as currently enacted or hereafter amended. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 18th day of September, A.D. 2018, and to be presented for final passage on the 2nd day of October, A.D. 2018. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 2nd day of October, A.D. 2018. __________________________________ Mayor ATTEST: _______________________________ City Clerk