5.15.2016

dancing with architecture: arapahoe acres, denver, colorado


If you love Mid-Century Modern, this neighborhood south of downtown Denver is a must see. Arapahoe Acres was a thirty-acre development started in 1949 by the developer and designer Edward Hawkins. An engineer in the building trade, Hawkins spent some time working in Chicago where he became interested in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright. After returning to Denver, he began designing and building modern homes in northeast Denver before starting Arapahoe Acres. To be eligible for FHA loans programs and participate in the Revere Quality House Program, sponsored by Southwest Research Institute (the same one out of San Antonio? [confirmed!]), Hawkins hired the architect Eugene Sternberg to develop the site plan. Hawkins, sometimes teamed with Gerry Dion, designed homes for the acres.

The neighborhood is entirely intact with MCM house after MCM house, many of them lovingly cared for. The designs run the gamut from International Style to abstract to straight-up MCM. Every home is unique, although there are echoes. And there are touchstones with nearly every prominent architect of the time. The neighborhood website is a wealth of information about the development.













































They were priming and painting the railing. This was also Hawkins residence.











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