HomeMy WebLinkAboutRESPONSE - RFP - P1098 HISTORICAL SURVEY POST WWII COMERCIAL AND RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE IN FORT COLLINSYi i �w ° �A r p- f {�P
architectural history I preservation planning I digital preservation media
January 10, 2008
Purchasing Division
City of Fort Collins
215 North Mason Street, Second Floor
Post Office Box 580
Fort Collins, Colorado 80522-0580
RE: RFP No. P1098 Historical Survey: Post -World War II Commercial and Residential Architecture in Fort
Collins, 1945-1967
Dear Sir or Madam
I am writing this letter to express my firm's interest in the City's Request for Proposal PI098 Historical Survey:
Post -World War II Commercial and Residential Architecture in Fort Collins, and to formally submit a proposal from
my firm, Historitecture, LLC. Enclosed, please find five (5) copies of a formal proposal with Historitecture's qualifi-
cations, past experience, expected deliverables, schedule, and expected costs.
Historitecture is qualified to conduct and complete all of the items listed in the scope of services. The firm's prin-
cipals exceed the Secretary of the Interior's standards for qualified architectural historians. My firm has previously
written similar historical contexts and conducted surveys for the City of Fort Collins and across Colorado. I desire
to continue as a part of preservation planning efforts in Fort Collins and am personally interested in the history
and architecture of the City, particularly in the postwar period. I look forward to working with the City of Fort
Collins, the Colorado Historical Society, and property owners through this project.
Please feel free to contact me at any time with any questions or concerns.
Yours truly,
Adam Thomas
Managing Principal,
Architectural Historian
post office box419•estes park colorado86517-•979.58011,6 •wwUv hi(storlipe, r cbm
Project Team and Experience
Historitecture, L.L.C.
Historitecture Architectural Historian Adam Thomas
will serve as principal investigator for this project. He will
conduct all of the background research, public meetings,
field work, form and report completion, as well as project
management. Mr. Thomas is very familiar with all of the
resource types expected to be surveyed, and Mr. Thomas
has completed projects with similar numbers of properties.
Historitecture Architectural Historian Cheria Yost will
assist Mr. Thomas in managing the project, as well as
organizing field data and editing all documents.
Statements of qualifications for Adam Thomas and
Cheria Yost are presented on the following pages.
Proposed Project Organization
Adam Thomas, Architectural Historian
Project Management
Archival Research and Fieldwork
Form and Report Writing and Production
Cheria Yost, Architectural Historian
Data Processing
Editing
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 5
Bachelor of Science in journalism, Northwestern University.
Concentration in American history
Mr. Thomas combines his writing experience, gained
during a career as a reporter and editor, with a lifelong pas-
sion for history and architecture. He has inventoried over
1,300 properties across Colorado. Mr. Thomas has written
numerous historical contexts, reports, and articles pub-
lished in historical journals. Many of these projects were
funded through Colorado State Historical Fund or
Certified Local Government grants. He is an adjunct pro-
fessor of history at Colorado State University -Pueblo,
where he teaches upper- and graduate -level courses in
architectural history and historic preservation. Mr. Thomas
is also an occasional guest lecturer for both the history and
art history departments at Colorado State University (Fort
Collins). He leads a historic preservation field seminar for
the Rocky Mountain Nature Association in Rocky
Mountain National Park.
Mr. Thomas began his career as a reporter and editor
for newspapers and magazines in Pennsylvania, Maryland,
Florida, and Louisiana. He has worked in corporate man-
agement for the Santa Fe Railway, Amtrak, and the Kohl
Children's Museum.
In 2005, Fort Collins awarded Mr. Thomas its Friend of
Preservation Award for his excellence in surveying the city's
historic resources. In 2001 Mr. Thomas received the Rosser
Family Award for his scholastic achievements in the gradu-
ate program at Colorado State University. He was awarded
Selected Major Projects
Intensive -level survey, context, and survey report,
North Side Neighborhood, Pueblo, Colorado
Context, intensive -level survey, survey report, and
nominations for historic properties owned by Poudre
School District R-1, Fort Collins, Colorado, area
National Register nomination, Oscar Jacobson Cabin,
Allenspark, Colorado, vicinity
Reconnaissance survey of and historical context for
Quonset huts in the Fort Collins, Colorado, Urban
Growth Area
Historical context and selected, intensive -level surveys
of properties in Fort Lupton, Colorado (for SWCA
Environmental Consultants)
Historical contexts for Germans from Russia and
Hispanics in Fort Collins; intensive -level survey of the
Sugar Factory Neighborhoods in Fort Collins,
Colorado (for SWCA Environmental Consultants)
Intensive -level survey of structures in Jefferson
County Open Space Parks, including White and Blair
ranches (for SWCA Environmental Consultants)
HABS documentation of Bodo Ranch, Ridges Basin,
Durango, Colorado, vicinity (for SWCA
Environmental Consultants)
Historical context and intensive -level survey of the
East Side Neighborhood, Longmont, Colorado (for
Cultural Resource Historians)
6 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Proposal Submitted to the City of Fort Collins, Colorado
Education and Experience
Master of Arts in History, Colorado State University.
Concentrations in landscape history, historic preser-
vation, early American furnishings, and architectural
history
Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture, Colorado
State University.
Experienced in the study, preservation, and interpreta-
tion of American material culture, Cheri Yost combines
her interests in history with a degree in landscape architec-
ture. Her landscape architecture and historical training
make Ms. Yost particularly well -suited to create site plans,
historical resource management policies, and other plan-
ning materials. She is currently site manager of the
McGraw Ranch Research Center, a restored historic dude
ranch inside Rocky Mountain National Park.
In 2001, Ms. Yost was selected to attend the
Winterthur Museum's prestigious Winter Institute. Based
in Wilmington, Delaware, Winterthur is one of foremost
collections of early American furnishings in the world. Ms.
Yost lectures across Colorado on historic preservation and
historic landscapes. She is also overseeing restoration of
the century -old Colonial Hotel in Meyersdale,
Pennsylvania.
Selected Major Projects
= Project management, Historic Colonial Hotel restora-
tion, Meyersdale, Pennsylvania
Furnishings plan and selection for McGraw Ranch,
Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado
Reconnaissance survey of and historical context for
Quonset huts in the Fort Collins, Colorado, Urban
Growth Area
Winter Institute, Winterthur Museum, Delaware
Site plan for the historic Muegge House, Bennett,
Colorado (for Denver City Restorations)
Site plan for the Limon Heritage Museum, Limon,
Colorado (for Denver City Restorations)
Thesis S.O.S. Save Our Small To"s,, a history of plan-
ning and urban sprawl in Douglas and Elbert counties,
Colorado
HAER documentation of the Blue Ridge Parkway,
Virginia (for the National Park Service)
For similar and recent Historitecture projects with references, please turn to the next page.
Examples from selected projects are included in the appendices of this proposal.
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 7
Selected Past Projects
Historitecture, L.L.C.
PROJECT: It tensit-c-I,e el Suvett Historic<d Context, and Szr�c.e Report, North Side Neighborhood
CLIENT: City of Pueblo, Colorado,
Funded in part by a Colorado State Historical Fund Grant
CONTACT: David Cockrell, Senior Neighborhood Planner, City of Pueblo, 719.553.2249
DESCRIPTION: This massive project included the intensive -level survey of more than 350 properties in Pueblos
North Side Neighborhood. This area was home to the city's merchant princes and consists of some
of the largest and most historic homes in Pueblo and in Colorado; the neighborhood includes John
Thatcher's enormous Rosemount Estate. This survey was one of the most complete ever conducted
in Pueblo and resulted in over 3,000 pages of historical and architectural information. The historical
and architectural context developed for this project is currently being published as a stand-alone
book.
STATUS: Completed
PROJEC'I: Historical Context and Inrensivc-I evcl Survey; Poudre School District R-1
CLIENT: City of Fort Collins, Colorado,
Poudre School District R-1
Funded in part by a Certified Local Government Grant
CONTACT: Janet Ore, Fort Collins Historic Preservation Commission, 970.491.6468
Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner, 970.224.6078
Christina Romero, Poudre School District Facilities Management, 970.490.3537
DESCRIPTION: This project consisted of an architectural and historical context for properties owned by Poudre
School District R-1. Approximately 40 properties constructed before 1970 were intensively surveyed,
with three nominated as Fort Collins Landmarks.
STATUS: Completed
PROJECT: Rc-connaissance Sur-°cy' Intensive-i.cvel Survey, and Historical Context, krlington
Neighborhood, Greeley
CLIENT: City of Greeley, Colorado, funded in part by a Colorado State Historical Fund Grant
CONTACT: Betsy Kellums, Historic Preservation Specialist, 970.350.9222
DESCRIPTION: The reconnaissance survey portion of this project examined approximately 400 properties in the
Arlington Neighborhood, which is located southeast of downtown Greeley. The project also includ-
ed an intensive -level survey of 30 prominent properties and the creation of an associated historical
context.
STATUS: Completed
8 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Proposal Submitted to the City of Fort Collins, Colorado
PROJECT: Reconnaissance Surety and Historical Contc-vt, Quonset Huts in the Fort Collins Urban
Growth Area
CLIENT: City of Fort Collins, Colorado, funded in part by a Colorado State Historical Fund Grant
CONTACT: Janet Ore, Fort Collins Historic Preservation Commission, 970.491.6468
Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner, 970.224.6078
DESCRIPTION: This project involved the basic recordation of all Quonset huts in the Fort Collins Urban Growth
Area and the creation of a historical context establishing the place of these semi -cylindrical struc-
tures in the city's built environment.
STATUS: Completed
PROJECT: Historical Contexts for Germans from Russia and Hispanics in Fort Collins, Ineersire-LeceI
Suncy of the Buckingham, Andersonville, and Alta Vista Neighborhoods, Fort Collins
(for SWCA Emironmental Consultants)
CLIENT: City of Fort Collins, Colorado, funded in part by a Colorado State Historical Fund Grant
CONTACT: Janet Ore, Fort Collins Historic Preservation Commission, 970.491.6468
Karen McWilliams, Historic Preservation Planner, 970.224.6078
DESCRIPTION: In this project, Adam Thomas researched and wrote the historical contexts Hard Work Fenders Life
Sweet: Germans from Russia in Fort Collins 1900-2000 and Hang Young Wagon to a Star: Hispanics in Fort
Collins, 1900-2000. Mr. Thomas also conducted an intensive -level survey of 175 properties in the
Andersonville, Alta Vista, and Buckingham neighborhoods of Fort Collins.
STATUS: Completed
PROJECT: historical Context and lntensm-Level Sutvcy, Cm of Pen Lupton
(for SWCA Fnvitonmental Consultants)
CLIENT: City of Fort Lupton, Colorado, funded in part by a Colorado State Historical Fund Grant
CONTACT: Brian Grubb, City Planner, 970.350.9222
DESCRIPTION: Mr. Thomas researched and wrote a historical context establishing the entire history of Fort Lupton
in national, state, and local settings while interpreting its built environment. The project also includ-
ed an intensive -level survey of 12 properties within the city.
STATUS: Completed
PROJEC-1: Historic American Building Surrey (NABS) Documentation, Bodo Ranch, Durango,
Colorado, vicinity, for the Animas -La Plata Project
(for SWCA Environmental Consultants)
CLIENT: United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
CONTACT: Warren Hurley, Archaeologist, BOR, 970.385.6548
DESCRIPTION: In preparation for the construction of the Ridges Basin Reservoir, part of the Animas -La Plata irri-
gation project, Adam Thomas performed salvage recordation of historic Bodo Ranch. This involved
the production of measured drawings and photographs of each structure and the creation of an
accompanying historical narrative.
STATUS: Completed
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 9
Proposed Deliverables
• Reconnaissance survey database
• Draft list of 62 properties to be intensive-
ly surveyed
• Draft historical and architectural context
• First 10 draft survey forms
• Remaining 52 draft survey forms
• Final 62 survey forms
• Draft survey report
• Final survey report with context
• Final survey forms
Proposal
Historitecture proposes to provide architectural histo-
ry consulting services_ to the City of Fort Collins pertain-
ing to post -World War II commercial and residential archi-
tecture in Fort Collins from 1945 to 1967. Specifically,
Historitecture proposes to 1) research and write an histor-
ical and architectural context describing the development
of social, political, and economic themes during the post-
war period and how these trends influenced community
development, architecture, construction, and materials; 2)
conduct a reconnaissance survey of five selected residen-
tial subdivisions representing this period and of the
College Avenue and Campus West commercial districts; 3)
conduct an intensive -level survey of 62 selected properties
particularly, representative of the period; and 4) attend and
present findings and recommendations at meetings with
the City of Fort Collins Landmark Preservation
Commission (LPC), City staff, the Colorado Historical
Society (CHS); and the public.
The architectural and historical context will be devel-
oped according to standards established by CHS and the
National Park Service. Looking at the international-,
national-, regional-, and local -levels, Historitecture will
investigate and analyze the social, economic, and political
trends affecting the community, particularly the manifesta-
tions of those trends in architecture. The context will be
based on research conducted at local repositories and
through a file search at CHS. The completed document will
be organized to allow easy determination of a property's
significance, integrity, and eligibility. After the City and
CHS review the document, Historitecture will include their
revisions and recommendations in the final version of the
context, which will be included in the survey report or as a
standalone document.
Historitecture will then conduct a reconnaissance -
level survey of 5 selected residential subdivisions and of
the College Avenue and Campus West commercial districts.
The firm will develop methodology for this survey in con-
sultation with CHS. During the survey, Historitecture will
note good examples of intact post -World War II architec-
ture, identify common alterations to these buildings, and
document relevant examples through digital photograph}.
The results will be tabulated in a database or spreadsheet
program with a single digital image of each property.
Based on the context and the reconnaissance survey,
Historitecture, in consultation with the City and CHS, will
then select 62 properties to be intensively surveyed. The
survey and resulting documents will meet the standards set
forth in the Colorado Cultural Resource Survey Manual
(revised 2007) and the Secretary of the Interior's
Guidelines for Identification and Evaluation (48 FR
44716). The firm will begin the project by conducting stan-
dard property history research at the Latimer County
Office of Clerk and Recorder. Historitecture will proceed
with the fieldwork and archival research necessary to com-
plete the Colorado Cultural Resource Architectural
Inventory Form (OAHP 1403) for each property, and
include descriptions of the primary building and any sec-
ondary, associated buildings and structures (including land-
scape features). All data will be collected in and all forms
printed from the City's Archinventory database. All 62
properties will be thoroughly recorded through high -reso-
lution digital photography. Two sets of black -and -white, 4-
by-6-inch prints will be produced according to the archival
standards established by the National Park Service and
Proposal Submitted to the City of Fort Collins, Colorado
CHS. Corresponding compact data discs of the photo-
graphs will also be produced. For each property,
Historitecture, in consultation with the City and CHS, will
determine the individual eligibility for the National Register
of Historic Places, the Colorado State Register of Historic
Properties, and as a Fort Collins Landmark. Similarly, each
property's ability to contribute to a potential historic dis-
trict will be analyzed. The survey report will summarize the
results of the project and discuss any district potential and
eligibility.
Deliverables, as listed in the table at left, will be sub-
mitted to the City of Fort Collins as proposed in the sched-
ule. As well, Historitecture will work closely with the City
and the Colorado Historical Society Office of Archaeology
and Historic Preservation (OAHP) in developing survey
methodologies, locating applicable archival sources, and
determining individual and district eligibility. Histmitecture
has conducted numerous projects of this kind and has the
expertise to finish the survey on time and on budget. For
references, see the Selected Past Projects listed on the pre-
vious pages.
Historitecture, LLC., was organized in October 2002
as a limited -liability company under the laws of the State of
Colorado. Historitecture consolidated the two separate
architectural history consulting firms of Adam Thomas
and Cheria Yost, which extended back to 1999.
Historitecture is based in Estes Park, Colorado. The firm is
headquartered at 2155 McGraw Ranch Road, Number 9,
Post Office Box 419, Estes Park, Colorado 80517-0419.
Historitecture can be reached by phone or fax at
970.586.1165; email
adam@historitecture.com; or at our website
wwwhistoritecture.com.
Historitecrtre carries a comprehensive professional
liability insurance policy through State Farm Insurance,
with a $1,000,000 limit. Current proof of insurance is
available by contacting the firm and policies can be adapt-
ed to meet specific City requirements prior to entering into
a contract.
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 11
Proposed Project Time Line
May 1, 2008
Sign contract with City and begin project
Prior to June 1, 2008
Meet with CHS to discuss project method-
ology
June 1, 2008
Introduce project and methodology to LPC
June 15, 2008
Complete Reconnaissance survey and sub-
mit draft list of 62 properties to be inten-
sively surveyed to the City and CHS.
October 15, 2008
Submit draft context to City
December 1, 2008
Submit 10 draft survey forms to City
December 15, 2008
Present context and survey findings to date
to LPC
April 1, 2009
Submit remaining 52 draft forms and draft
survey report to City
June 30, 2009
Submit final (revised) survey report (with
context) and survey forms to City
July 15, 2009
Present final results and recommendations
to LPC
After July 15, 2009
Present final results and recommendations
to the public
Itemized Costs
Historitecture proposes to 1) research and write an historical and architectural context; 2) conduct a reconnaissance -level
survey of five subdivisions and two commercial districts; and 3) conduct an intensive -level selective survey of 62 prop-
erties in Fort Collins, as described in the request for proposal, for a cost not to exceed $50,000.
I Hill! a s
HISTORICAL AND ARCHITECTURALCONTEXT
Archival Research 120 $7,200
Prepare Draft Context 160 $9,600
Prepare Final Context
40
m $2,400
Context Total
320
$19,200
RECONNAISSANCE AND INTENSIVE LEVEL SURVEY
Reconnaissance Survey
44
$2,640
Intensive -Level Survey (including research, fieldwork, and photography)
ww-180
$10,800
62 Draft Survey Forms
180
$10,800
62 Final Survey Forms
16
-- $960
Draft Survey Report
40
$2,400
Final Survey Report 8 $480
Public Presentations (3 meetings with Fort Collins LPC and/or the public) �18.3 $1,098
486.3 ..v.�-� $29,178
OTHER EXPENSES
Photography and Processing $600
Mileage (800 miles @ $.39/mile)
$312
Research Expenses (supplies, photocopying, archival photograph reprints)
$200
CHS File Search _ _ T $20
Reproduction (including printing and binding) $490
Other Expenses Total $1,622
TOTAL PROJECT COST
833.3 $50,000
12
HISTORITECrURE, LL.C.
Historical Context Chapters
This appendix consists of chapters 5 and 7 from the historical context In the Hallowed Halls of Learning The History and
Architecture of Poudre School District R-1. The sections include some of the historical and architectural themes that would be devel-
oped in the proposed historical context.
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 13
No Text
Post -World War II Commercial and Residential
Architecture in Fort Collins, 1945-1967
City of Fort Collins, Colorado
Proposal No. P1098
January 2008
In the Hallowed Halls
of Learning
The History and Architecture
of Poudre School District R-1
Historical Context
August 2004
is.
City of Fort Collins POUDRE SCHOOL DISTRICT
HISTORITECTURE
Figure 5. This simple building, located at 115
Riverside Drive in Fort Collins, was the first school-
house constructed for District 5. It was known as the
"yellow schoolhouse." (Photo by the author)
Chapter 5
History and Architecture of District 5 (Fort Collins)
In June 1866, Elizabeth Keays arrived in Fort Collins
to stay with her aunt and uncle, Lewis and Elizabeth Stone,
pioneers who provided lodging and a mess hall in a log
house adjacent to the military compound at Fort Collins.
Homesick soldiers at the fort referred to Mrs. Stone as
Auntie." A widowed mother, Keays began teaching her
son, Wilbur P. (also recorded as William) and another boy,
Harry Cooper, in an upstairs bedroom. She had no formal
training as a teacher. Nonetheless, soon neighbors asked
Keays to teach their children as well. Enrollment in the
fledgling school continued to increase. In June, Keays
moved her school to an abandoned commissary at the fort.
Thus, through the summer of 1866, Keays operated the
first school in Fort Collins.t
Mrs. Keays's school must have set a good example
because, by fall, the area around the fort had organized its
own informal public school district, with N.P. Cooper as
president, W.D. Hayes as secretary, and Captain Asaph
Allen as treasurer. Not surprisingly, they hired Keays as the
district's first and, at that time, only teacher, paying her $50
a month. She taught only one semester. As was the era's
protocol, Keays resigned when she married Harris
Stratton. Miss Geneve Cooper succeeded her. Latimer
County formally organized District 5 on December 28,
1870.2
Through a campaign led by Judge Alfred F. Howes in
1870-71, citizens of Fort Collins donated a total of $1,100
for the construction of a new schoolhouse. Donations
were necessary because there was so little taxable property
in the district; the school tax in District 5 grossed $165.25
in 1870. The new schoolhouse, constructed by Henry C.
Peterson, was a simple, front -gabled, wood -framed build-
ing located at what is now 115 Riverside Drive. The school-
house opened for classes in September 1871, and Miss
Maggie Meldrum was the first teacher. Referred to as the
"yellow schoolhouse," it was District 5's principal facility
until the completion of the front half of the Remington
Street School in 1879. Apparently during the 1870s and
even after the opening of the Remington Street School, the
district also rented a storefront at 201 Pine Street, at the
corner of Jefferson and Pine, for an additional classroom.
The school district sold the old yellow schoolhouse in 1879
to Frank Michaud. It was converted into a church and used
by Fort Collins's Catholic congregation until the comple-
tion of St Joseph's Church in 1900-01. It later became a
private residence and continues to stand today.3
Despite humble beginnings, District 5 would become
one of the most progressive school districts in Colorado
and the United States. Big ideas came early. In 1874, when
school operating funds amounted to $102.64 and the pop-
ulation of Fort Collins was about 400 people, townsfolk
were already considering a larger, more ornate school-
house. In March, Latimer County Superintendent of
Schools Clark Boughton, who also happened to be the
publisher of the Fart Collins Standard, remarked in his news-
paper, "Shall we have a $20,000 school house? [sic] has
been the principal subject of discussion the past few days."
While such a building would saddle the district with debt
16
Architectural and Historical Context
for two decades, Boughton indicated that the plan still had
its proponents. Boughton's vision may have succeeded if
he had not died that year, at the age of 23.4
The need to replace the original yellow schoolhouse
indicated the rate at which the student population was
increasing in District 5. With cramped classrooms spread
in two different buildings, the school board decided to ask
voters in the district to approve the sale of bonds for the
construction of a new schoolhouse. On July 2, 1878, vot-
ers approved 31 to 14 issuing $7,500 in bonds to purchase
land for the new building. Three architects submitted plans
to the board: R.W. Jordan of Cheyenne, Richard Burke of
Fort Collins, and a firm from Boulder. The board selected
Jordan because it was impressed with the proposed build-
ing's "...strength, durability, light, ventilation, and manner
of heating rooms."' Hearing and ventilation, in particular,
appear to have been ongoing concerns for educators and
administrators. An 1890 book of regulations for Fort
Collins public schools provides this directive to teachers:
VENTILATION.
SECTION. 16. Teachers are required, for the
preservation of their own and pupil's health, to
give particular attention to the ventilation and
warming of their room, and on no account to
suffer children to sit in draughts of cold air, and,
as a rule, to cause all of the windows to be
opened at recess for the emission of foul and free
admission of pure air; and at no time to raise the
temperature of the room higher than 70 degrees,
nor allow it to sink lower than 65 degrees,
Fahrenheit G
By July 20, 1878, the board had selected a site on the
southeast corner of Remington and Olive streets. Bids
from contractors trickled in through the rest of the sum-
mer, but by September, the board had completed the sale
of an additional $12,000 in bonds for the construction and
furnishing of the school. On September 15, the board
selected contractors Joseph Coyte, Jr., and J.E Colpitt for
their low bid of $6,954. They broke ground on the project
two days later. The building was completed and accepted
by the board at the end of February 1879. The grounds
around the school included boys' and girls' playgrounds,
separated by a "tight board fence," and, of course, privies,
constructed for $119 a piece. And District 5 completed the
schoolhouse not a moment too soon: by 1879, the popula-
tion in Fort Collins had climbed to over 1,000 people.
Three years later, it would double.?
Compared to the yellow schoolhouse, the 1879
Remington Street School, located at 318 Remington Street,
marked a bold step forward in District 5's schoolhouse
architecture. The building was constructed of brick
trimmed in "Collins" granite and `Boulder" sandstone. It
was essentially a two-story building with a wide central hall-
way (with 12-foot ceilings) and two classrooms on each
side per floor, for a total of four classrooms. In essence,
the Remington Street School was a miniature of Boston's
Quincy School plan. Moreover, Fort Collins's new school
was technologically advanced, with gaslights and a
Boyington furnace for central hearing. Stylistically, the
building was Itabanate, with a low-pitched, hipped roof;
quoins; hooded windows; and a broad cornice with paired
brackets. Most notable was the hipped -roof central tower,
which housed the obligatory school bell. As an Itahanate-
style building, the Remington Street School corresponded
directly to the plans and styles promoted by Catherine
Beecher and other education reformers in the mid to late
nineteenth century. Moreover, the size and style of the
school reflected other major public buildings in Colorado,
including Latimer County Courthouse. Thus, the
Remington Street School would have suggested the promi-
Figure 7, The Remington Street School marked a
huge step in the architectural and curricular matu-
ration of District 5 (Fort Collins). (Courtesy, Local
History Archive, Fort Collins Public Library)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 17
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
nence and permanence of public education in Fort Collins,
ultimately reflecting upon the sophistication of the town
itself. The schoolhouse was overtly intended to be a place
of enlightenment; the Latin motto Fiat Lux, curved into
the arch above the main doorway, essentially meant
"becoming light" This building was razed in 1967-68 for
an urban renewal program resulting in the construction of
the DMS Senior Housing Apartments.$
District 5, with Fort Collins itself, matured consider-
ably through the late 1870s and 1880s. The district began
with a single teacher in 1866 and continued to employ only
one teacher, Maggie Meldrum, when it opened the yellow
schoolhouse in 1871. She was the sister of Colorado
Lieutenant Governor Norman H. Meldrum. In 1872, Alice
M. Warrens replaced Miss Meldrum. Succeeding her were
two teachers, "Professor" J. W. Barnes and his wife. They
continued to teach at the yellow schoolhouse until the end
of the 1877-78 school year. Replacing them as the new
Remington Street School opened were three teachers, who
each taught a different "department;" first through third
grades were the primary department, fourth and fifth were
the intermediate department, and sixth through eighth
were the grammar department. By 1886, the number of
teachers at the Remington School and the district's rented
facility increased to 11: W.W. Remington (princi-
pal/superintendent), L. Eva Spencer, William Eisenmann,
Lizzie Mellinger, Florence Whitely, Lillian Kingsbury,
Nellie DeLaney, M.E. Birse, Mary Gill, Alice Mitchell, and
G. Thomas.
And like many school districts in the West, District 5
initially struggled to retain qualified teachers. Thus, the
board established a pay scale that rewarded instructors for
remaining in the district's schools. In the early 1880s, the
district paid a teacher $60 a month for the first term, rising
to $65 if the instructor decided to remain at her post.
Experienced teachers could receive $70 to $75 a month.10
As mentioned in the first section of this context,
another practice for retaining teachers was to hire only sin-
gle women. They could be paid less, were not expected to
advance to higher positions as men were, and did not have
the married woman's conflicts of husband and home.
District 5, as most of the districts in Larimer County, was
no exception in its hiring practices. Indeed, by 1889 this
hiring policy was codified in District 5 with the passage of
a resolution that dictated, "no married women be
employed as teachers." Moreover, the district maintained
the gender roles that had def ncd the professionalizatlon of
education. Men dominated the school board and closely
dictated and administered policy. The female teachers had
little say in the decisions that directly affected their class-
rooms. When one District 5 teacher, L. Eva Spencer, did
try to speak out, the board condemned her actions as inap-
propriate, reprimanding her by considering her future
employment conditional. The board directed that "she
would be expected to confine her work to matters con-
nected with her grade and not to assume to interfere with
the business of the board."11
Despite the appearance of a male -dominated, peda-
gogical harem, women must have been wielding some
power over the school board itself. The contentious elec-
tion of May 5, 1879, replaced every person on the three -
member board. Judge Jay H. Boughton, brother of Clark
Boughton, became president, Franklin C. Avery became
secretary, and EN.B. Scott became treasurer. While women
in Colorado did not receive the right to vote until 1893,
they appear to have played a part in this election. The Fort
Collins Courier noted, "a large number of ladies graced... the
occasion by their presence and participated in the election
of officers."12
As with allowing women to participate in board elec-
SS HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
[ions, District 5 also continued to be extremely progressive
in its curricula and programs. In 1880, Jay Boughton intro-
duced the idea of a kindergarten, which the district for-
mally opened that year. It was the first of its kind west of
St. Louis, which was home to the nation's first kinder-
garten, opened in 1873. The program was so successful in
Fort Collins that, in 1893, the Colorado legislature made
kindergarten a regular component of the public school sys-
tem in the state.13
But even the best efforts of men and women in the
school district could not keep pace with swelling emoll-
ment. District 5 was booming; from 1880 to 1890, the
assessed tax valuation of the district nearly doubled, from
$566,189 to $1,045,440. Less than eight years after the
completion of the Remington Street School, the burgeon-
ing student population of District 5 forced the school
board to consider constructing another schoolhouse. In
October 1878, when the Remington Street School was
under construction, the student population of District 5
was 134. By May of the next year it was 234. Classrooms
quickly became cramped and unmanageable. Assuming
that this population was evenly divided among the four
classrooms in the Remington Street School, the class size
would have averaged 58.5 students per room as early as
1879. By 1886, the district rented rooms above the
Jefferson Block. Situated on the southwest corner of
Howes Street and Mountain Avenue, the new Benjamin
Franklin School was expected to solve the overcrowding
problem. It was constructed by Joseph Coyte, Jr., a
Cheyenne contractor who was also involved in the building
of the Remington Street School. In the summer of 1886,
the school board requested, on two different occasions,
bids for the new building. Both times the board rejected all
of the bids submitted because it considered them too high.
The board formed a special committee, consisting of
Franklin C. Avery, Ansel Watrous, and D.M. Harris, to
study the plans and consider alternatives. Of particular
interest to the board was reducing the thickness of the first
story walls. Ultimately, and fortunately, the committee
rejected any changes to the wall width. On August 18, the
board accepted a bid of $19,500 from the E.M. Halleck
Lumber and Manufacturing Company of Denver. Franklin
School was completed in time for the 1887-88 school year
and housed the third through eighth grades; first and sec-
ond remained at the Remington Street School.14
Architecturally, the Franklin School continued the
trend of even larger and more sophisticated facilities that
began with the Remington Street School. The new school-
house was a large, square -plan, two-story building, again
based on the Quincy School in Boston. The Franklin
School lacked the frilly ornamentation of the Remington
Figure S. The Benjamin Franklin School, circa 1890,
continued District 5's trend toward larger and more
sophisticated schoolhouses. (Courtesy, Local History
Archive, Fort Collins Public Library)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 19
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
Street School but communicated much more a sense of
massiveness. Instead of carved and contrasting stonework,
the Franklin School's exterior walls exhibited elaborate
brick corbelling and belt courses. Most notable were the
huge hearths and chimneys that protruded from the build-
ing. Stylistically, the new school was an impressive inter-
pretation of the Italianate with suggestions of the much
heavier Romanesque Revival. It featured symmetrical
fagades, elaborate pediments, heavy dentil molding, and a
broad frieze, complete with bas-relief swags. The school
boasted electric lighting and other modern conveniences.
Even though Fort Collins was maturing quickly into one of
Colorado's major cities, the Franklin School would still
have been an extremely impressive building and an object
of civic pride, much as the Remington Street School had
been a decade earlier. The school remained active until the
completion of the A.H. Dunn Elementary School in 1949-
50. The Franklin School was demolished in 1959 to clear
the parcel for a Steele's Supermarket.
The completion of the Franklin School in 1887 also
marked a new epoch in the professionalization of District
5's administration. Initially, the district's principal was the
teacher -in -charge. But as District 5 grew, the principal
became more of an administrator. As the number of stu-
dents and facilities increased, the principal had to also han-
dle the tasks of a superintendent. During the mid 1880s,
W.W. Remington was principal. But his dudes were simply
overwhelming. He resigned in 1887, prompting the board
to realize that the district had become too large and com-
plex for a single principal. As a result, on May 26, 1887, the
school board created the position of Superintendent of
Schools. It hired Edward G. Lyle to the position, at an
annual salary of $1,400. The board also established a posi-
tion of principal of the grammar grades, leaving the exist-
ing principal's position solely in charge of the elementary
grades. Thus, the duties Remington handled himself the
board had now divided among three people.t'
Beyond being a symbol of increasing professionaliza-
tion, the Franklin School was best known for housing, in
two rooms on the upper floor, the district's first high
school. Prior to 1889, students who wished to receive a
high school diploma could only do so through the nearby
Agricultural College. That year, however, Superintendent
Lyle proposed to the board of education a four-year course
of study following the completion of the eighth grade. On
June 1, 1889, the board resolved to carry out Lyles plans.
The board publicly announced its intentions 10 days later.
They noted that the high school would provide "...an
opportunity to acquire knowledge of those branches which
are not necessarily proved in the common school course,
and to furnish advanced instruction to those who desire to
prepare themselves to become teachers as well as to make
of it a preparatory school for those who wish to secure a
collegiate training." t6 Like kindergarten, the high school
came to Fort Collins long before it had arrived in many set-
tlements of a similar size. Also like the kindergarten, the
board initially viewed its high school as a test. When it
announced the opening of the new program, the board
noted that the high school "must necessarily be regarded as
an experiment for the first year or two, and it is earnestly
desired by the board that it shall receive such patronage as
will warrant them in continuing it."17 The high school was
a success, and District 5 conducted its first high school
commencement in the spring of 1891 at the opera house
in Fort Collins. The first graduating class consisted of five
students: Myrtle Emry (Cornell) Woods, Alice Lenore
(McAnelly) Sturson, Rose Margaret (Lee) Havener, Grace
Greenwood (Schull) Eichman, and Howard Joseph
Livingston.18
As was typical of this era, board members themselves
20
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
created the high school curriculum. Members were Jay H.
Boughton, T.M. Robinson, and Franklin C. Avery. They
developed a course of study as follows:
• FIRST YEAR (Ninth Grade): English analysis
and composition; arithmetic; bookkeeping; U.S.
history; and drawing.
• SECOND YEAR (Tenth Grade): Rhetoric and
American literature; algebra; physical geogra-
phy (one semester); government (one semes-
ter); and drawing.
• THIRD YEAR (Eleventh Grade): general history
(one semester); physics; moral philosophy;
physiology (one semester); botany (one semes-
ter); geometry or Latin; and drawing.
• FooRTH YEAR (Twelfth Grade): English litera-
ture; chemistry (one semester); elements of
political economy; astronomy; and trigonome-
ny19
The course of the study as well as the sex ratio of the
first several classes reflects the reality of Fort Collins's high
school: it was meant to prepare students for careers as
teachers. But it also represented the implicit and, in many
cases, explicit homogenization programs of America's
schools through the nineteenth and first half of the twen-
tieth centuries — particularly kindergartens and high
schools. As in the urban east, the settlements of the
American West drew a diverse population from around the
country and around the world. The racial and socioeco-
nomic background of early members of District 5's school
board suggests that it was dominated by wealthy, Anglo
males. These were the very people concerned about for-
eign influences and lack of traditional and family socializ-
ing structures in this new place. Indeed, since the 1820s,
the arguments supporting the creation of high schools
were the same. In his history of schools in the United
States, Joel Spring suggests that early high schools typical-
ly were designed to meet the following socialization goals:
• Well-educated people would be taught to
believe that equal opportunity through school-
ing justified the existence of social differences
based on income and wealth.
• High schools would promote the idea that
achievement depends on individual responsi-
bility.
• A high school education would lead to obedi-
ence to the law.
• A high school education would undercut the
potential for political revolution by instilling
basic republican values.
• High schools would contribute to the reduc-
tion of crime by instilling basic moral values.20
An 1890-91 booklet, a "directory, rules, regulations,
and course of study" for Fort Collins Public Schools, pro-
vides a glimpse of a fully matured school district. The list-
ing of school officers and "corps of teachers" indicates
that the pedagogical harem was in place: members of the
school board and the superintendent were all male while
the teachers were all female. According to the regulations,
teachers in District 5 were expected to have considerably
more qualifications than those in rural districts. Marriage,
however, remained taboo:
SBC iON 1: No Teacher above the First Primary
Grade shall hereafter be employed who has not
had at least one year's successful experience, and
who does not hold a State certificate, or a First
Grade certificate for Latimer County. No married
woman shall be elected by the Board.21
Moreover, the course of study in District 5 extended from
kindergarten to high school. The booklet also suggests that
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 21
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
students had access to a full complement of resources,
including a "Library of several hundred volumes; also, a
special reference Library, connected with the schools."
Fort Collins's high school ultimately proved success-
ful. Enrollment had tripled to 122 students by 1902, and
District 5 found itself once again asking voters to approve
a bond issue for school construction. That year, voters did
indeed approve the $35,000 needed for a new high school
building. Known simply as Fort Collins High School, the
building was located at 417 South Meldrum (between
Mulberry and Magnolia streets, now the site of the Lincoln
Center) and was completed in 1903. The school was
designed by Fort Collins's most renowned architect,
Montezuma W. Fuller, and constructed by Knutsen and
Isdell of Greeley. Fuller planned some of the city's most
beautiful homes and churches, many of which stand today.
The District's choice in the architect for its new high
school reflected civic pride in education facilities and per-
petuated the idea that the beauty of the schoolhouse
inspired the students within it. The high school building
exhibited the same classical -inspired architecture as the
Franklin School, but even heavier and more ornate in its
application. The building featured liberal use of red, rusti-
cated sandstone on the foundation and trim, and the walls
consisted of pink, pressed -brick produced by Cooke and
Cummer of Fort Collins. In form, the new high school was
rigidly symmetrical, with classical details such as pediments
and round -arch windows. The heavy exterior cornice,
replete with equally massive dentil molding, was construct-
ed of galvanized iron with zinc applications, which would
quickly tarnish to a stately green patina.22 The Weekly
Cowier provides this glimpse of the interior space:
The boys have the south entrance and the
girls to the north. Downstairs the boys have on
the south a lunchroom with lockers for athletic
equipment, etc., and a toilet room. The girls have
on the north the same conveniences. Here also on
the west side are janitor quarters and the heating
plant.
On the top floor the high school room occu-
pies the whole front of the building. It is a mag-
nificent vaulted hall; is splendidly lighted, has
blackboards, shelving for works of reference, and
will seat 150 very comfortably. South of it is a
small library room with shelving that may be used
as a recitation room. Back of that is Principal
Dunn's room with handsome oak desk, etc.
On the west side, across the large hall that
cuts this floor in two from north to south, are
three recitation rooms whose arrangement and
appointment are beyond criticism. Two are fur-
nished with opera chairs having wide arms to
serve as desks. The third, which will be used as a
chemical laboratory, has movable seats and a large
case for apparatus. The largest room will seat 42.
In the northwest corner are Superintendent
Dunn's private office, the Board of Director's
room and a retiring room for the lady teachers.
All [of] these are equipped with handsome oak
furniture.
The square on which the building stands will
very properly be devoted almost entirely to the
purposes of a playground. In fact, a lawn will be
started at the side and back, the boys and girls will
have full swing.23
This description suggests that the school board con-
tinued its trend to adopt programs and standards well
ahead of most of the rest of the nation. Particularly
notable is the installation of bath facilities for boys and
girls, a provision that would become more common with
Progressive -era concerns about hygiene. Related to this
was the installation of athletic fields, a nod to the Play
Movement. Like the Franklin School, the original Fort
22 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
Collins High School was basically a reiteration of the rec-
tangular -box Quincy plan. But the building was soon
expanded with nearly identical wings, one to the south in
1916 and one to the north in 1921. This building reflected
the reality of a high school curriculum, which required
more and more specialized classrooms than traditional
schools; high schools would only become more complex
buildings as districts adopted the Gary plan. The original
Fort Collins High School became the middle school,
Lincoln Junior High School, after the construction of a
new high school building in 1925. In 1975, Poudre School
District constructed a new Lincoln Junior High School at
1600 West Lancer Drive. Most of the old school was
demolished in preparation for the construction of the
Lincoln Center events complex. The city retained the
newer additions to the school, however, and integrated
them into the complex, which opened in 1977.24
District 5's curriculum became more innovative and
progressive between 1903 and 1912, during the District
superintendency of M.F. Miller. In 1905, the District insti-
tuted a summer school, which was housed at the
Remington School. A decade before the passage of the
Smith -Hughes Act, Miller introduced manual training
courses to the District. These classes provided hands-on
training with construction and manufacturing equipment.
They were conducted at the YMCA in Fort Collins and
later in a rented room on Olive Street. Miller also intro-
duced the first semblance of a home economics program,
beginning with sewing classes, and started courses in
accounting and commercial management A 1923 Expre s-
Couner article noted, however, that the sewing class was
"conducted under many difficulties in the regular class-
rooms of the high school" and that the commercial class
was located in a storeroom and hallway: This indicates that
a well -designed building was imperative to house the ever -
diversifying curricula of high schools.2'
However the high school program was not the only
point of expansion in District 5. In 1906, the District con-
structed the first of many sets of identical -plan elementary
schools — a building trend that continued into the late
1960s. While architectural critics derided the practice as
lacking imagination and innovation, constructing schools
from identical plans provided quickly growing school dis-
tricts with efficiencies of time and money. And the
District's first twin school buildings were hardly lacking in
imagination. The Laurel Street School and the Laporte
Avenue School, completed between 1906 and 1907, were
designed by Montezuma Fuller. The Laurel and Laporte
schools continued the classical -inspired style of previous
schools. However, they were even more heavy and orna-
mented, with elements bordering on the massive style of
Henry Hobson Richardson, namesake of Richardson
Romanesque style. The symmetrical front fagade of the
buildings featured large blocks of rusticated sandstone,
elaborately corbelled brickwork, and a central pediment
with a heavy, bracketed cornice. The most notable feature
was the central entrance, which opened beneath a massive,
rusticated sandstone arch. The plan of the building was the
same rectangular box as the preceding Franklin and
Remington schools. Long after high schools had aban-
doned it, the Quincy plan continued to dominate elemen-
tary school design until devastating fires rendered it an
unsafe design. While the Laporte Avenue School has since
been razed, the Laurel Street School still stands, serving
Poudre School District as Centennial High School. It is the
oldest of the District 5 schools PSD still owns and open
ates.26
Another set of twin elementary schools, constructed
in 1919, revealed the impact of Progressive -era education
reforms in the District. The George Washington School,
Figure 9. The Floor plan of the Laurel Street School
was yet another reiteration of the Quincy School.
Laurel's identical twin, the Laporte Avenue School,
has been demolished. (Daggett; et al.)
FIRHr FLOOR
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 23
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
Figure 10. Designed by Montezuma Fuller, the
Laurel Street School is the oldest District 5 school-
house yet remaining in Fort Collins. It is now
Centennial High School. (Photo by the author)
located at 233 South Shields Street, and the Abraham
Lincoln School, at 501 East Elizabeth Street, were designed
by Frank Frewen and Earl Morris. Both buildings marked
a departure from the earlier, box -shaped, Quincy plan
schools constructed in the District. They indicated a trans-
formation from the school building as a morally inspiring
environment into a rational, efficient machine for learning.
On the exterior, both of the schools were extremely mod-
est in decoration, especially compared to the older schools
in District 5. They were mutedly Craftsman in architecture,
a style that correlated closely to the Progressive movement.
Originally, they sported brackets, exposed rafter ends, and
multi -light double -hung sash and casement windows. But
the true genius of these schools was their floor plans. Both
were designed with corridors in a reversed C-shaped plan.
Inside the "C" was a service core containing offices and a
gymnasium/auditorium. The original plan hosted 11 to 12
classrooms divided on a main floor and lower level. All
were within easy access of a doorway, but two of the class-
rooms had their own, separate doorways, suggesting their
use as kindergartens. Moreover, these schools were far
more intimate and scaled -down in their interiors, indicating
an adoption of Progressive ideas of childhood — the
school needed to be a nurturing, comfortable place for its
youngest pupils.27
Poudre School District continues to use both the
Washington and Lincoln schools, hosting special curricula
elementary schools. In 1939, District 5 changed the name
of Lincoln to Harris Elementary School in memory of
Maine Harris. She was the daughter of a Fort Collins
mayor and was the first principal of the Lincoln School.
Ms. Harris was also a founder of the Teachers Club. The
District transferred the name Lincoln to the middle school
building, the first Fort Collins High School. Washington is
now PSD's laboratory school while Harris is the Bilingual
Immersion School.28
District 5 reached a pinnacle in architectural sophisti-
cation with the completion of the second Fort Collins
High School in 1925. But unlike previous school building
projects in District 5, voters did not initially support the
construction of a new high school. At a board of educa-
tion meeting on December 29, 1919, member Fred W.
Stow offered a resolution to construct a new high school.
He recommended issuing $300,000 in bonds for construc-
tion and $20,000 to purchase a site. Unfortunately, voters
at the February 11, 1920, bond election overwhelmingly
defeated the measure. The north addition to the old high
school was constructed as a compromise. But the seed had
been planted. Already a committee was investigating
24
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
No Text
Architectural and Historical Context
potential sites for the new school. Meanwhile, the board
began a public relations campaign to bring the District's
dire overcrowding situation to the public.29
Leading the campaign was one of the county's most
Progressive administrators, District 5 Superintendent
Albert Howard Dunn. Born in 1867 in East Portland,
Maine, Dunn received most of his early education at home,
from his father. At age 19, he graduated from Bates
College in Lewiston, Maine. He came to Colorado in 1888
and taught at Fairplay and Golden before arriving in Fort
Collins in 1893. He was the high school principal for 19
years and superintendent for 18. Dunn established a high
school orchestra. But two programs, in particular, reflected
his Progressive reforms in the District. Dunn instituted
courses in health instruction and started an adult education
program, held in the evenings at the District's schools.
Dunn Elementary School is named in his honor.30
In an article he wrote for the Fort Collins Courier in
September 1921, Dunn reported that the capacity of the
grade school was 1,750 seats but 2,399 students were
enrolled. The high school added an additional 413 students
to the District. Continuing the public relations push, the
board created a general committee in October 1922 to
determine the need for a new high school building and
assess the level of public support for a $400,000 bond
issue. Reporting to the board at its February 1923 meeting,
the general committee recommended constructing a new
high school and found public support for a $330,000 bond
issue. Indeed, voters passed the measure on April 10, 1923
and, with $68,000 in bonds approved in a previous elec-
tion, had the financial resources needed to construct a new
school.31
Even with the financing in place, however, difficulties
did not end. Indeed, finding and selecting a building site
proved daunting. The issue was so contentious that the
board did not even consider sites until after the bond elec-
tion. Factions supported a variety of locations; among
them were sites on the eastern edge of Fort Collins, on
Mulberry Street, and on Laurel Street. Another site was in
the 1400 block of Remington Street, on land owned by
Louis Clark Moore, a prominent Fort Collins financier and
treasurer of the school board after Much 1920. The site
selection issue lingered through the spring of 1923. At its
June 19, 1923, meeting, the board of education once again
put off the issue. Frustrated, Moore, on June 28, present-
ed to the board an offer it could not refuse: he would donate
his land to District 5. The board unanimously accepted his
offer. With an additional parcel that the District purchased
from Moore, the new high school included four large city
blocks adjacent to a city park to the west, separating
Remington from College Avenue. Much like the landmark
East High School in Denver, the new Fort Collins High
School would include extensive athletic and recreational
areas in its site plan. Some residents, however, harshly crit-
icized the school board for a selecting a site they consid-
ered too far from the town. After all, Fort Collins's previ-
ous schoolhouses had all been a few blocks from the coun-
ty courthouse. But suburbanization was altering the center
of population in the city. The location of the new Fort
Collins High School represented an acknowledgement that
the trend of Fort Collins's urban development was spread-
ing quickly southward along College Avenue.32
Designed by Denver architect William N. Bowman
and constructed by the Alex Simpson Jr. Company of
Boulder, the school was completed by the beginning of
1925, seven months after laying the cornerstone. The new
building entirely embodied Progressive education reforms
and the full adoption of the Gary plan in Fort Collins. The
building featured a cafeteria and modern kitchen, a full
library, and a large auditorium. Classrooms were construct-
Figures 11 and 12. The architecture and spatial
arrangement of the identical Washington School
(above) and Lincoln (Harris) School (below) indicat-
ed District 5's adoption of Progressive pedagogy.
(Photo by the author; drawing from Daggett, et al.)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 25
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
ed and equipped for specific curricular functions: manual
training, business and accounting, chemistry and physics,
and more.33
The architecture of Fort Collins High School (FCHS)
embodied one of the two most popular styles for high
schools constructed during this period, the Colonial
Revival. (The other popular style was Collegiate Gothic).
Most notable were the symmetrical wings protruding from
a central core with a full -high portico crowned by a white -
painted cupola. The portico consisted of slender but
extremely tall Doric columns supporting the heavy pedi-
ment. Windows beneath the portico opened under round
and flat arches with prominent keystones. An oval window
pierced the center of the pediment. The original gymnasi-
um even featured a Palladian window. The use of Colonial
Revival architecture for high schools reinforced an old idea
in American education; schools created virtuous citizens
and, thus, perpetuated the republic. These buildings were
more minimal replicas of Independence Hall in
Philadelphia and other edifices prominent in the American
Revolution and the early years of the republic. Students
entering the building were subliminally reminded of the
founding fathers. Boys and girls were supposed to become
enlightened within the school — sensing their civic dudes
and obtaining secular inspiration. Interestingly, however,
Fort Collins High School was the last school building in
District 5 constructed in a historically inspired style. All
schools built after FCHS exhibited Modern and
Postmodern styles. Poudre School District sold the second
Fort Collins High School to Colorado State University in
1996, after completing a new high school. After the com-
pletion of a large addition to the north end of the school,.
the building now houses CSU's performing arts program.34
By the late 1920s and through the 1930s, state and
national educators lauded District 5 as one of the most
progressive in the nation. Certainly its history supports this
praise; in innovation after innovation, District 5 was often
ahead of the rest of the nation. By 1929, the School
District employed a nurse and teachers for music, art, and
physical education. The vocational training program pro-
vided a diverse array courses, ranging from bookkeeping
and stenography to metalwork and agriculture. But in some
respects, District policies remained regressive. While Fort
Collins public schools paid female teachers an average of
$184.18 a month for high school and $166.67 for junior
high school, male teachers received $229.32 per month for
high school and $181.08 for junior high. Male teachers
were not even considered for elementary school teaching
positions.35
But as far as school architecture was concerned,
District 5 remained cutting -edge. The first Modern -style
school constructed in the District was Dunn Elementary. It
was completed in 1949 and located at 501 South
Washington Street, just south of Mulberry Street.
Designed by the architectural firm of Atchison and
Moverstrom and constructed by the Johns Engineering
Company, the school was revolutionary on the inside and
the outside. While older schools were box shaped, with two
or more floors of classrooms, Dunn featured a sprawling,
one-story floor plan that would influence schools for
decades. The plan eliminated one of the most dangerous
and inefficient elements in older schools — stairways. In
addition, the new floor plan allowed every classroom to
have a doorway directly to the outside. These sprawling
floor plans, however, changed the site selection process for
new schools in District 5. No longer could they be con-
structed on the same block with already extant commercial
and residential buildings. Rather, they required a vast
amount of open land, often forcing construction to the
edges of developed areas and, subsequently, encouraging
26 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
further development around them after construction.
The Dunn School was revolutionary on the exterior
for its use of International -style architecture, indicating the
final departure from the school building as an inspiration
to a functional, efficient machine for learning. The archi-
tecture promoted function over ornamentation and the
horizontal over the vertical. Not only were International -
style schools less costly to construct than their more orna-
mented ancestors, they suggested a forward -looking peda-
gogy rather than a curriculum rooted in the past. In 1955-
56, District 5 constructed three more identical -plan,
International -style elementary schools: Putnam, Barton,
and Moore. Designed by Fort Collins architectural firm
Robb, Brenner & Brelig, the schools included many of the
same elements as the Dunn School, such as a one-story
plan and exterior doors in each classroom. While these
schools were the last constructed for District 5, Robb,
Brenner & Brelig would become the architects of choice
for Poudre School District, designing over a dozen schools
in the next 30 years.
Figure 13. The second Fort Collins High School was
indeed a cathedral of culture. Its sprawling floor
plan was intended to accommodate the diverse cur-
ricula of a Progressive -era high school. (Photo by
the author)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 27
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
Figures 14 and 15. The Dunn School represented a vast departure from District 5's previous elementary schools,
both in style and plan. The curvilinear features are later, Postmodern elements added to this International -style
building. (Drawing from Daggett et al.; Photo by the author)
28 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
Notes
1. Kitchen, 7; Watrous, 129, 227; Wayne Sundberg, "Early Education in Auntie's cabin," Review, 2 September
1981; Sundberg, "The Early History," 1.
2. Watrous, 129-30; Sundberg "Early Education"; Sundberg, "Early History," 1-2.
3. Watrous 92, 230; Sundberg, "Early Education;" Alice P. Stanton, undated newspaper article in file, in %C-
SCHOOLS-General," Local History Archive, Fort Collins Public Library.
4. Sundberg, "Early History;' 4-6.
5. Fort Collins Courier, 6 July 1878, p. 4; quoted in Sundberg, "Early Education," 6, n. 14.
6. Board of Directors, School District No. 5, Directory, Rules, Regulations, and Course of Study of the Public
Schools, School District No. 5, Fort Collins, Colorado (Fort Collins: Courier Printing & Publishing Co., 1890),
13-14.
7. Sundberg, "Early Education"; Sundberg, "Early History," 9, 11.
8. Sundberg, "Early Education"; Arlene Ahlbrandt, Legacy of County and Mountain Schools of Larimer County,
Colorado (Fort Collins: by the author, undated), "Remington School District #5, Fort Collins"; Sundberg,
"Early History," 7-8.
9. Watrous, 130; Albert H. Dunn, "A Sketch of the Public Schools of Fort Collins," Fort Collins Express -Courier,
20 May 1923, p. 2.
10. Sundberg, "Opening of school brought many problems," Fort Collins Review, undated article in the folder "LC -
SCHOOLS -General," Local History Archive, Fort Collins Public Library.
11. Sundberg, "Opening of school."
12. Sundberg, "Early History;' 9.
13. Watrous, 129; Dunn, 1-2.
14. Board of Directors, 39; "Franklin School's Early Pupils to Attend Final Social Affair in Building," Fort Collins
Coloradoan, 30 November 1949; Sundberg, "Early Education;" Sundberg, "Opening of School."
15. Sundberg, "Early History, 14."
16. Pike, 2.
17. Quoted in "Franklin School's Early Pupils."
18. "Franklin School's Early Pupils;" Sundberg, "Opening of school."
19. "Franklin School's Early Pupils."
20. Spring, 122.
21. Board of Directors, 12.
22. Robert H. Pike, Home of the champions: The history of Fort Collins High School, 1889-1989 (Fort Collins:
Lambkin Enterprises, 1994), 5.
23. Fort Collins Express, 21 October 1903.
24. Gail A. Thomason, "Schools were named mostly for local educators," Fort Collins Triangle Review, 31 July
1995, p. 22; "High School Building," undated newspaper article, in the folder "LC -SCHOOLS -General;' Local
History Archive, Fort Collins Public Library; Pike 9-11.
25. "Fort Collins Summer School, 1909," document, in the folder "LC -SCHOOLS, General," Local History Archive,
Fort Collins Public Library; Dunn, 1-2.
26. Thomason.
27. Ron Daggett, Alice N. Williamson, and Ken A. Forrest, Poudre School District Building Statistics, 2000-2001
update (Fort Collins: Poudre School District 2001), "Harris Elementary School (Bilingual Immersion School)"
and "Washington Elementary School (Lab School)."
28. Thomason.
29, Pike, 11-12.
30. Elizabeth Case, "Fort Collins Public Schools," undated , TMs (photocopy), Local History Archive, Fort Collins
Public Library,
31. Pike, 11-12.
32, Ibid., 12-14.
33. Ibid., 21.
34. William W. Cutler, III, "Cathedral of Culture: The Schoolhouse in American Educational Thought and Practice
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 29
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
since 1820'" History of Education Quarterly 29, No. 1 (spring 1989): 19.
35. "Schools are Progressive and Efficient," Fort Collins Express -Courier, 25 September 1929, p. 8.
30 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Chapter 7
PSD: From Reorganization to Today
The Saga of Consolidation
In 1947, a third of a century after C.G. Sargent rec-
ommended district consolidation as the remedy for ailing
rural schools in Colorado, the state legislature passed a bill
to encourage and facilitate the reorganization of many
small districts into one or more large districts. With vastly
improved roads and automobiles, many rural schoolhouses
simply were not needed anymore. The legislature contin-
ued to press the issue through the 1950s, arguing that chil-
dren in rural areas deserved the same access to quality edu-
cation and opportunities as those in urban areas. Yet it was
not until the end of the 1950s, with increasing pressure
from the state, that Latimer County seriously pursued the
consolidation of its districts. Despite evidence that chil-
dren in reorganized districts performed better than those
in disparate districts, many in the county were not going to
accept reorganization without a fight. Their reasons for
resisting had to do with old ideas of the schoolhouse and
its governance. As previously mentioned in this context, a
schoolhouse indicated that a settlement on the frontier had
matured into a civilized place. In many rural districts, the
schoolhouse and, occasionally, the post office were the
only civic institutions and the most sophisticated buildings
architecturally. The school, in particular, was a source of
great pride for a community. As well, rural districts allowed
a population removed from centers of governance to exer-
cise political power — power that would not be easily sur-
rendered.
In the latter half of the 1950s, Latimer County
Superintendent of Schools Frank L. Irwin asked the presi-
dents of the county's 31 extant districts to appoint a mem-
ber for a reorganization committee. Irvin and the commit-
tee ultimately developed a six -district plan that was funda-
mentally flawed. One district contained only rural schools
and would not have been able to support a superintendent
with its meager tax base. But this first attempt to reorgan-
ize the county's districts was far more political than practi-
cal. Indeed, the committee even refused on several occa-
sions to conduct a survey of districts and their schools.
Such a survey would have provided a list of assets and
deficits to be addressed in a reorganization plan. The
resulting six -district plan did not reflect needs, but repre-
sented a compromise between the rural districts' need for
self rule and state's expectations for consolidation.
Ultimately, however, the state rejected the plan. When
Margaret Miller became the new county superintendent of
schools in 1959, she reconvened the reorganization com-
mittee to create a new plan the state would accept.
Unfortunately, the politics of the committee proved
unworkable, and it merely resubmitted the same six -district
plan. Again, the state rejected it.t
Left without options, Miller called together the presi-
dents of the 31 districts for a meeting on July 16, 1959. All
attended. The superintendent reminded them of a 1959
amendment to the 1947 school reorganization bill. The
amendment authorized the Colorado Commissioner of
Education to recommend a reorganization plan to the leg-
31
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
islature and governor on January 1, 1960, if the local com-
mittee was unable to create a mutually agreeable consolida-
tion plan. The threat was clear: either consolidate schools
at the county level or the state would do it for you. The
presidents nominated members to a new reorganization
committee. Interestingly, however, some of the school
board presidents making these nominations represented
districts without a single student
The new reorganization committee consisted of
Hunter Spence, chairman, of Loveland; E.H. Barker of
Red Feather Lakes; John Carmack of Estes Park; Velma
Elliott of Laporte; Ray W. Hein of the Summit District
(near Berthoud); Elmer C. Hunter of Fort Collins; a Mr.
Lawson; Roscoe E. Little of Waverly; Wilfred Meining of
Berthoud; Virginia C. Norton, of Laporte; Eleanor
Peterson, of Poudre Canyon and, later, Fort Collins;
Everitt V. Richardson of the Rocky Ridge District; and
Roland Wickersham of Livermore. Later, the committee
added two more members from districts that were both in
Larimer and Weld counties, District 38J (Twin Mounds)
and District 57J (Lakeview). They were Walter Carlson and
Helmut Kurtz. On August 27, the committee conducted
fact-finding hearings among the superintendents of the
Berthoud, Fort Collins, Waverly, and Laporte Districts.
Two weeks later, it interviewed Estes Park, Timnath,
Loveland, and Wellington superintendents.2 County
Superintendent Miller provides a glimpse into the prepon-
derance and disparity of the information collected:
Statistics recorded by the committee members on
"bedsheet-size" paper revealed the cleavage
between "have" and "have not" districts with
high schools in the county. Waverly with 28 high
school students rested at the bottom of the scale,
and Mr. [Ray] Froid suggested such small schools
are one reason for reorganizing. High schools at
Berthoud, Laporte, and Waverly were not accred-
ited by the North Central Association."3
The committee also interviewed professors of education
from the Colorado State College of Education and
Colorado State University.4
Despite these careful deliberations and concerns
about state -level involvement in the reorganization plan, a
minority of committee members continued to reject any
proposal that Latimer County voters would approve. To tie
up the proceedings, according to Superintendent Miller,
this minority presented unworkable proposals for six-,
two-, and one -district plans. Ultimately, however, the
majority of committee members rejected these proposals
and, on October 29, 1959, approved ten -to -five a three -dis-
trict plan. While this compromise had its downfalls, it did
provide an adequate tax base for the operation of all three
districts. Centered on Fort Collins, Loveland, and Estes
Park, the committee easily decided on names for the dis-
tricts. The Poudre School District R-1 and Big Thompson
School District R-2J were named for the river drainages
representing most of their land areas. The "R" stood for
"reorganized" and the ` J" for "joint" because some of the
district was within Weld and Boulder counties. Park School
District R-3 was named for its location in Estes Park.
Much of the hardest work for the reorganization com-
mittee, however, lay ahead. Public hearings were required
throughout the county. But the law stipulated that notices
of the hearings and, later, elections had to be posted on
every one of the 60 existing schoolhouses in the county.
Given the remoteness of some of the schools, however,
this was no easy task. Superintendent Miller, with Dr. Lynn
Miller, spent her Sundays driving around the county post-
ing hearing and election notices. But some of the school-
houses were only accessible by four -wheel -drive vehicle.
32 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
Thus, the sheriff ordered his deputies to deliver notices to
these isolated schoolhouses, most of which were in the
northern portion of the county. Amazingly, some of the
schoolhouses were so remote that men hired to post
notices were unable to find six of them. Because of this
delay, hearings had to be rescheduled and notices reposted
on all 60 schoolhouses.5
Meanwhile, some residents in Berthoud bitterly
opposed the three -district plan and retained the services of
Greeley attorney William Albion Carlson, an outspoken
opponent of school district consolidation. Berthoud resi-
dents felt that they had the most to lose in the three -district
plan, which reoriented the district around Loveland, and
left to question the future of Berthoud's full complement
of schools. Rollin Fletcher, of the Berthoud Bulletin, worried
that his community would lose all of its schools and
become a ghost town. Carlson sought to invalidate the
reorganization plan on legal grounds at the same time he
regularly denounced the committee's work at its meetings.
In response, consolidation supporters organized a public
relations blitz for the county. They formed a speakers
bureau and published a pamphlet entitled "Our Children
are our Most Valuable Resources: Learn the Facts and Vote
on Larimer County's Plans to Reorganize 30 School
Districts into 3.116
The county held three separate elections on the cre-
ation of each of the three districts, limiting electors to eli-
gible property owners only. Voters approved the creation
of Park School District on March 21, 1960; Poudre School
District on March 28; and Big Thompson on April 26. The
last election was perhaps the most bitter, with Berthoud
residents voting 445 to 35 against the creation of the Big
Thompson District. But support of the plan in Loveland
offset the Berthoud votes. While the previously existing
school districts continued to manage their affairs until the
end of the fiscal year on June 30, 1960, the new, consoli-
dated districts began to organize themselves. As stipulated
in the law, a school board for each new district had to be
elected within 60 days of the creation of the District. In
Poudre School District, 19 people filed petitions with the
county to serve on the school board. William H. Allen was
elected president and John Stewart vice president. The
other five members were Stanley R. Case, Ralph H. Coyt,
Dana Peiterson, John R. Moore, and Harlan Seaworth. The
new board agreed to offer the position of superintendent
to Dr. David B. Lesher, who was superintendent of
District 5 (Fort Collins). He accepted and became the first
superintendent of Poudre School District.7
Challenges to the consolidation plan, however, did not
end with the elections. On May 24, 1960, William Carlson
and Jane Carlson filed in district court a motion question-
ing the validity of the election on behalf of four, small dis-
tricts in the northern portion of the county: Virginia Dale,
Gleneyre, Adams, and Upper Boxelder. The last two
Districts did not even operate schools. After the trial, held
July 13 and 14, 1960, Judge Wilbert Schauer characterized
the motion as a "shotgun attack" on the 1947 school dis-
trict reorganization act. He ruled that the plaintiff failed to
prove that the election was invalid. The Carlsons vowed to
take their case to the Colorado Supreme Court. But after
Superintendent Miller raised some questions about the
source of money used to pay the Carlsons's fees, the attor-
neys appear to have relinquished and ultimately dropped
the suit. In 1962, B. F. (Ford) Kitchen became the county's
last superintendent of schools. The position was rendered
unnecessary by the reorganization of the school districts,
and voters, in 1966, elected to dissolve the office.$
OUR CH11 UREH
ARE OUR
MOSIT VALUABLE RESOURCES
On Larimer County`s Plans to
Reorganize 30 School
Districts Into 3
ELECTIONS:
MONDAY, MARCH 21
Park School District R3
MONDAY, MARCH 28
Poudre School District RA
Polls open 8:00 a.r... to 7:00 p.m.
Figure 42. Published by the publicity committee of
the Larimer County School Planning Committee, this
brochure listed the arguments in favor of district
consolidation. (County School Planning Committee)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 33
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
Paudre School District to the Present
Officially incorporated on July 1, 1960, the new
Poudre School District R-1 was by far the largest of the
county's school districts both in geography and enrollment.
Indeed, PSD was far larger than the Park and Big
Thompson Districts combined, a land area 1.5 times the
size of Rhode Island. And the success of its schools was as
equally enormous. A study in the 1960s found that more
students from Poudre School District went on to receive
their doctorates than any other school district in
Colorado.
Helping propel the new Districts forward was massive
Cold War funding in education. In some of her final acts
as county superintendent of schools, Margaret Miller used
two National Defense Education Act grants to purchase
the county's first overhead projector and double the size of
the film library. Teachers from around the county gathered
at the courthouse auditorium to preview and choose the
films, which, tellingly, centered on math and science.10
With a soaring population and expanded access to fed-
eral funds, Poudre School District launched an unprece-
dented building spree. In the two decades following con-
solidation (1960-1980), PSD constructed 17 new schools,
averaging nearly one new building each year. Of these new
schools, 11, or 65 percent, were elementary schools, indi-
cating that much of the expansion in population was due
to families with young children. But the building boom also
included the construction of four junior high schools
(Lecher, Blevins, Boltz, and Lincoln) and two new senior
high schools (Poudre and Rocky Mountain). Unlike pre-
ceding schools in the Fort Collins area, which were gener-
ally situated in the middle of population centers, these new
schools were often constructed on the fringes of develop-
ment, where adequate land was available for sprawling
34
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
FF
Openings Windows to the Past (General Project and Company Overview) I 1
Project -Specific Qualifications 1 3
Project Team and Experience 15
Selected Past Projects 1 8
Proposal 1 10
Itemized Costs 1 12
Appendix A I Historical Context Chapters
Appendix B I Sample Survey Forms (OAHP 1403)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. ��
Architectural and Historical Context
floor plans and acres of recreation and athletic fields.
Moreover, the District remodeled and expanded every one
of its existing schools during this period, even the tiny, iso-
lated schoolhouses at Stove Prairie and Virginia Dale.11
The District's new school buildings were indicative of
those built across the county at this time. Most were a near-
ly identical simplification of Brutalism, with monolithic
exterior wall treatments, few windows, and sprawling, one-
story floor plans. Most elementary schools featured open -
floor plans hosting a pod system. Borrowing a page from
earlier in the century, PSD used the same floor plan for
four of its elementary schools — Bauder, Irish,
Riffenbugh, and Tavelli — all constructed in 1967-68.
Designed by architect William Robb, of the firm Robb,
Brenner & Brelig, the schools appear to have included both
elements of traditional classrooms and the pod system.
This description of the schools was included in a dedica-
tion pamphlet for the buildings:
Each building is designed for a two -track educa-
tional system (two classrooms per grade). The
buildings have flexibility. Using folding partitions,
three classrooms can be combined into a single
space seating 90 children for use of visual aids or
group teaching. The central space we have labeled
"studyway." Each studyway may be used as an
extra classroom, library, study or project area
closed to through traffic. The room can be left
open or divided into smaller spaces by the use of
light partitions or furniture. Teachers' work-
rooms, usable for work, counseling or extra tutor-
ing of students, are located for convenience and
control of the three classrooms and the study-
way.12
The plans for these schools received special recogni-
tion for their innovative spaces. Drawings of the
Rif£enburgh School were displayed at the 1968 national
convention of the American Association of School
Administrators in Atlanta. Moreover, Blevins Junior High
School, also completed in 1968, used temporary wall sys-
tems. Yet the idea of using moveable partitions to divide
classrooms or create larger assembly spaces dates to the
nineteenth century in America and was promoted widely in
John J. Custis's 1897 The Public Schools of Philadelphia:
Historical, Biographical, Stahstical73
Beginning in the 1980s, school design in Poudre
School District became more flamboyant and inspired, fol-
lowing national trends. Designed by Fort Collins -based
Architectural Horizons and completed in 1995, the new
Fort Collins High School is a masterpiece of Postmodern
design. An arced hallway anchored between arts facilities
on one end and athletic facilities on the other, connects
three wings of classrooms. Poudre School District contin-
ues to construct Postmodern schoolhouses that are as
inspirational as they are functional.
At the end of the twentieth century, Poudre School
District's facilities also became more innovative. The
award -winning Zach Elementary School, opened in the fall
of 2002, set a new stan-
dard in energy efficiency
and environmental
friendliness. Many of the
building components
were created from recy-
cled materials, including
a roof of former rubber
gaskets and window
frames insulated with old
blue jeans. The school
used as much natural
light as possible, with
Figure 43. Although started under District 5,
Lesher Junior High School, an International -style
building, became PSD's newest facility immediately
after reorganization. (Photo by the author)
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 35
In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and Architecture of Poudre School District R-1
Figure 44. The third Fort Collins High School is a
massive, Postmodern building. Just as its predeces-
sors, the sprawling floor plan is intended to host a
wide variety of curricula. (Photo by the author)
sensors automatically adjusting the level of artificial light was created as a gigantic learning tool. Throughout the
needed. Supplementing the cooling system are thermal ice building, materials are exposed to show how the school
storage units. The ice is made at night, taking advantage of was constructed and to showcase those mechanisms that
a period of low electricity use. Moreover, the school itself make it so efficient.14
36 HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Architectural and Historical Context
Notes
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Miller, 118.
Ibid., 118-9.
Ibid, 119.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Ibid., 119-20.
Ibid., 120; "R23 School District Wins by 103 votes," Fort Collins Coloradoan, 27 April 1960, p. 1.
Miller, 120-1; Charlene Tresner, "Early superintendent," 4.
Robert Getz, "Poudre R-1 schools face time or transition," Fort Collins Coloradoan, 22 April 1984; Linda M.
Jellins, "Poudre schools always ranked high," Fort Collins Review, 17 August 1977.
Miller, 121.
Daggett, et al.; Miller, 121.
Poudre School District R-1, "Dedication of New Schools," 1968, brochure, Local History Archive, Fort Collins
Public Library.
Poudre School District R-1, "Dedication of New Schools;" Cutler, 28.
United States Department of Energy, "Rebuild America Energysmart Schools Success Story: Poudre School
District, pamphlet, October 2003.
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 37
Intensive -Level
The following forms were developed for Historitecture. recent survey of Pueblos North Side Neighborhood They include two notable build
ings from the post -World War II period
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 39
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
Official Eligibility Determination
(OAHP use only)
COLORADO CULTURAL RESOURCE SURVEY
Date Initials
_Determined Eligible -National Register
Architectural Inventory Form
—Determined Not Eligible- National Register
—Determined Eligible - State Register
Page 1
—Determined Not Eligible - State Register
_Need Data
_Contributing to eligible National Register District
_Noncontributing to eligible National Register District
1. IDENTIFICATION
1.
Resource number:
2.
Temporary resource number:
3.
County:
4.
City:
5.
Historic building name:
6.
Current building name:
7.
Building address:
8.
Owner name:
Owner organization:
Owner address:
5PE.5837
Pueblo
Pueblo
Scottish Rite Temple
Parkview Medical Center West Annex
1618 N Elizabeth Street
Parkview Medical Center, Inc.
400 W 16th St
Pueblo, CO 81003
Parcel number(s):
525143003
OAHP1403
Rev. 9/98
44. National Register eligibility field assessment:
jj Individually eligible
-_I Not eligible
[] Need data
Local landmark eligibility field assessment:
FVJ Individually eligible
[] Not eligible
[] Need data
09-Jan-08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historiteclure, L.L.C. ' PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 - (970) 586.1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 1
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 2
II. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
9. P.M.: 6th Township: 20S Range: 65W
W 1/2 of SE 1/4 of SW 1/4 of NE 1/4 of Section 25
10. UTM reference zone: 13
Easting: 533769 Northing: 4236889
11. USGS quad name: Northeast Pueblo Scale: 7.5
Year: 1961 (Photorevised 1970 and
1974)
12. Lot(s) : Lots 4 to 13; Block 2. Also all of the south half of vacated 16th Street
adjacent to Block 2.
Addition: Bartlett & Miller Addition Year of addition: 1871
13. Boundary description and justification:
The boundary, as described above, contains but does not exceed the land historically associated with this property.
Metes and bounds exist: i..._1
III. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
14. Building plan (footprint, shape):
Other building plan descriptions:
15, Dimensions in feet (length x width):
16. Number of stories:
17. Primary external wall material(s):
18. Roof configuration:
Other roof configurations:
19. Primary external roof material:
Other roof materials:
20. Special features:
21. General architectural description
09 Jan-08
H-Shaped Plan
18,309 square feet
2 1/2
Brick
Stone/Limestone
Flat Roof
Synthetic Roof/Rubber Roof
Chimney
Ornamentation/Decorative Terra Cotta
Other wall materials:
Oriented to the west, this building rests on a concrete foundation. The exterior walls consist of red, pressed brick, set in a 6-
over-1 common bond. Capping the parapet are dressed, limestone slabs. Windows in the front (west) fagade and In the west
end of the north and south elevations have 5-light (vertical) windows, with the bottom light opening as a hopper. They have
brushed aluminum frames and are set in limestone surrounds, with limestone spandrels between the stories. The centers of
the side elevations host a row of 3, narrow windows. Above them is a row of 5, small clerestory windows. They have limestone
sills. The rear (east) elevation and east ends of the north and south elevations have 2-light widows, with the bottom light
opening as a hopper. They have limestone surrounds and many are protected behind wrought -Iron grilles. The backstage
protrudes above the rest of the building. Its side elevations host a trio of inset, vertical shafts. Windows open at the top and
bottom of the shafts. Sheltering the windows at the top of the shaft are flat, cantilevered, concrete hoods, with rounded
profiles. The principal doorway opens in the center of the symmetrical fagade, within a shallowly recessed shaft. Flanking
either side of the shaft are green granite columns, lacking bases or capitals. Dividing the shaft into 3 sections are fluted,
aluminum pilasters. Single doors open in the sides and paired doors in the center. They are brushed aluminum doors with
recessed, aluminum panels. Above them are transoms with decorative aluminum grilles. Between the transoms and the
second -story windows are panels of glazed, Ivory terra cotta tiles. The center tiles depict, in bas-relief, a double -headed
eagle -a symbol of the Scottish Right of Freemasonry. Descending from the doorway west to Elizabeth Street is a massive
concrete and brick staircase. Approaching from the north and south are concrete ramps. Secondary doorways open low near
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Hlsloritecture,L.L.C. ' POBOX419
Estes Park, C080517-0419 ' (970) 686-1165
Soled by Resource Number
Report page: 2
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 3
the center of the north elevation; at the east end of the north elevation; high in the east elevation of the lobby, and near the
center of the lobby's south elevation. A rubber membrane covers the flat roof, and a chimney protrudes from the southeast
corner of the building.
22. Architectural style: Modern Movements
Other architectural styles:
Building type:
23. Landscape or special setting features:
This property is located at one of the highest points in the North Side Neighborhood, with the terrain sloping downward to the
east, south, and west. The elevation is around 4,700 feet above mean sea level. The neighborhood features modest one- and
two-story houses and towering hospital -related office buildings. The property consumes an entire block, bounded by West
15th Street to the south and West 16th Street to the north. A planted -grass yard, with mature landscaping, is immediately
adjacent to the building and extends southward and northward. To the east and southeast are concrete and macadam parking
lots. A limestone retaining walls delimits the southwest corner of the property. It is a remnant of the walls that once
surrounded the elaborate gardens of the Hillcrest Estate.
24. Associated buildings, features or objects:
1: Type: Shed
Describe: A standard modular shed Is located near the northeast corner of the building. Oriented to the
north, the building lacks a formal foundation. The walls consist of cream -painted sheets of
plywood, with brown -painted cornerboards. A doorway opens in the center of the north
elevation and a window appears in the north elevation. Brown asphalt shingles cover the front -
gabled roof.
IV. ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
25. Date of Construction: Estimate: Actual: 1950.55
Source of Information: Pueblo County Office of Tax Assessor. Property Information card [internet].
26. Architect: Walter DeMordaunt
Source of information: McLeod, Paul J. "Comprehensive List of the Projects of Waiter DeMordaunt, Architect, with a
Brief Biography." Ms (photocopy). Special Collections, Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library,
Pueblo.
27. Builder: Unknown
Source of information:
28. Original Owner: Scottish Rite Temple Association
Source of information: Pueblo County Office of Tax Assessor. Property information card [internet].
29. Construction history:
This property was originally the location of Mahlon Thatcher's colossal Hillcrest Mansion. The house occupied the
southeastern portion of the property, with elaborate gardens covering the rest of the block. The temple was originally
connected to this house. Its cornerstone was revealed on November 17, 1949, and laid on April 13, 1950. The Scottish Rite and
Its associated orders officially moved from the downtown Masonic Building in 1953 and held their meetings in the basement of
the new building until the auditorium was completed, in 1955. Since that time the two most notable alterations have been the
demolition of Hillcrest and the construction of a small addition to the southeast corner of the building.
30. Location: original Date of move($):
V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS
31. Original use(s): Meeting Hall
32. Intermediate use(s): Meeting Halt
33. Current use(s): Medical Business/Medical Office
09-Jan�08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historiteclure,L.L.C. ' POBox419
Estee Park, C080517-0419 - (9]0) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 3
1518 N Elizabeth Street SPE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 4
34. Site type(s): Medical Offices
35. Historical background:
09 Jan-08
Originally consuming this entire block was Mahlon D. Thatcher's enormous Hillcrest mansion and grounds. The Queen Anne -
style house, designed by prominent New York architect Henry Hudson Holly, was completed in 1882. Thatcher was Pueblo's
preeminent financial mogul, founder of First National Bank of Pueblo, and, with his brother John A. Thatcher, one of the
wealthiest men in Colorado. Hillcrest was the first of Pueblo's mansions and was the landmark that led to the development of
Pueblo's North Side Neighborhood. Mahlon Thatcher died on February 22, 1916, and Luna Thatcher on December 31, 1935.
Their children later donated the mansion and grounds to the Pueblo chapter of the American Red Cross during World War II.
The Scottish Rite Temple Association of Pueblo purchased Hillcrest in 1946 for $25,000.
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry was a Masonic organization that continued a Master Mason's
education of the first three degrees (from the Blue Lodge in the United States). The Scottish Rite continued from the 4th
Degree through the 32nd Degree, with an honorary 33rd Degree awarded for exceptional service.
The first Blue Lodge in Pueblo (No. 17) was chartered In 1868. For decades, however, the only Scottish Rite bodies were
located in Denver, requiring Pueblo Masons to travel there to continue their degrees and for meetings. Masons in southern
Colorado clamored for a Consistory closer to home. Bringing the issue to the forefront, however, was former Colorado
Governor and Puebioan Alva Adams, who became the Denver Consistory's highest official, Inspector General. Pueblo Masons
met formally on April 17, 1919, to establish a Scottish Rite Temple of their own. The group elected to circulate a petition and
submit it to Adams. An overwhelming 95 percent of known Masons in southern Colorado signed the petition.
After receiving the petition, Adams formally asked the Supreme Council to Issue a Pueblo charter. The number of signatures
so impressed the council that, for the first time in Its history, it granted a permanent charter to an organization that had not yet
conferred any degrees on any candidates. The council chartered the four bodies that encompass the degrees of the Scottish
Rite: Victory Lodge of Perfection No. 3, Teller Chapter of Rose Croix No. 3, Pueblo Council of Kadosh No. 3., and the South
Colorado Consistory No. 3.
The bodies' first formal group meeting, or reunion, was held on January 12, 1920, at the downtown Masonic Lodge, on Main
Street. The gathering opened with 536 candidates, comprising the largest charter class in the history of the Southern
Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite to that date. Candidate classes became so large that seats had to be removed in the large
Masonic lodge to expand the stage area.
Despite the immediate success of the Scottish Rite in Pueblo, the organization suffered by not having its own temple, which
was central to all Freemasonry. According to Masonic beliefs, the temple was a living symbol of their devotion to the Supreme
Architect and the principles of their order. Thus, the organization's 1946 purchase of Hillcrest served two objectives. First, the
mansion could be used for smaller meetings and as a dormitory for degree teams. Second, and more important, the grounds
provided a perfect hilltop site for the construction of a Scottish Rite Temple. Masons often sought hilltop sites for temples,
particularly Scottish Rite Temples, because these locations communicated a sense of prestige while replicating the location of
King Solomon's original temple in Jerusalem. On January 2, 1946, the members of the Southern Colorado Consistory voted to
build a temple on the Hillcrest site.
Members organized the Scottish Rite Building Association, which oversaw construction, including the hiring of prominent
Pueblo architect Walter DeMordaunt to design the edifice. The association financed the $600,000 project through the gifts and
pledges of members, as well as a $160,000 bond Issue.
The cornerstone was revealed on November 17, 1949, and laid on April 13, 1950. The order held its first reunion in the
unfinished temple in November 1952. The Scottish Rite and Its associated orders officially moved from the downtown Masonic
Building in 1953 and held their meetings in the basement of the new building until the auditorium was completed, in 1955.
DeMordaunt's choice of architectural style is particularly interesting for two reasons. First, the use of International -style -
inspired minimalism stood in marked contrast to the vast majority of Scottish Rite temples in the United States, which were
often textbook examples of classicism. Second, the Masons intended to retain Hillcrest and physically connect it to their new
temple. A brick passageway extending off the south end of the temple's rear (east) elevation connected to the north end of the
house's west elevation. Thus, when this complex was completed, it consisted of architectural opposites: the ornamented,
complex mansion joined to the austere, simple temple.
The Scottish Rite orders and associated organizations used this temple Into the 1990s, long after the demolition of Hillcrest,
but membership continued to decline. On July 7, 1998, the Scottish Rite Temple Association sold its temple and grounds to
the adjacent Parkview Medical Center for $1.3 million. Parkview uses the building as its West Annex, housing its business
services, fitness center, and Rosemount Room.
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey Sorted by Resource Number
Historitedure, L.L.C. - PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 ' (970) 586-1165 Report page:
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 5
36. Sources of information:
09-Jan08
Pueblo County Office of Tax Assessor. Property information card [Internet]
Pueblo City Directory, Pueblo, Co.; Salt Lake City; Kansas City, Mo.; and others: R.L. Polk
& Co, consulted 1886 through 2003.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (for Pueblo, Colorado). New York: Sanborn Map and
Publishing Co., 1883, 1886, 1889, 1893, 1904-05, 1904-51, and 1904-52.
McLeod, Paul J. "Comprehensive List of the Projects of Walter DeMordaunt, Architect,
with a Brief Biography." Ms (photocopy). Special Collections, Robert Hoag Rawlings
Public Library, Pueblo.
Taylor, Ralph C. "Colorful Colorado: Scottish Rite Nears 50th Year." Pueblo Star -Journal
and Sunday Chieftain, 9 November 1969.
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Hislorilecture, L.L.C. PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 (970) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 5
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 6
A. SIGNIFICANCE
37. Local landmark designation: Yes [] No iy1
Designation authority:
Date of designation:
38. Applicable National Register criteria:
IV] A. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of our history.
B. Associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
h/] C. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or represents the work
of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguished entity whose
components may lack individual distinction.
f 1 D. Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.
[_ Qualifies under Criteria Considerations A through G (see manual).
Does not meet any of the above National Register criteria.
Pueblo Standards for Designation:
1a. History
I�� Have direct association with the historical development of the city, state, or nation; or
1b. History
fJi Be the site of a significant historic event; or
to. History
Have direct and substantial association with a person or group of persons who had influence on society.
2a. Architecture
[j Embody distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or type; or
21c. Architecture
[y] Be a significant example of the work of a recognized architect or master builder, or
2c. Architecture
[] Contain elements of architectural design, engineering, materials, craftsmanship, or artistic merit which represent
a significant or influential innovation;
2d. Architecture
[_ Portray the environment of a group of people or physical development of an area of the city in an era of history
characterized by a distinctive architectural style.
3a. Geocrail
Have a prominent location or be an established, familiar, and orienting visual feature of the contemporary city, or
3b. Geography
!__ ] Promote understanding and appreciation of Pueblo's environment by means of distinctive physical characteristics
or rarity; or
3c. Geography
[-] Make a special contribution to Pueblo's distinctive character.
Not Applicable
[; ] Does not meet any of the above Pueblo landmark criteria.
39. Area(s) of Significance: Architecture
Social History
40. Period of Significance: Architecture, 1955; Social History, 1953.1955
41. Level of significance: National: [_] State [�I Local 1 _]
09-Jan-08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historitedure, L.L.C. PO eox 419
Estes Park, CO 80617.0419 (970) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 6
Post -World War II Commercial
and Residential Architecture in Fort Collins
City of Fort Collins, Colorado
Proposal No. P1098
Submitted to:
Purchasing Division
City of Fort Collins
Post Office Box 580
215 North Mason Street, Second Floor
Fort Collins, Colorado 80522-0580.
Submitted by:
Adam Thomas,
Managing Principal, Architectural Historian
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Post Office Box 419
Estes Park, Colorado 80517-0419
970.586.1165
w .historitecmre.com
January 2008
BINDER
As owner and managing principal of
Historitecture, L.L.C., I am authorized to
submit this proposal for an historical con-
text and survey of Post -World War II
Commercial and Residential Architecture in
Fort Collins, 1945-1967, to the City of Fort
Collins. I have reviewed all of the materials
contained in the document and attest that
they accurately reflect Historitecture's pro-
fessional and financial capability to com-
plete all tasks in the scope of services.
ej��� 1(9( OK
Adam A. Thomas Date
Managing Principal,
Architectural Historian
HISTORITECTURE
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 7
42. Statement of significance:
This property is significant under National Register Criterion A (Pueblo Local Landmark Criterion IA -history) for its
association with the development of Freemasonry In southern Colorado. The temple represented the culmination of Masonic
activities in this portion of the state. The building is also significant under Criterion C (Local Landmark Criteria 2A and 213—
architecture) as an example of post -World War II modernism, particularly as a minimalist interpretation of the classicism
usually applied to Masonic Temples. The building expresses the boxy form; flat roof; and smooth, untextured surfaces of
modernist minimalism, particularly the International style. Yet it retains green -granite columns, textured coping, recessed
panels, sculpted terra cotta, and an overall symmetry that suggest classicism. It represents perhaps better than any other
building Pueblo architect Walter DeMordaunt's philosophy of structure over style. This property is also significant under
Local Landmark Criterion 3A (geography) because its hilltop location make it an orienting landmark in Pueblo's North Side.
The levels of architectural and historical significance, combined with physical integrity, are to the extent that this property
could qualify for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the Colorado State Register of Historic
Properties, or as a City of Pueblo Landmark. In any case, it Is a contributing resource within any potential historic district.
43. Assessment of historic physical integrity related to significance:
Completed in 1955, this building exhibits a moderately high level of physical integrity relative to the seven aspects of
integrity as defined by the National Park Service and the Colorado Historical Society: location, setting, design, materials,
workmanship, feeling, and association. While the Hillcrest Mansion, to which this building was connected, has been
demolished, the loss of that house did not impact the overall integrity of this entirely separate building. Moreover, additions
and modifications have been minor.
VII. NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT
44. National Register eligibility field assessment: y) Individually eligible ( _ Not eligible F Need data
Local landmark eligibility field assessment: Individually eligible [] Not eligible [] Need data
45. Is there National Register district potential? Yes No I
Discuss: Pueblo's North Side Neighborhood represents the evolution of the city's professional middle and upper
classes. Its diversity of architectural styles and forms directly represents the city's changing economic and
cultural climates. As well, the neighborhood is distinctive because it appears to have evolved independently
of the area's dominant industry, steel manufacturing.
If there is National Register district potential, is this building contributing: Yes [ j No [.1 N/A [_
46, If the building is in existing National Register district, is it contributing: Yes 1 _1 No 1_ N/A 1�]
Vill. RECORDING INFORMATION
47.
Photograph numbers):
CD-ROM Photo Disc: North Side Photos
File Name(s): elizabethstn1518
Negatives filed at:
Special Collections
Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library
100 East Abriendo Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81004.4290
48.
Report title:
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
49.
Date(s):
09/19/06
50.
Recorder(s):
Adam Thomas
51.
Organization:
Historitecture, L.L.C.
52.
Address:
PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419
53.
Phone number(s):
(970) 586.1165
09-Jan-08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historitecture, L.L.C. ' PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 - (970) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 7
1518 N Elizabeth Street
09-Jan-08
EJ
fir C�j is
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 8
SITE SKETCH MAP
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' Utt,�
J,
il '-�
-
W 17THST
.-
cur
tj 01-1 3-2
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M
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W 18TH ST
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W 13TH ST
1,J
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historitecture, L.L.C. PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 (970)586-1165
5PE.5837
(Resource number)
W 19TH ST
J. L
Al SCALE:
I inch 200 te,
Batted by Resource Number
Report page: 8
1518 N Elizabeth Street 5PE.5837
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 9
09-dam08
LOCATION MAP
Source: U.S. Geological Survey 7.5' Northeast Pueblo topographic quadrangle - 1961 (Photorevised 1970 and 1974)
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey Soled by Resource Number
Historitecture,LLC. POBox419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 (970) 586.1165 Report page: 9
1700 West Street
SPE.5862
COLORADO CULTURAL RESOURCE SURVEY
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 1
I. IDENTIFICATION
1.
Resource number:
2.
Temporary resource number:
3.
County:
4.
City:
5.
Historic building name:
6.
Current building name:
7.
Building address:
8.
Owner name:
Owner organization:
Owner address:
5PE.5862
Pueblo
Pueblo
Meyer, Frank John, House
Benvenuto, Robert A., House
1700 West Street
Robert A. Benvenuto
1700 West St
Pueblo, Colorado 81003
Official Eligibility Determination
(OAHP use only)
Date Initials
_Determined Eligible -National Register
_Determined Not Eligible - National Register
_Determined Eligible - State Register
_Determined Not Eligible - State Register
_Need Data
_Contributing to eligible National Register District
_Noncontributing to eligible National Register District
Parcel number(s):
525134005
OAHP1403
Rev. 9/98
44. National Register eligibility field assessment:
[ ] Individually eligible
jJ] Not eligible
[ ] Need data
Local landmark eligibility field assessment:
[/] Individually eligible
❑ Not eligible!
Need data
09-Jan-08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historitecture.LL.C. ' POBox419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 - (970) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 1
1700 West Street
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 2
II. GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION
9.
P.M.: 6th
Township: 20S
Range: 65W
SW 1/4 of
NW 1/4 of SW 1/4 of
NE 114 of Section 25
10,
UTM reference zone:
13
Easting:
533622
Northing: 4237052
11.
USGS quad name:
Northeast Pueblo
Scale: 7.5
Year:
1961 (Photorevised 1970 and
1974)
12,
Lot(s) :
Lots 9 and 10; Block 11
Addition:
Bartlett & Miller Addition
Year of addition: 1871
5PE.5862
(Resource number)
13. Boundary description and justification:
The boundary, as described above, contains but does not exceed the land historically associated with this property.
Metes and bounds exist: �.....)
III. ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION
14. Building plan (footprint, shape):
Other building plan descriptions:
15. Dimensions in feet (length x width):
16. Number of stories:
17. Primary external wall material(s):
18. Roof configuration:
Other roof configurations:
19. Primary external roof material:
Other roof materials:
20. Special features:
Irregular Plan
2,376 square feet
1
Brick
Gabled Roof/Cross Gabled Roof
Wood Roof/Shingle Roof
Garage/Attached Garage
Chimney
Porch
Window/Glass Block
Other wall materials:
21. General architectural description:
Oriented to the east, this house rests on a concrete foundation. A red -brick veneer, with brown -pink -tinted mortar, clads the
exterior walls. Broad, brown -painted, horizontal wooden composition siding covers the gables. Windows are generally 1-over-
1-light, double -hung sash, with white -painted wood frames and brick sills. Both faces of the southwest corner (north of the
sheltered patio) host single -light picture windows. Sheltering a picture window dominating the south elevation is a shed -roof
hood, on steel brackets with horseshoes welded onto them. Windows opening Into the attached garage have glass blocks.
The principal doorway opens In a canted wall connecting the main portion of the house to the southern wing. It has glass -
block sidelights. The rest of the southern wing's west elevation hosts an integral patio. Opening between the garage and the
rest of the house are plate -glass sliding doors. Doorways also open onto an unsheltered patio along the rear (east) elevation.
Screening this patio is a brick wall, capped by welded horseshoes. Dominating the west elevation of the attached garage Is a
pair of brown and tan, fiberglass, overhead -retractable garage doors. Wood shingles cover the cross -gabled roof, and the
rafter ends are exposed. A large, brick chimney, with corbelled cap, protrudes from the east -west roof ridge. A steel
weathervane, depicting a roadrunner with a snake in Its mouth, caps the southern end of the main roof.
22. Architectural style: Modern Movements
09-Jan-08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Fistorilecture,LLC. - P0Box419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 - (97(l
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 2
1700 West Street
Other architectural styles:
Building type:
23. Landscape or special setting features:
Architectural Inventory Form
Ranch Type
Page 3
5PE.5862
(Resource number)
This property Is located on terrain sloping steeply downward from northeast to southwest, with an elevation of around 4,700
feet above mean sea level. The neighborhood features modest 1- and 2-story houses and apartment buildings. Setbacks from
West Street are generally the same on this block. This property is situated on the northeast corner of West and West 17th
streets. A planted -grass yard, with mature landscaping, covers the lot. The southern and western portions of the property are
terraced.
24. Associated buildings, features or objects: No associated buildings Identified.
IV. ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY
25, Date of Construction: Estimate: Actual: 1951
Source of Information: Pueblo County Office of Tax Assessor. Property information card [Internet].
26. Architect: Walter DeMordaunt
Source of information:
27. Builder: unknown
Source of information:
28. Original Owner: Frank John Meyer
Source of information: Pueblo City Directory. Pueblo, Co.; Salt Lake City; Kansas City, Mo.; and others: R.L. Polk &
Co, consulted 1886 through 2003.
29. Construction history:
According to Pueblo County Tax Assessor records, this house was constructed in 1951. An analysis of the style, materials,
and historical records corroborates this date. It was designed by prominent Pueblo architect Walter DeMordaunt. Because the
original owner, Frank Meyer, was an avid collector of horseshoes, the metal objects were used as a decorative motif
throughout the house. The only notable alteration has been the enclosure of the breezeway between the house and the garage.
This alteration appears to have been made after 1980.
30. Location: original Date of move(s):
V. HISTORICAL ASSOCIATIONS
31. Original use(s):
32. Intermediate use(s):
33. Current use(s):
34, Site type(s):
35. Historical background:
Single Dwelling
Single Dwelling
Single Dwelling
Residence
The original owner and resident of this house, constructed in 1951, was jeweler Frank John Meyer. He was born on March 19,
1891, in Pueblo and worked for many years for the Fisher Jewelry Company. Meyer was an avid collector of horseshoes,
collecting more than 5,000 of them from all over the world. He integrated his hobby into this house, using horseshoes for
doorknobs, coat hooks, fences and other decorative details. He always installed them upward, so as to not "spill" the good
luck. Meyer kept his most valuable shoes and all of his documentation in a vault in the basement. The current owner reported
that this vault is still intact. Meyer's wife, Cecile R. Fisher, was born in Iowa around 1894. She died on July 10, 1972, after
which Frank Meyer appears to have sold this house. He died on July 4, 1981.
First National Bank of Colorado Springs acquired this property in 1974. Ralph G. and Jeane L. Dille purchased the house and
lot in 1984, selling them in 1986 to June A. Benvenuto. In 1996, she transferred the property to Robert A. Benevenuto, the
current owner and resident. This house was for sale at the time of this survey.
36. Sources of information:
09Jan-08
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historitecture, L.L.C. ' PO Box419
Estes Park, CO 80517.0419 - (970) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 3
1700 West Street
09-Jan-08
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 4
McLeod, Paul J. "Comprehensive List of the Projects of Walter DeMordaunt, Architect,
with a Brief Biography." Ms (photocopy). Special Collections, Robert Hoag Rawlings
Public Library, Pueblo.
Pueblo County Office of Tax Assessor. Property Information card [internet).
Pueblo City Directory. Pueblo, Co.; Salt Lake City; Kansas City, Mo.; and others: R.L. Polk
& Co, consulted 1886 through 2003.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps (for Pueblo, Colorado). New York: Sanborn Map and
Publishing Co., 1883, 1886, 1889, 1893, 1904-05, 1904-51, and 1904.52.
"Frank J. Meyer" [obituary]. Pueblo Chieftain, 5 July 1981, p. 7B.
U.S. Census of 1930. Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado. Roll: 249; Page: 6B; Enumeration
District: 9; Image: 247.0.
Benvenuto, Robert A. Interview with Adam Thomas,. 23 August 2005.
Taylor, Ralph C. "Colorful Colorado: Horse Shoe Collecting Promotes International Good
Will." Pueblo Star -Journal and Sunday Chieftain, 7 November 1954, p. 8.
SPE.5862
(Resource number)
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey Sorted by Resource Number
Historiteclure,LLC. ' POBox419
Estes Park, CO 80517.0419 - (970) 586-1165 Report page: 4
1700 West Street
VI. SIGNIFICANCE
37
38.
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 5
Local landmark designation: Yes [_'i No JJI
Designation authority:
Date of designation:
Applicable National Register criteria:
J A. Associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad pattern of our history.
[__ ] B. Associated with the lives of persons significant in our past.
C. Embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or represents the work
of a master, or that possess high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguished entity whose
components may lack individual distinction.
D. Has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.
[ j Qualifies under Criteria Considerations A through G (see manual).
[- I Does not meet any of the above National Register criteria.
Pueblo Standards for Designation:
1a. History
(] Have direct association with the historical development of the city, state, or nation; or
1b. History
Be the site of a significant historic event; or
1c. History
[i) Have direct and substantial association with a person or group of persons who had influence on society.
5PE.5862
(Resource number)
2a. Architecture
(yl Embody distinguishing characteristics of an architectural style or type; or
21c. Architecture
[ej Be a significant example of the work of a recognized architect or master builder, or
2c. Architecture
IV) Contain elements of architectural design, engineering, materials, craftsmanship, or artistic merit which represent
a significant or influential innovation;
2d. Architecture
j Portray the environment of a group of people or physical development of an area of the city in an era of history
characterized by a distinctive architectural style.
3a. Geography
Have a prominent location or be an established, familiar, and orienting visual feature of the contemporary city, or
3b. Geography
Promote understanding and appreciation of Pueblo's environment by means of distinctive physical characteristics
or rarity; or
3c. Geoaranhv
j Make a special contribution to Pueblo's distinctive character.
Not Applicable
[_ Does not meet any of the above Pueblo landmark criteria.
39. Area(s) of Significance:
40. Period of Significance:
41. Level of significance:
09Jan-08
Social History
Architecture
Social History, 1951-1955; Architecture, 1951
National: !__ i State F_,-!I Local Ld]
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Historitecture,LLC. ' POBox419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 ' (970) 586-1165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page:
1700 West Street 5PE.5862
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 6
42. Statement of significance:
This property is significant under National Register Criterion A (Pueblo Local Landmark Criterion 1A—history) for its
association with the post -World War II development of Pueblo's North Side Neighborhood and the continuing settlement of
the entrepreneurial middle and upper classes here. This house was home to successful Pueblo jeweler Frank John Meyer.
Thus, this house is also significant under Pueblo Local Landmark criterion 1C for Its association with Meyer. As well, the
house is significant under National Register Criterion C (Local Landmark Criteria 2A, 2B, and 2C—architecture) as an
excellent example of a classic western ranch house. Moreover, prominent Pueblo architect Waiter DeMordaunt designed the
house, one of his few and probably the largest of his ranch house designs. It is also significant for the artistic and
innovative use of horseshoes as decorative elements, expressing the original owner's hobby. While the levels of
architectural and historical significance, combined with physical integrity, are not to the extent that this property would
qualify for individual listing in the National Register of Historic Places or the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties,
it could be individually eligible as a City of Pueblo Landmark. The property is, in any case, a contributing resource within
any potential historic district.
43. Assessment of historic physical integrity related to significance:
Constructed in 1951, this house exhibits a moderately high level of physical integrity relative to the seven aspects of Integrity
as defined by the National Park Service and the Colorado Historical Society: location, setting, design, materials,
workmanship, feeling, and association. The only notable alteration has been enclosure of the breezeway. This property
retains sufficient physical integrity to convey its architectural and historical significance.
VII. NATIONAL REGISTER ELIGIBILITY ASSESSMENT
44. National Register eligibility field assessment: ;] Individually eligible jyl Not eligible F 1 Need data
Local landmark eligibility field assessment: O Individually eligible [ ] Not eligible [] Need data
45. Is there National Register district potential? Yes IJI No
C]
Discuss: Pueblo's North Side Neighborhood represents the evolution of the city's professional middle and upper
classes. Its diversity of architectural styles and forms directly represents the city's changing economic and
cultural climates. As well, the neighborhood is distinctive because it appears to have evolved independently
of the area's dominant Industry, steel manufacturing.
If there is National Register district potential, is this building contributing: Yes 1 ) No [ ] N/A ( j
46. If the building is in existing National Register district, is it contributing: Yes [ 1 No [] N/A IJj
Vill. RECORDING INFORMATION
47.
Photograph numbers):
CD-ROM Photo Disc: North Side Photos
File Name(s) westst1700
Negatives filed at:
Special Collections
Robert Hoag Rawlings Public Library
100 East Abrando Avenue
Pueblo, CO 81004.4290
48.
Report title:
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
49.
Date(s):
08/23/05
50.
Recorder(s):
Adam Thomas
51.
Organization:
Historitecture, L.L.C.
52.
Address:
PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419
53.
Phone numbere):
(970) 686.1165
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey
Hlstoritedure,L.L.C. ' P0Box419
09-Jan-08 Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 ' (970) 5864165
Sorted by Resource Number
Report page: 6
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Historitedure, L.L.C. ' PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 - (970) 586-1165
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Report pager 7
Opening Windows to the Past
Historitecture, L.L.C.
"To reconstruct a past world, doubtless with a view to the highest purposes of truth
— what a work to be in any way present at, to assist in, though only as a lamp -holder!"
Between 1940 and 1960, the population of Fort
Collins nearly tripled. Corresponding to this growth in
population was a construction boom of unprecedented
fervor. Between 1950 and 1960, builders constructed 2,479
new houses in the City, increasing the total number of
dwelling units by 58 percent. A similar boom occurred in
construction of commercial buildings. Uniting this new
construction were post -World War II architectural styles,
which ranged from the rigidly minimal and banal to the
whimsical and unforgettable.
But Modern architecture includes the least understood
and appreciated architectural styles in the United States. In
general, buildings expressing postwar styles have been
demolished and modified with abandon. They are particu-
larly threatened in Fort Collins because they are generally
not appreciated yet constitute a huge percentage of the
built environment. As interest increases in new infill con-
struction and remodelings, Fort Collins is quickly losing its
historical and architectural resources from the postwar
period. Thus, the City seeks to better understand these
resources, record significant examples, and begin a well -
researched public outreach campaign. Historitecture, LLC,
desires to assist the City in this endeavor.
Dedicated to the research, recordation, preservation,
and interpretation of historical resources in Colorado,
Historitecture offers professional historical, cultural, and
architectural history consulting services to local, state, and
— George Eliot, Middlemarch
federal government entities with regulatory responsibilities
to preserve historic properties. We are committed to adapt-
ing and customizing our services to individual clients, an
advantage over larger cultural resource consulting corpora -
dons. Because Historitecture is an owner -operated compa-
ny, it keeps its overhead low, reducing costs while provid-
ing flexibility in the business relationship. As clients have
changing needs, Historitecture can change with them.
We believe the cornerstone of historical consult-
ing —whether it is architectural history, historic preserva-
tion, or museum planning —is the creation of a broad his-
torical narrative set in local, state, and national contexts,
and based on exhaustive research. We strive to provide
usable and easy -to -read reports that are both informative
and interesting.
Principals Adam Thomas and Cheria Yost established
the firm to promote and advance their vision of historic
preservation —a philosophy that promotes the resource and
its history as the foundation of all subsequent planning
efforts. Moreover, while many cultural resource consult-
ants perform only the minimum amount of reporting nec-
essary to fulfill the contract, Historitecmre's principals
believe that all survey forms and reports should be exhaus-
tive —representing a true contribution to the local historiog-
raphy.
Historitecture personnel have researched in all of the
state's major repositories, including the Colorado Historical
Society and Denver Public Library in Denver; the Norlin
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 1
1700 West Street SPE.5862
(Resource number)
Architectural Inventory Form
Page 8
09-Jan-08
LOCATION MAP
Source: U.S. Geological Survey 7.5' Northeast Pueblo topographic quadrangle - 1961 (Photorevised 1970 and 1974)
Pueblo North Side Neighborhood Survey Sorted by Resource Number
Historitecture, L.L.C. - PO Box 419
Estes Park, CO 80517-0419 - (970) 586-1165 Report page: 8
Post -World War II Commercial and Residential Architecture in Fort Collins, 1945-1967
Library at the University of Colorado at Boulder; and the
Morgan Library at Colorado State University in Fort
Collins. Historitecture is also familiar with the rich
resources contained in Fort Collins Public Library and the
Local History Archive, not housed at the Fort Collins
Historical Museum. As well, the firm has conducted exten-
sive property research in the offices of the Larimer County
Clerk and Recorder and Tax Assessor and used numerous
local history archives across the state.
For field surveys, Historitecture uses a variety of
advanced technical equipment, including digital still and
video cameras; geosynchronous positioning systems; and
digital sound recorders for in -field oral interviews. The sur-
vey forms are completed in the field using hand-held com-
puters. All data is collected digitally, reducing paper waste
while increasing speed and accuracy. As well, Historitecture
posts its draft survey forms on its website, allowing prop-
erty owners and other interested parties to review and
2
comment on the forms before printing the final versions.
Historitecture produces its reports and survey forms in
state-of-the-art publishing, word processing, and database
software. Documents are professionally printed and
bound.
Historitecture is the perfect choice for the City of Fort
Collins. We have the experience and expertise necessary to
complete the project on time and on budget. Mr. Thomas
believes that survey forms and the survey report should
further local historiography, not just meet minimum
requirements. These documents should be usable for both
the City and its residents. Historitecture has completed past
contexts, survey forms, and reports that have been nation-
ally recognized for their readability and innovation.
Historitecture assures the City of Fort Collins that its final
documents will serve as superior models upon which to
base the City's continuing preservation planning efforts.
1.C't 1"11.ttOJ'ItPCtfl ( open! II'G/'LI C1'77ldo;r to I/)e J zst'
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.
Project -Specific Qualifications
Historitecture, L.L.C.
The goal of this project is to fill a significant gap in
the City's understanding, assessment, preservation, and
community outreach efforts related to post -World War II
residential and commercial architecture. The effort will
foster a better understanding of and appreciation for the
varied resources from this time period, increasing pride in
ownership while decreasing the demolitions or inappropri-
ate alterations of buildings from the post-war period. This
project will consist of three major components: an histor-
ical and architectural context; a reconnaissance survey; and
an intensive level survey. Historitecture is uniquely suited
to completing the project components and, ultimately,
assisting the City in meeting its goals.
Historical and Architectural Conwxt An historical
and architectural context is a unit created for planning pur-
poses that groups information about historic properties
based on a shared theme, specific time period, and geo-
graphical area. When researched and written properly, the
document allows property owners and City officials alike to
easily determine the architectural and historical significance
of properties, and better assess their physical integrity.
Historitecture Architectural Historian Adam Thomas
has completed numerous historical and architectural con-
texts, many of them for the City of Fort Collins. They
include Work Renders Life Sweet: Germans from Russia in Fort
Collins, 1900-2000; Hang Your li/agon to a Star: Hispanics in
Fort Collins, 1900-2000; Soldiers of the Sword, Soldiers of the
Ploughsbare: Quonset Huts in the Fort Collins Urban Growth
Area, In the Hallowed Halls of Learning: The History and
Architecture of Poudre School District R-1; and Apparitions of the
Past: The Ghost Signs of Fort Collins. Of these, the Quonset
but and school district contexts already address many of
the same historical and architectural trends that will be
more fully developed in the proposed context, including an
analysis of the events and trends that influenced post -
World War II construction, styles, materials, and tech-
niques, as well as architects and builders, in Fort Collins.
The Hispanics context included a history of the social and
political impacts of one of the area's major post -World
War II construction undertakings, the Colorado -Big
Thompson Water Diversion Project. This effort resulted in
the construction of Reclamation Village, one of the subdi-
visions identified for possible inclusion in the reconnais-
sance survey component of this project.
Moreover, Mr. Thomas has researched in all of the
major repositories in Colorado, particularly those in Fort
Collins, and is familiar with the resources they contain.
Local repositories include the Fort Collins Public Library,
the Local History Archive, the Morgan Library at Colorado
State University; and City files. In addition, because of his
personal interest in post -Word War II architecture, Mr.
Thomas has amassed a collection of residential and com-
mercial planbooks and blueprints from this period.
Additionally; Mr. Thomas provides a year;y lecture to
Department of History at Colorado State University on
the economic influences of modern design in America.
This lecture received first -place honors at a CSU graduate
symposium in 2001.
Historitecture historical and architectural contexts
have been lauded for their exhaustive research, concise
writing, and ease of use. They allow City officials and
property owners alike to determine easily the significance
of properties and better assess their physical integrity. Mr.
Thomas received the City of Fort Collins Friend of
Id you choose
uniquely suited to
use the firm has:
:rous historical and
texts for the City of
ressing themes that
Iv develoDed in the I
proposed context;
• Produced award -wining historical
and architectural contexts that have
proven to be exhaustively
researched, clearly written, and easy
to use
• Previously researched in all of the
pertinent local repositories
• Already developed a collection of
Post -World War II architectural plan
books and blueprints;
• Previously conducted a reconnais-
sance survey of a post -World War II
neighborhood in Colorado;
• Intensively surveyed numerous
post -World War II buildings in
Colorado, including many in Fort
Collins;
t Used the City's Archinventory
Access database to record hundreds
k
of properties
"t
} �. • Completed several State Historical
Fund projects, making the firm famil-
iar with the particular requirements r
of this funding source; and
• Worked closely with the Colorado
i Historical Society to develop project
methodology, determine eligibility,
and establish districts. I
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C. 3
Post -World War II Commercial and Residential Architecture in Fort Collins, 1945-1967
Preservation Award in 2000 in part because of the historical
and architectural contexts he produced for the City.
Reconnaissance Survey. A reconnaissance -level sur-
vey is the most basic approach for systematically docu-
menting and evaluating historic buildings. It is designed for
dealing with large groups of buildings rather than for sin-
gle sites. Reconnaissance survey involves only a visual and
cursory evaluation of properties, not an assessment of sig-
nificance based on associated historical events or individu-
als. That information is obtained through historical
research conducted as part of an intensive -level survey.
This project will include a reconnaissance survey of five
selected residential subdivisions. Prospective subdivisions
include Mantz; Circle Drive; Sheely Drive, Phases 2 and 3;
Phases 1 and 2 of University Heights; and Reclamation
Village. Also to be surveyed are the College Avenue and
Campus West commercial districts.
Historitecture previously conducted a reconnaissance -
level survey of Greeley's Arlington Neighborhood, which
was largely developed in the decade following the end of
World War II. The neighborhood contained many of the
same residential and commercial architectural resources
which will be found in the Fort Collins subdivisions.
Moreover, Mr. Thomas is familiar with all of the proposed
subdivisions and commercial districts and briefly resided in
University Heights. To more fully analyze and organize
information collected through reconnaissance surveys,
Historitecture has developed a reconnaissance survey data-
base program which provides basic property information
and observations, as well digital photography, into an easi-
ly searchable and sortable database.
intensive -Level Survey. Based on the associated
context and reconnaissance surveyy. Historitecture, the City
4
of Fort.Collins, and the Colorado Historical Society will
select 62 properties for intensive -level survey. Recorded on
the Colorado Cultural Resource Architectural Inventory
Form (OAHP 1403), information categories investigated
for each property include identification; geography; archi-
tectural description; architectural history; historical associ-
ations; significance; National Register, State Register, and
Local Landmark eligibility; and recording information. The
forms will provide an in-depth analysis of the architecture
and history of the resource. The forms will be generated
through the City's Archinventory database, which Mr.
Thomas has used to record hundreds of properties.
Moreover, a goal of the intensive -level survey component
is to provide an understanding of common alterations to
commercial and residential buildings dating to the post -
World War II period. This will provide City staff with a
way to identify more appropriate and less invasive building
modification options, while raising property owners'
awareness of the incremental impact of these changes on
the significance and physical integrity of their postwar
buildings.
For instance, in the Poudre School District survey,
Historitecture identified a disturbing trend in which the
district's architects added stylistically incompatible
Postmodern elements to International -style school build-
ings. As well, the survey identified common modifications
made to install upgraded HVAC systems in these classical-
ly flat -roof schools.
Mr. Thomas has intensively surveyed over 1,000 prop-
erties in Colorado, many of which date to the post -World
War II period. The survey form for Pueblos Scottish Rite
Temple, a minimalist postwar landmark, is included in the
appendix to this document.
HISTORITECTURE, L.L.C.