Denver skyline
Denver skyline in the late-1940s/early 1950s, before the first skyscraper.
Note the Philips 66 sign and the red horse for Mobil Gas.
Courtesy of:
July 30th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Auraria Library
Entranceway to the Miesian Auraria Library, designed 1974 by world famous architect
Helmut Jahn.
The building is currently in danger of being lost to insensitive additions. Let us hope
cooler heads prevail!
Louvered windows and radial corner.
July 29th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Curtain wall
One last curtain-wall building photo from downtown…
The famous Miesian Mile High Tower, part of the Mile High
Plaza designed 1956 by I.M. Pei and Henry Cobb. The plaza
is now incorporated into Philip Johnson’s Norwest Plaza.
July 27th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Western Federal Savings
Another Formalist high-rise with glass-curtain walls by Raymond
Harry Ervin, built 1962. Originally there were large “W”s on each
side of the rooftop box.
July 27th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
First National Bank
One of Denver’s earlier skyscrapers, the Formalist First National
Bank Building.
Designed 1958 by Raymond Harry Ervin, the same architect who
designed the Art Deco Harry Huffman Mansion from the post
below.
July 26th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Shangri-La
A repeat of a Denver Eye favorite:
The Harry Huffman Mansion, designed 1938 by Raymond Harry Ervin. A mix of Art Deco and Streamline Modern, it was designed to mimic the mansion from Frank Capra’s film, Lost Horizon.
Lost Horizon (1937)
Ervin’s design may even be superior to the original!
July 24th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Frederic C. Hamilton building
This titanium building was designed 2006 by world famous architect
Daniel Libeskind. Photo from 2006.
July 24th, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Usonian Window
A Usonian window from Children’s Psychiatric Day Care Center in Denver designed
1962 by Victor Hornbein & Ed White.
Sadly, this building is supposed to be torn down soon (if it hasn’t been already).
July 23rd, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Vista-Dome
1953 advertisement for the Vista-Dome railroad car.
The Vista-Dome California Zephyr trains went into service in 1949.
I think all of these cars have been preserved!
July 23rd, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Dean Reed, The Red Elvis
The mysterious Dean Reed, “The Red Elvis”, motorcycles through Moscow.
Denver-born Dean Reed graduated Wheatridge High in 1956.
In 1958 he took off for Hollywood, but suddenly became a huge star in South American
countries Chili, Peru & Argentina, where he heavily embraced Marxism!
He later moved to Europe where he became a socialist singing sensation in the U.S.S.R.
and East Germany. He became fluent in Spanish, German and Russian!
Reed’s body was discovered in a lake outside near Berlin in 1986. There is still
speculation on his cause of death. Was he murdered by the Russians, the Germans,
maybe even the Americans, or is was it suicide?
Reed is buried in Green Mountain Cemetary in Boulder.
Dean Reed was also a TV star and an actor, starring in many spaghetti westerns
like Adios Sabata and this odd film below:
July 22nd, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Mass House
Butterfly roof on the International-style Mass House in Arapahoe Acres. Designed
1951 by Eugene Sternberg.
July 22nd, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Ross-Barnum Library
The Ross-Barnum Library, a Usonian design by Victor Hornbein from 1954.
(It has been a little remodeled.)
It is not as well known as Hornbein’s designs for the Ross-Broadway and the Aurora
Public libraries.
July 21st, 2010 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Menkick House
The Menkick House near Green Rock in Boulder, designed 1970 by Charles Haertling.
July 20th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Denver Firestation #12
Many old Denver-area firestations are being replaced these days, and sometimes the
modernist designs are underappreciated.
Denver Firestation #12 on Federal was designed 1967 by Austin Siegfried and is
one of the most unique local modernist firestation designs.
I don’t really know if it is considered more Expressionist or Formalist. What do you think?
I’d like to hear.
July 20th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Denver monorail design
Otto Kuhler was one of the world’s most famous industrial designers, well known for his Streamline Modern locomotives from the 1930s.
In 1967 he illustrated plans for a monorail system for Denver that was never built.
In most places the monorail would be suspended above existing rail lines, though it is riding through downtown in this drawing. (That seems to be I.M. Pei’s Mile High Tower in the background, though the Brown Palace across the street, seems to have been left out.)
Kuhler seems to have retained much of his 1930s/40s Streamline design in these 1967 illustrations. (I believe that is supposed to be Cherry Creek in the drawing above)
July 18th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Cyclone at night
Sign for The Cyclone rollercoaster at Lakeside Amusement Park. The rollercoaster and sign were built 1940, the Art Deco design was by Richard Crowther.
July 16th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Usonian roof feature
This Usonian roof feature with a tree piercing the roofline is from the Spivak House in
Arapahoe Acres in Englewood. Designed 1955 by Ed Hawkins and Joseph Dion
(I presume)
July 16th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Usonian roofline
Usonian roofline from this house in Arapaho Hills in Littleton, probably built in the early 1960s.
July 15th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Usonian entranceway
Entranceway to a Usonian house in the mountains of Golden, house probably from the late-1950s
July 14th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Bandimere KBPI Rock & Roll Car Show
More pictures of vintage cars at the KBPI Rock & Roll Car Show at Bandimere
Speedway in Morrison.
This year, they had a wide variety of vehicles, cars, motorcycles, trucks…
I usually zero in on the vintage cars and hot rods.
And lastly, a couple of jet cars.
If you enjoy looking at hot rods at Bandimere, then here is a link to photos taken in
previous years: Hot Rods
July 12th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
KBPI Rock & Roll Car Show
Some photos from the KBPI Rock & Roll Car Show at Bandimere Speedway in Morrison.
This year KBPI rolled the older hot rod car show into a much larger event to a huge success, Bandimere was packed!
This time all types of cars were welcome. I was glad to see this still included Rat Rods!
My vote for most bitchin
This car was not part of the car show, but I was happy to spot this Woodie framed up against
Green Mountain!
More tomorrow!
July 11th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Mecca Motel sign
’50s-era Mecca Motel sign in Manitou Springs
July 9th, 2010 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Lakewood Haertling
The Fredrick House, a Lakewood mountain home designed by Boulder architect
Charles Haertling in 1965. He called it a Triframe Modular.
The streetside view of the roofline just gives you a hint of what the house looks like.
July 8th, 2010 / 2 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
