The late Richard Crowther was a pioneer in green development, passive solar design, and energy efficiency. He gave lectures on solar energy at universities nationwide and wrote some of the most important books on the subject, including the famous Sun, Earth: Alternative Energy Design for Architecture in 1983.

Richard Crowther started as an Art Deco neon-light designer for a firm in San Diego, where he was commissioned to help design the spires of San Francisco’s Golden Gate International Exposition.

In 1948, Crowther moved to Denver. Working for Lakeside Amusement Park owner Ben Krasner, Crowther gave the park an Art Deco neon-light makeover which we all know and enjoy to this day. Here are some incredible examples of that design effort:

In the 1950s, Richard Crowther built homes in the Country Club , Hilltop and Cherry Creek North neighborhoods. At Historic Denver’s recent Modernism Tour , participants were allowed inside Crowther’s 1956 Neufeld House. While the interior of the house is now contemporary modern, painstaking restoration effort was undertaken on the exterior to remove paint from Crowther’s original 1956 ribbed terra cotta tiles revealing their original “burnt orange” color. (Original & current interior pics below)

In the 1960s, Crowther designed 3 masterful film theaters, the famous Cooper Cineramas. These were the first specially designed theaters to screen films with the incredible widescreen Cinerama process, which required three synchronized film projectors projecting crisscross onto a deeply curved screen. After the demise of this elaborate process, all three theaters were unfortunately demolished. These theaters were also clad in “burnt orange”.

The Cooper Theatre here in Denver on S. Colorado Blvd was the first to be constructed, followed by a sister Cooper Theatre in St. Louis Park, MN. Finally, Crowther’s crowning achievement in theater design was the Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, which sported a 105 foot screen! When they demolished the Indian Hills Theater, celebrity protestors included Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Ray Bradbury and Leonard Maltin.

Cherry Creek residents may be familiar with some of Richard Crowther’s unique office buildings, around Third & Steele St.

This was once Crowther’s office.

Here you can see the solar functionality of the unusual geometric shapes jutting out of his structures.

Happily, two fantastic Crowther houses in Cherry Creek have so far evaded the raze craze. They can be found at 500 Cook Street (hard to get a picture of due to bountiful streetside landscaping) and the Crowther House and Studio at 401 Madison St., which is a masterpiece. It has been compared to Charles Deaton’s Sculptured House of Genesee by esteemed art and architecture critic Michael Paglia.

Richard Crowther died at 96, but he continued to swim 100 laps a day in the indoor solar-heated pool (which was designed to help warm his house) until he was 94 years old!

Here is a look at how NOT to update an architectural classic!

This home is located in Arapahoe Acres. It has the classic “U” shape with a courtyard in the center,

almost 2000 square feet with a 2 car garage! Each wall framing the courtyard is floor to ceiling glass. The home has recently been completely updated including wiring, plumbing and HVAC.

Sounds like any Modernist’s dream come true, right? So why has it been sitting on the market for 6 months?

THE HISTORY

This home sold in February of 2004 for $310,000. It was acquired by an agent/investor who went in and replaced all the wiring, plumbing and HVAC, along with the kitchens and bathrooms. Basically it was gutted.

It came back onto the market in October of 2005 and I was anxious to see how they had brought this gem into the 21st century.

THE REVEAL

From the outside, things looked promising. The trees had been shaped, the bushes pruned so more of the exterior could be seen. I braced myself as I stepped up to the courtyard gate, believing there was a good chance I would fall in love with the home and only be able to covet it from afar…

As I stepped into the courtyard, I was immediately taken with the glass….nothing but walls of glass on 3 sides. I could see into the main living/dining areas and the master bedroom (making me think my housekeeping skills would be put to the test in a home like this)

Yes, everything has been updated (with the exception of maybe the original fireplace.)

THE PROBLEM

Clearly the investor had gone with the “traditional fix & flip wisdom” which says keep things neutral and generic to appeal to the most buyers. The walls are beige and the ceiling white (sloppily painted I might add.) The humdrum oak floors don’t compliment the woodwork or fireplace.

And the kitchen…when I walked into it, my first thought was “I could be standing in any 2005 mcmansion, bleh!”

THE RESULT

Clearly this is not a “traditional home” designed to cater to a mass audience and the “traditional wisdom” does not apply. Beige walls and Home Depot cabinets are not what a potential buyer expects to see in this type of home.

When this home came back on the market in October of 2005 it was priced at @ $745K. A price that was beyond ambitious in the current market. After two weeks the price dropped to $649K. Now it has just dropped to $565K.

Once a home has been on the market for more than 3 months, most agents will overlook it, assuming either a) there must be something wrong with it, or b) the seller has unrealistic expectations.

THE LESSON

As one of my purist clients put it… “It’s a shame that this redo will have to be redone!”

Unfortunately, I see this quite often in architecturally unique homes. Investors are wearing dollar sign blinders and don’t take the time to understand their market.

5280mod

shannon stanbro

Tag Archives: restoration

Architect Profiles: Richard Crowther (1910-2006)

What’s Wrong with this Mod Redo?