|
FrontRangeLiving.com -> Architecture -> Arts and Crafts
 Robert
Rust Surveys Arts & Crafts Architecture in Colorado
By Niki Hayden
While most people recognize a Victorian home, or a Frank Lloyd Wright early
modernist gem, there’s another period of architecture sandwiched between these
two weighty styles that gets lost. Oddly enough, it was more pervasive than
either Victorian or Wright’s influences. But to mention the Arts and Crafts
period of architecture is sure to invite a puzzled response. Until, that is, you
utter the word, ‘bungalow.’
"That’s because the Arts and Crafts period was not a style," says
Robert Rust, who has spent a lifetime as champion, writer and collector of the
period, "it was a philosophy." In its day and time, Arts and Crafts
enthusiasts embraced nature, craftsmanship and original materials. They recoiled
against the machine age in England of artifice, mechanistic design and excessive
decoration. The American love for simplicity so evident in the early design of
the New England Shakers, may be one reason why our nation embraced naturalistic
English aesthetics. Bungalows came with a modest price tag, too, as well as wood interiors, hand
crafted bookcases and basic interiors.
"When you look at the housing stock—and the big push for independent
homes—the most prevalent was the bungalow," Robert says of the early 20th
century. The popularity of bungalows may have dimmed in the 1950s, but it has
real staying power today. "There’s more furniture with the look of Arts
and Crafts now than there was originally," he says. Cities all over
America, from Seattle to Dallas, Palo Alto to West Palm Beach, offer bungalows.
As new homeowners embrace the aesthetics of this early time, these dated homes
are less likely to be torn down. Enthusiastic owners hope to bring back the
faded luster. Renovation projects are humming.
 Robert has spent decades devoted to the arts, architecture, music, and food—nearly
everything that surfaced during the original Arts and Crafts period. It was an
era nearly impossible to overlook if you grew up in western New York, he says.
The names of Roycroft and Stickley loomed large and still hold clout today.
Roycroft was a commune of workers and designers who turned out exquisite
objects. They also ran a printing press, which allowed them to disperse the
design principles intrinsic to their group. The Stickley brothers crafted wood
furniture so well made and simple that they are identified with the movement.
The factory is in business today.
At one time, Robert was part owner of a number of the original Roycroft
buildings, all on the National Historic Register. So it could have been quite a
departure from the cradle of the American Arts and Crafts era to move to
Colorado. After all, we are known for our frontier history and Victorian
architecture. But Robert discovered that our roots in the Arts and Crafts period
are stronger and more durable than we may realize. Overlooked marvels await us,
he believes, to be revisited and savored.
He has collected a list that reflects an Arts and Crafts influence. It’s
the genesis of a book he hopes to write, which will include the Kirkland Museum
in Denver, Boettcher Mansion in Golden, Hiwan Homestead in Evergreen, Chautauqua
in Boulder, Van Briggle Memorial building on the campus of Colorado College in
Colorado Springs, the Pioneer Museum in Colorado Springs, St. Andrews Episcopal
Church in Denver, the El Jebel building in Denver, the Decker Library, Steele
Street and Doramor Schools in Denver, Washington Park and Oxford Hotel. Several
Manitou Springs buildings are also on his list of significant buildings.
But the most important building, he believes, is the
Artus Van Briggle Memorial
building on the Colorado College campus. Anne Van Briggle, the artist’s widow,
commissioned the building as an architectural legacy for her husband. Artus died
in 1904 from tuberculosis at the age of 35. "There’s nothing like it in
this country," Robert says, about the exquisite tile and brick façade.
Designed by Nicholas Van der Arend, whose wife also suffered from tuberculosis,
the architecture is Dutch, but with the style of Artus throughout.
Anne and Artus needed a bigger place for pottery after Artus won major national and
international awards for his work. Anne was slated to
carry on Artus’ original designs. During the award ceremonies, Artus had died,
so "his awards were draped in bunting," Robert says. "Anne was
very active and won awards, too. She became a member of the Arts and Crafts
Society of Boston. Perhaps she is not given the design credit she
deserves," he suggests. This astonishing building, he believes, should be a
museum.
 Another important Colorado Springs building is the Laurence and Dorothy
Heller Estate. Now owned by the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs, the
building was the home and artists' studio for both. Built in the Pueblo Revival
Arts and Crafts Style, it’s open to the public with the approval of the art
department.
Second on his list is the town of Manitou Springs. The Craftwood Inn holds a
unique place for it classic Arts and Crafts wood with stone exterior and
polished wood interior. Other buildings in this small town are important, too.
Rockledge Bed and Breakfast, the Cliff House, Briar Cliff Bed and Breakfast,
Miramount Castle and neighborhoods of wonderful bungalows are worth noting.
"It’s been an artistic community," Robert says, and "there are
some wonderful examples of residential architecture and summer
architecture."
 Denver boasts a number of public buildings. Two, he says, are inside
Washington Park: the original boathouse and the Doschappel building. Both were
recently restored.
The surrounding neighborhood is made up of bungalows and the name of one lake, Grassmer
Lake, was borrowed from the writings of John Ruskin, the major Arts and Crafts
writer of the time. "Unlike the East Coast, where most bungalows were made from wood,
here they are made from brick," Robert says, noting that the mayor of
Denver during those years also owned a brick factory.
 But the wonderful masonry, set with style and ingenuity, often was the work
of immigrant workers who brought their skills to America. "You would think
there would be a lot of sameness with these bungalows," Robert says,
"but there isn’t and that’s largely due to the Italian masons. Many of
these homes are owned by third and fourth generations of families."
Steele Street School has "a spectacular exterior," he says, with
friezes inside, original to the building. Although he’s not sure who the
artist might have been, the ABCs are hand painted and it has all original oak
work and a tiled fireplace.
A similar building is in Platte Park, the Decker Memorial Library, which was
a Carnegie Library (Andrew Carnegie endowed a library system). "It’s done
in English cottage style," Robert says.
The Dora More School, with its straight-backed chairs, will take you back in
time to a classic American 20th century classroom. Tiles were among
the most collectible crafts of the Arts and Crafts period and the Dora More’s
Grueby tiles came out of Boston.
 The Vance Kirkland Museum in Denver is another
example of an artist’s studio
set in the Arts and Crafts period. And their collection is important, too, for
Vance collected work from some of the finest regional artists.
Other Denver sites include St. Andrews Episcopal Church on Glenarm Place, an
English Gothic Revival. The Denver Women’s Press Club, built in 1913, on Logan
Street, was the working studio for printmaker George Elbert Burr.
 Outside Denver, Hiwan Homestead in Evergreen is a fine example of vernacular
American Adirondack rustic architecture, typical of mountain parks around 1912.
And, the Boettcher Mansion in Golden is a classic building exemplifying the
English influence. Both have interiors that have stayed true to the design of
their times. The Community House at Chautauqua in Boulder is stamped with
bungalow detailing as are many of the surrounding cabins.
Finally, Robert says that pottery, too, had a presence in Colorado, with
Denver Denura as a prime example. "It had a green matte glaze and is just
as rare as Van Briggle’s work—just as collectible."
Eventually, the bungalows would end after World War II. Frank Lloyd Wright’s
influence told hold in most American schools of architecture. And, European
immigrants trained in architecture brought the ideas of the German Bauhaus
modernism to our shores. Still, the elements of the Arts and Crafts era remain
with us today, in a love for natural materials, as well as handcrafted objects.
The warmth and intimacy of bungalows invite new owners to cherish a classic
style that never feels outdated.
Photos from top to bottom:
- Colorado bungalow, about 1910
- Prairie Winds (based in Westminster, Colorado) furniture in the Boettcher Mansion, Golden
- Artus Van Briggle Memorial Building, Colorado Springs, kiln stacks and
front.
- Boathouse, Washington Park, Denver
- Doschappel Building, Washington Park, Denver
- Vance Kirkland original studio, now part of the Kirkland Museum, Denver
- Carriage house, Boettcher Mansion, Golden
- Hiwan Homestead, Evergreen
Helpful websites: the Colorado Arts & Crafts Society
champions architecture, design, history and literature from the Arts &
Crafts influence. They're based at the Boettcher Mansion in Golden; contact them
at www.coloarts-crafts.org
Also, a show on the Arts & Crafts period in Colorado that
includes the Native American design influence during those years takes place in
Durango, October 22 to 24 at: www.durango-arts-craftsconference.com
Books by Robert Rust:
"The Arts & Crafts Home," co-author Kitty Turgeon,
Friedman/Fairfax Publishers
"Arts & Crafts", co-author Kitty Turgeon, Friedman/Fairfax
Publishers
"The Images of America Roycroft Camp", co-author Kitty Turgeon,
Arcadia Publishing
|
