The Meisian-style Petroleum Club Building designed by
Charles Strong in 1957. Charles Strong is famous locally
as the architect of the Art Deco Poet’s Row.
The historic building has seen some changes in recent history,
the sun screens and the red spear going up the side. Compare
to this 1957 Denver Post photo.
September 22nd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Westy’s Cafe in Westminster, a Googie-style coffee shop, dating back to the early-1960s,
maybe even the late ’50s.
The roof beams extend out through large walls of glass. A long breakfast counter runs
the length of most of the restaurant.
I believe this was originally called Reese’s when it first opened. If you know, leave a comment!
September 20th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
An Art Deco gas station from the 1930s on 38th. You can see where the three bays were added on the right by the mid-building location of the three decorative horizontal lines, an Art Deco trademark.
September 20th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Reflected light created these weird shadows on this Art Deco parking garage at 17th & Glenarm.
(Sorry if I haven’t been posting as frequently! I plan on rectifying that this week!)
September 19th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
In the 1974 to ‘75 era when Tom Waits wasn’t playing Ebbet’s Field, he was soaking up local color at Denver bars like The Ship Tavern, The Satire, The PS Lounge, Club 404, The Skylark and Deno’s 6 & 85. By 1976 Waits and Chuck E. Weiss relocated to the Tropicana Hotel on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles and Tom Waits made this hysterical appearance on Fernwood 2-Night.
August 22nd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
The Park Row Lodge sign in Manitou Springs. Circa 1940s?
August 22nd, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Scott Murdock
Signature Center in Denver West, a beautiful building designed 2007 by Aardex LLC.
The sustainability of this building enabled them to obtain a LEED-CS Platinum rating!
The building offers a closeup view of South Table Mountain and to the east, of the Denver
Skyline.
August 19th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Incredible Japanese-styled house in Lakewood, CO, original design kept intact from the
early-1960s
August 15th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Brutalist Kendrick Lakes Elementary School in Lakewood, with poured-in-place concrete. Probably designed mid-1960s.
August 11th, 2011 / 2 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Fascinating post on Streamline Modern art director Stephen Goosson, who designed
the sets for Lost Horizon. (Click the picture)
August 5th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Photos © 2011 Alan Golin Gass, FAIA
Two shots of the Denver skyline in the late-1950s taken from Mile High Center. The
first looks Northwest when the Denver Club Building (1954 by Raymond Harry Ervin)
still dominated the view.
The second looks North over the roof of the Brown Palace toward the triangular sign
atop the Conoco Oil Building.
August 3rd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Alan G. Gass
The Formalist Busch House in Lakewood, designed 1963 by James Ream.
July 28th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
1960s Denver band, The Daniels, in a ‘65 Ford Thunderbird!
As Dave Hardy corrects in the comments below this post: “The band member names next to the photos were all mixed up by ID Band Book. Left to right in the Thunderbird are Rick Newton (Aspen, CO), Dave Hardy (Honolulu, HI), Mike Cooper (Denver, CO) and Brian O’Meara (Northglenn, CO).
(click to enlarge)
Here is a video from 2008 celebrating Brian O’Meara’s 60th Birthday Party
and his 40th Anniversary at O’Meara Ford Center in Northglenn!
(Thanks to Kenny Davis via Chris Hedlunds for the steer on the vid!)
July 26th, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
If you look out toward Red Rocks and see this white spot on Mt. Falcon, you are looking at mysterious Falcon’s Wing Estate of Dr. Charles Musès (aka Musaios), a fascinating local figure and a scientist whom I would suggest, was completely mad as hatters.
Dr. Muses certainly was a scientist, an author, a publisher, an archaeologist (arrested in Egypt for stealing artifacts in 1957) and a teacher of astrology, numerology and Egyptology.
In 1954, he built the 2 and a half story, 6,500 sq. ft. Falcon’s Wing Egyptian mystery school on a beautiful 640 acre lot on Mt. Falcon with possibly thee best view of Denver. He supposedly designed the structure on the convergence of seven “ley lines” and according to ancient sacred geometry, with each room designed to resonate different harmonics for different purposes. The walls were made of 8″ cement block with reinforced steel, not because these were inexpensive materials, but because concrete walls facilitated his idea that “human anatomy could be rearranged or altered by reaching a high spiritual state of consciousness, creating the body to resonate at a higher vibration, thereby allowing a human being to pass through the walls.” That said, Falcon’s Wing did have doors as well.
From the description when it went on sale years ago:
“6 bedrooms, 3 libraries. 3 fireplaces, a huge two story master suite, and a 22′ by 25′ ascension room with 18′ rounded ceiling and a cathedral window overlooking the Denver city lights. The living room is 20′ by 30′ and has natural woodwork and wood ceiling beams. The first floor living areas, including the kitchen, have oak floors.”
While he was running this mystery school, he also started a publishing company called Falcon’s Wing Press based out of Indian Hills, which published many esoteric books such as The Septuagint Bible, Prismatic Voices-Wings of Myrahi, and Esoteric Teachings of the Tibetan Tantra.
1959 Denver Post ad for Falcon’s Wing Press
He moved out of the school around 1961, but it continued as a mystery school for decades after. After leaving the school, the mad Dr. Muses went on to develop the concept of Hypernumbers (which you can boggle your mind by following this link), Chronotopology (where you learn to measure the “qualitative multidimensional structure of time waves”) and he developed a Shamanistic movement called The Lion Path, which still has it’s adherents today.
Maybe he wasn’t mad, maybe it’s just my limitations that keep me from being able to understand such high concepts. Here is a sample of complex papers and articles that this man wrote so you can decide: The Geometry of Equi-Infinitesimals, Inherently Solution Seeking Processes Irrespective of Initial Value, The topology of the zeroth dimension, Hyperspheres and dimensionality, The concept and calculus of an operational continuum, An explicit formulation for the value of a fractional factorial, A concept of integration capable of integrating the Heaviside unit function, Systemic stability and cybernetic control: an introduction to the cybernetics of higher integrated behavior, The noetic relevance of psychoactive molecules, Altering states of consciousness by mathematics, Fractional dimensions and their experiential meaning, Communication of Consciousness Necessitates the Vacuum as Transducer, Psychotronic Quantum Theory: A proposal for understanding mass/spacetime/consciousness transductions in terms of extended quantum theory, The use of infinite numbers to make explicit the poles of the factorial function.
July 25th, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Photo © 2011 Scott Murdock
The Dun Rovin’ Motel sign in Colorado Springs. Nice use of the ’50s boomerang shape
(framed with Pike’s Peak in the background!)
July 22nd, 2011 / No Comments » / by Scott Murdock
Incredible cantilevered modern house in Golden, with dual cylindrical flues!
(From the early 1960s, I presume)
July 21st, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Just a quick closeup of the ’50s-era Aristocrat Motor Hotel sign.
July 19th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Photo © 2011 Scott Murdock
Stapleton Airport Control Tower, designed 1960 by Paul Reddy. It is still standing today.
July 18th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Scott Murdock
A Lakeside Amusement Park Art Deco ticket booth for The Whip
ride, designed in the ’40s or ’50s by Richard Crowther.
July 12th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Everyone’s favorite Bonnie Brae Streamline Modern home, designed 1938 by Lester Jones.
Photo taken of the back while driving by…
July 7th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Here to celebrate July 4th are a couple of signature song hits of The Denver Nightingale,
Billy Murray!
(Grand Old Rag was the original title, Murray recorded this before the sheet music came out!)
Hard to believe you do not hear much about Billy Murray here in Denver as he was one of biggest, if not thee biggest star of the acoustic recording era. The acoustic era is the time before microphones from the 1890s through the 1920s, when the singer had to yell into a recording horn. Many of the popular songs from the first half of the 20th century were originally well known hits for Billy Murray.
Murray grew up in Denver Town after his family moved here in 1882. He first got into show business in Denver with Harry Leavitt’s High Rollers. He started recording in 1897 and would go on to record for every major recording label of his day, including Edison, Columbia & Victor (Where he became listed as The Denver Nightingale). His popularity dropped after the acoustic era, but he still managed to record up until his retirement in 1944. His strong voice, clear enunciation and often comical material is a joyfull experience to listen to.
Visit www.DenverNightingale.com for more info.
(Photos borrowed from Wikipedia, music borrowed from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project)
July 4th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
The International-style Sherman-Plaza Apartments on Sherman.
Ad from 1959.
July 1st, 2011 / 1 Comment » / by Tom Lundin
Photo © 2011 Alan Golin Gass, FAIA
Looking south down Broadway from Mile High Tower, circa late-1950s.
(Notes from editor: To the far right is the edge of the demolished Majestic Building.
Moving left you can see the back of the Philips 66 sign reversed. Below that is probably
the construction zone for the Petroleum Club building.
On the left edge you can see the Colorado State Capitol. The white building to the right
of that is the Colorado State Capitol Annex and the building to the right of that standing
tall on the horizon is the Sherman Plaza Apartments, which are still standing.)
(click to enlarge)
June 30th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Alan G. Gass
The warehouse portion of the crumbling Gates Rubber Plant, on South Broadway,
designed by Raymond Harry Ervin, probably circa-1951.
Here is a shot of a different part of the plant, this portion built about 1919.
(click these to enlarge)
June 29th, 2011 / No Comments » / by Tom Lundin
Charles Deaton’s Sculptered House of Genesee
Woody Allen chose Colorado in 1973 to film his famous science-fiction comedy, Sleeper,
because of the abundance of futuristic modern architecture along the front range to
feature as backdrops in his film. Here is a rundown of locations in order of appearance
in the movie.
This house at the beginning of the film is actually the back of the Church of the Risen Christ, designed 1969 by James Sudler.
Next, this shot is the Boettcher Memorial Conservatory designed 1966 by Victor
Hornbein and Ed White, Jr. at the Denver Botanic Gardens. The movie has a little
model futuristic car riding on a track in front.
Some locations I could not identify such as this interesting interior above. I am hoping
readers can write in and enlighten us.
These underground parking shots are another unknown. One reader suggests these are
from Cinderella City, but I can’t find shots of this to verify. Anyone?
The amazing Sculptured House of Genesee, built by Charles Deaton in 1966 and not
actually lived in until John Huggins completed it after purchasing the home in 1999.
After watching the film, it is clear that the circular elevator is not used as the famous,
ahem, Orgasmatron in the film as rumored, it is really just a cheap small prop.
This odd, yet beautiful building is the Varner House, designed 1969 by James Ream.
Another interesting concrete shell structure, I am hoping someone can write in and tell
me where it is.
Next we are off to Boulder to see Charles Haertling’s impressive Brenton House,
a 1969 design that resembles barnacles or possibly mushrooms.
More shot’s of Deaton’s Sculptured House. Charles Deaton also designed this similar
bank on South Broadway.
No visit to Boulder is complete without a visit to the I. M. Pei masterpiece, the National
Center for Atmospheric Research, N.C.A.R. (more shots of this coming up)
Of the locations in the film that I could not identify, this is the one I would really like to
track down. Anyone? I am guessing it is a church. Note: Reader Eric identified this as
Culver City High School in California. It is still there!
This is the Mile Hi Church in Lakewood with a McDonalds sign over the eye. It is now
accompanied by two other larger structures, the newest one is an enormous concrete shell.
N.C.A.R. in Boulder, one of the most beautifully sited structures ever. Of all the I. M. Pei
projects in Colorado, this is the one that has remained the most-intact. Planning started
in 1961, the building was completed in 1967.
And, finally, the late, great Currigan Exhibition Hall, designed by Jim Ream in 1969
for William Muchow Associates. It was built with the world’s largest use of the space
frame. It was torn down in 2002 to make room for the expansion of the Denver
Convention Center.
(Brutalist structures are the most under-appreciated, most misunderstood and most
endangered modern architecture.)
June 24th, 2011 / 7 Comments » / by Tom Lundin
