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 Boettcher Mansion:
A Classic From The Arts & Crafts Era
By Niki Hayden
In 1917, business tycoon Charles Boettcher built a game preserve in the
mountains outside Denver. The air was cool, the vistas breathtaking and, far from
urban noises, city life receded. Nearly 100 years later, the casual visitor to
the Boettcher Mansion embraces much the same experience.
 Inching along Lookout Mountain
Road from Golden, the narrow ribbon of asphalt
hugs the mountain. Cars creep slowly sharing the road with bicyclists hunched over their handlebars, both
ascending into the clouds on a foggy day. And while there are new houses
surrounding the mansion, the architectural gem resides as it always has: nestled
among pines, hidden, solitary, facing a view of the Continental Divide.
Fortunes have been made and lost in Colorado. A striking example of
riches-to-rags is the Leadville shack where Baby Doe, the widow of silver king
Horace Tabor, froze to death. In contrast, Charles Boettcher--hardware merchant,
sugar beet magnate and banker to silver miners--made a fortune that lasted. His name is associated with cultural buildings, but none is as intimate
as the Boettcher Mansion.
 Recognized as a monument to the Arts & Crafts movement, the rustic game
preserve is a national destination for those who adore architecture from the
early 20th century. "We don’t know if Charles wanted a house like this, or simply hired
the great architecture firm of Fisher and Fisher and let them dictate the
style," says director Cynthia Shaw McLaughlin, "but I suspect he let
them decide. They were masters at blending the house with the site."
The Boettcher Mansion is owned by Jefferson County, open to the public, and
rented for events and weddings. Aside from those practical uses, the house also
serves as headquarters for the Colorado Arts & Crafts Society, a non-profit
devoted to Craftsman architecture and style.
Art historians credit Englishman, William Morris, as founder of the 19th
century Arts & Crafts movement. In a reaction against machine-made goods of
the Industrial Revolution, those caught up in the Morris aesthetic championed
the handcrafted. The elegant stained glass lamps and windows, beaten copper
hardware and hand-thrown pottery are associated with the period. Morris drew
inspiration from earlier decades, particularly the medieval, when fine
workmanship reigned, guilds thrived, and individual craftsmen flourished.
That's not so unusual today because the mansion's designers have drawn from
regional craftsmen to refurbish both interior and exterior. Jim Friel, who owns an iron works in Arvada,
forged the lanterns and several interior fixtures out of recycled steel. Coated
with black powder for a finish, the lanterns will last forever. "You don't
have to do anything to protect steel except let it weather," he says.
 The American Craftsman style prevalent in early 20th century
bungalows evolved from the English aesthetic and remains popular today. You’ll
see many of the same touches at Boettcher Mansion in Colorado Craftsman
bungalows although on a more modest scale.
But there is one striking departure. Most of the Craftsman bungalows are
distinctly American with a worldwide flavor. A hint of a Chinese roof, a Roman
arch, perhaps a Japanese entry: American Craftsman style borrows freely. Always
comfortable trying on a detail or flourish from another culture, Americans
pulled from cultures as they might wear Italian jewelry or a Japanese jacket.
 In contrast, the Boettcher Mansion remains true to the English aesthetic,
from the rustic stucco exterior and half-timber frame, to the Tudor touches in
arches, massive walk-in stone fireplace, clipped gables reminiscent of English
cottages and the great hall with a high ceiling and exposed framing. In keeping
with the English theme, much of the wallpaper in the mansion is a reprisal of
William Morris’s, with its stylized flowers in earth shades of green, red and
gold.
Cynthia notes rustic lodge elements as well. The exterior is fashioned from
rocks collected at the site—massive stones, rough-hewn for both foundations
and walls. "The rocks blend the house exterior with the land on which it
sits—and refers to the Adirondack lodge look. And collecting the rocks and
wood from the site was in keeping with the Arts & Crafts aesthetic of the
day," she says.
 The Boettcher interior changes dramatically, as if discarding its tweedy
hunting jacket for a more formal and sophisticated black-tie affair. The
horizontal windows, divided windowpanes and lavish use of wood accompany hand
painted stenciling, floral wallpapers and Arts & Crafts furniture. The
Boettcher furniture comes from Prairie Winds, a Colorado-based furniture studio.
It's a contemporary legacy from the design firm of the time, Stickley, based in
Manlius, New York, an American firm dating to Gustav and Leopold Stickley in
1900. Morris might have designed rich hand-woven tapestry fabric for chairs, but
the Stickley furniture is sympathetic to the flavor of the Morris age: simple,
beautifully finished with open joinery, unpainted wood.
 Those who clamor for the Craftsman age often are beguiled by the attention to
wood throughout the interior. Lustrous oak balustrades, polished paneling with
built-in bookcases and wide window casements lend distinctive touches to a style
that can be cozy and informal or dignified and elegant. The interior of the
Boettcher Mansion remained intact, although some window updates deviated from
the originals. The furnishings had long ago disappeared and Cynthia was left
with just two old photos that captured the wicker furniture and period lighting
fixtures.
"It’s not always possible to replicate the past. It’s not always
practical or affordable. You have to go with what you like and dislike and think
about what the building is used for today. It has to work in the modern
world," Cynthia says. Still, Cynthia is a devotee of the Arts & Crafts
era. Returning that sensibility to the mansion is intuitive for her.
 Original furnishings that remain, like the large white porcelain sinks, are
augmented by wallpapers and colors true to the age. Ceramic pots, wall friezes,
even faceplates for light switches are etched with an Arts & Crafts design.
"We agonize over every little detail," Cynthia says, "Every
detail in every room has been factored into the whole experience. But we have
been fortunate to take our time." Even the mullions, or wooden dividers in
the windows are painted a dull gold within a frame the color of terracotta.
Little by little, the Boettcher Mansion takes on a Craftsman luster unlike any
other public building in Colorado.
 Although grand in scale, the mansion remains unobtrusive in its surroundings,
obscured by pines and girded up by gathered rock walls. "Our inspiration
has come from the outside," Cynthia says, looking out to the patio,
"which dictates the look of the inside. Our palette of golds, greens and
terracotta was taken from nature. This home was built to stand the test of time.
I think Charles would be happy to know that it lives on."
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Sources:
Bradbury & Bradbury wallpapers; P.O. Box 155, Benicia, California 94510;
707-746-1900; www.bradbury.com.
Friel’s Iron Products, 7010 Grandview Avenue, Arvada, 80002; 303-422-8388.
Jim Friel does custom steel work.
Prairie Winds Furniture at 1491 West 124th Ave, Westminster, 80021;
www.prairiewindsfurniture.com.
Davis and Shaw (furnishings), 1434, Champa Street, Denver, 80202;
303-534-7291; www.davisandshaw.com.
Helen Foster stencil patterns available through Michael FitzSimmons
Decorative Arts, 311 West Superior Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610;
312-787-0496; www.fitzdecarts.com.
L & J.G. Stickley, Inc., One Stickley Drive, P.O. Box 480, Manlius, New
York 13104; 315-682-5500; www.stickley.com.
Karen L. Hovde, interior design consultation; 888-385-3161
Historic Boettcher Mansion, 900 Colorow Road, Golden, 80401; 303-526-0855; http://mansion.co.jefferson.co.us. Also home of the Colorado Arts & Crafts
Society.
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