Denver Architectural Types & Styles

THE VICTORIAN HOME

Denver’s earliest development occurred along the Platte River in the area now considered downtown, and the vast majority of the early structures have been lost to fire, flood, and redevelopment. With the arrival of the railroad in 1870 and the steady influx of people drawn by the mining industry, the city grew rapidly during the 1880’s. Capitol Hill was the most prestigious residential area of town, and the newly-rich built elaborate homes in the style of the day, which can be loosely described as Victorian. Architects arrived from all over the country and Capitol Hill blossomed.

Some of the more interesting Victorian styles include Second Empire, Gothic Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Romanesque. A few examples in Capitol Hill: The Schleier mansion at 17th and Grant St. a Queen Anne by Edbrooke, the Bailey House at 1600 Ogden, a combination of Queen Anne and Richardsonian by Lang, the Molly brown House at 1340 Pennsylvania St., also a Queen Anne by Lang, The Dunning House at 1200 Pennsylvania, a Romanesque Revival by Lang, and Frank E. Edbrooke’s own home, a Queen Anne at 931 E. 17th. You can still see other wonderful examples in one form or another along the 1100 and 1200 blocks of Pennsylvania and on many of the blocks north of Colfax.

These homes are characterized by complex foundation configurations, large steep roofs, grand porches along the front and sides, mud porches on the rear, elaborate window designs, numerous large chimneys, and extensive detailing. The construction is almost exclusively masonry (stone or brick) rather than frame, as a result of Denver’s early disastrous fires, and because brick was readily available whereas lumber had to be brought in by wagon from 30 miles or more away.

Smaller Victorian homes built for the working class are also characterized by elaborate detailing. The interiors of these homes included a foyer, living room, formal dining room (often larger than the living room), and a parlor on the main floor. The master bedroom usually came equipped with a sitting room, and possibly a gabled porch. The ceilings were quite high, ten feet or more in some cases. Many, if not all, rooms had transoms (hinged glass panels over the entry doors) to promote flow of air which would otherwise have been trapped in these high-ceilinged spaces. Stained glass windows and bayed windows were common. Hardware and fixtures typically were carved or cast in decorative patterns. Most of the wood used in less-expensive homes was local fir or pine, but as the train service improved, hardwoods became available at a price, and were used in mantels and staircases, occasionally for flooring or in the trim around windows and doors. “Grain painters” were often employed to paint soft wood doors and trim to look like oak or other hardwoods. Take a close look at your wood. It might actually be painted grain--these guys were good! Interior walls were always lathe and plaster. The fireplaces in these homes were mostly designed to burn coal, and included decorative cast-iron fireboxes.

Victorian-era homes are scattered through the neighborhood, particularly in the oldest areas near downtown. Some have been beautifully restored, a few remain almost untouched, and many have been remodeled into oblivion. Because of their complex, unique, and detailed construction, they require more care than any other type of home, and we will explore this in forthcoming issues. Victorians were also expensive to build originally, and when silver crashed in 1893 and money became tight in Denver, it marked the beginning of a new era of building.

THE DENVER SQUARE

At the Turn of the Century, a simpler, more conservative architectural style replaced the flamboyant Victorian style and the ‘Denver Square” is the most common example. The Denver Square, or “Foursquare” house as it was known nationally, was often constructed using plans from pattern books available from Sears and other sources. The cost was about $3000!

After the Silver Crash of 1893 there was somewhat less money available for residential construction in Denver. This was reflected in the new housing style. Turn-of-the-century homes have shallower roof pitches and much less exterior detailing. Arched windows, windows with mullions, and transoms were seldom used. Elaborate carved and turned wood trim almost disappeared. However, building materials were generally improving during this period. Fired and glazed brick replaced the old sand brick, and “butter mortar” was used to create extremely precise brick detail. This combination produced unique and beautiful brick exteriors which are only seen from about 1900 to 1919. You can spot these homes if you look for the very narrow joints between the bricks. The most common exterior detailing reflected the current national resurgence of interest in Classical motifs. Front porches often had white Tuscan columns, extensive dental moldings, and ornate gable treatments.

“Denver Squares” are basically cube-shaped structures, and their floorplans are usually collections of square rooms with lots of connecting doorways. This creates a very formal feeling. These are not “open” houses, and there aren’t many ways to arrange furniture in them. However, the materials used in construction are really worth talking about. Quarter-sawn (sometimes called tiger-stripe) oak was often used on window and door trim and in mantels and staircases. Other hardwoods such as mahogany, ash, cherry, and maple were also used occasionally. Most floors were of straight-grained fir (a locally-available soft wood), but custom homes often had hardwood floors as well. Stained and beveled glass were common. Oxidized copper or brass light fixtures and hardware were popular. Turn- of-the-Century homes usually have bay windows on the south side in the formal dining room. The dining room is often the largest room in the house and may have a handsome built-in buffet with beveled mirrors. These homes are hard to beat for dinner parties! If you are lucky enough to see one of these homes in original condition, you’ll probably forgive a little inflexibility in the floorplan.

Turn-of-the-Century homes can also be found in a story-an-a-half style, a Dutch Colonial style, and “Alamo” style with ornate parapet walls, a one-story version (the “Classic Bungalow”), etc. You will find them in Capitol Hill, Uptown, Denver Country Club area, North Congress Park, Cheesman Park, Washington Park, Platt Park, Highlands, City Park West and occasionally elsewhere throughout central Denver.

The last homes of this style, including the Denver Square, were built during the First World War, an event which changed every facet of American life. The 1920’s were a new era, and the changes are nowhere more apparent than in our changing housing styles.

THE BUNGALOW

Just before the First World War, Denver saw the arrival of a new philosophy of home design. Influenced by styles popular in California and the Midwest, local builders began to offer “bungalows” as an alternative to the more formal Turn-of-the-Century styles that dominated Capitol Hill and other dose-in Denver neighborhoods. The term “bungalow” was first used by the British to describe primitive low-slung homes in India with large overhanging roofs and open porches. It derives from the same root as the word “Bengal”. In this country the style’s democratic appeal struck a chord among those looking for a simpler housing style. It really caught on in California, and among the Chicago architects, notably Frank Lloyd Wright. After the turn of the Century, this style was popularized by home magazines, which displayed advertisements for bungalow house plans costing around $2000.

There are a multitude of variations on the bungalow theme in evidence here, from Oriental motifs to Mediterranean and English cottage styles, but the defining characteristics are easy to pick out. Look for large overhanging roofs, with exposed structural elements (rafters, brackets, etc.). Large front porches and stuccoed and half-timbered eaves are quite common. The colors and materials used are generally earth-toned, and meant to blend harmoniously with the environment. These homes were built in the last era of viable mass-transit. The owners commuted by streetcar from downtown to outlying neighborhoods like Congress Park, Washington Park, Park Hill, Sloan Lake, and Platt Park which then provided an almost rural setting for these unassuming homes.

There was little construction of homes during the First World War, but when the servicemen returned, home building took off at a fever pitch. It is obvious that there was little interest in anything but the new bungalow style during the 1920’s. The general construction quality of the ones built in the early part of the decade was really not so good. The foundations were almost exclusively of brick. Poured concrete only became common after about 1925. The earliest examples had poor quality mortar in the brickwork, a lot of which has required repair, or “tuck-pointing” over the years. The roofs had a shallow pitch and often insufficient rafters and collar ties (particularly for the subsequent layers of heavier roofing materials that have carelessly been added over the years). Next time you drive through Washington Park, look at the deflection on those roofs and the condition of the brickwork, particularly in exposed areas like chimneys and porches.

Despite their shortcomings, these bungalow homes are obviously quite popular today. And for good reason. The floorplans make good sense with their larger living rooms and more open informal feel. Liberal use of oak and local fir for trim and flooring, attractive fireplaces, and handsome fixtures make these homes cozy and comfortable. For the first time, basements commonly provided rooms which were intended as additional living space. In addition to a furnace room, coal room, and storage areas, these basements often featured a family room with a second fireplace, bedrooms with closets, and sometimes an extra bath. Basement windows were made slightly larger, ceilings and walls were finished with rough plaster. The advantage of extra living space in the basement probably makes even more sense today than it did in the 1920’s, given the current high values of these homes and the ground they are sitting on.

But late in the decade, tastes changed again, and the last bungalows were being built as the stock market crashed in 1929.

THE TUDOR

After the First World War, when Americans got back to the business of home building, the popular style in Denver was the Craftsman Bungalow or Plains House. This style of home was characterized by a large shallow-pitched overhanging roof with large porches, simple lines, limited architectural detailing, and a relaxed, open floor plan (compared to the more formal Classic Bungalows and Denver Squares which preceded it). In reaction to this style, builders in the late 1920’s began offering Tudor homes with very different characteristics. Some of the best examples can be found in neighborhoods like Bonnie Brae, Hilltop, Park Hill, Montclair, Country Club, and Old Crest moor.

Most construction in Denver from 1928 to 1941 was in the Tudor style, featuring steep-pitched wood-shingle or tile roofs, stucco and half-timbering in the eaves, elaborate chimneys with flue liners (a recent innovation), paired casement (hinged) windows, rounded arches and doorways, extensive hardwood trim, and fireplaces that could accommodate a wood fire (earlier homes had fireplaces designed for coal or natural gas). These homes were also noted for elaborate interior and exterior trim work, including art-deco light fixtures and door hardware, and some really amazing choices of colors for the bathroom fixtures and tile.

Tudor homes were solid, stylish, comfortable residences with a lot of unique and beautifully-engineered features. Their shortcomings arise from the fact that these homes were designed for the lifestyle of the 1920’s and 1930’s. Our Denver Tudors are almost exclusively constructed of solid masonry materials— stone and brick—and they are not easily adaptable. Most people who buy an original Tudor would never trade their home for a new one, but in private they might admit to a longing for modern features like main-floor family rooms, master bedroom-bathroom suites, spacious closets, and large open, sunny living spaces.