Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Boulder, CO - Lower Flagstaff

Tour of Lower Flagstaff Modernism : Mid Century Modern Architecture in Boulder, CO 1946 to 1976

The Historic Boulder, Inc. Mid-Century Modern (MCM) Tour series is self-guided and showcases several areas in Boulder. We are delighted to bring you this digital walking tour of MCM architecture in the Lower Flagstaff neighborhood. It’s located on the far west side of Boulder right up against the open space park, on the lower flanks of Flagstaff Mountain. Here, close to the University and the federal labs, many college professors and scientists built homes. Their intellectual curiosity led them to hire architects to design innovative houses.

How to take the tour:

1. Download the “PocketSights” app to get the tour loaded onto your phone or tablet.

2. We encourage tour goers to actually visit each neighborhood to get a sense of how MCM architecture evolved in different locations and in different time periods. However, the tour is set up to enjoy on your phone or laptop.

3. This particular tour is in a hilly area with winding streets. There is no simple way to navigate the entire tour. You will have to backtrack in order to walk to all the sites.

4. View the buildings from the public way – sidewalks and roads; do not enter private property.

5. Please be discrete when viewing and photographing to avoid any disturbance to the occupants.

The focus of this tour is on the period from 1946 to 1976 when the United States was rapidly emerging as a world leader after the end of World War II. In this timeframe Boulder had a burst of growth primarily due to the combination of it being a college town, a location for federal scientific research laboratories (N.I.S.T., N.C.A.R., and N.O.A.A.), and the appeal of the Rocky Mountain west.

Historic Boulder Inc. advocates for the appreciation and preservation of properties that contribute to the heritage, culture and spirit of Boulder. We have been doing that for over 50 years. Emerging areas of interest include more attention to the contributions of minority histories (See our “Little Rectangle and Beyond” tour) and of Mid-Century Modern (MCM) design. This tour aims to educate about the innovative values of MCM architecture and its contributions to the progressive spirit of Boulder.

What is Mid-Century Modernism?

The Mid-Century Modern design movement began after WWII. It was a response to the post war optimism, especially in the United States as it emerged as the leading world power. After the War there was a great expansion in the U.S in the economy and the population. MCM attitudes about design were utilized to build every type of building, cars, appliances, and furniture. They also influenced the fine arts too.

MCM was an outgrowth of the general Modern approach to design that began at the beginning of the 20th century. The initial concepts impacting architecture were a combination of Industrial Revolution European advancements with the ideas of the American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Fleeing the Nazis in the 1930’s/40’s, European Modernist designers immigrated to the U.S. and spread their innovative approaches to colleges, corporations and residential developments. In Boulder, the University and the Federal laboratories were the early adopters of the Modern design ideals.

It is important to note that MCM was not the only design approach present in the 1946–1976 time frame. There was, and remains to this day, a more historical revival stylistic approach. It expresses prevalent notions of conservatism in America. However, in a place like Boulder, which was on the forefront of progressive ideas in education, science, and even religion, MCM ideas were especially appealing.

In Boulder, MCM architecture was mostly created by local architects. Some of them were part-time teachers at the new College of Architecture at CU. From time to time, national leading Modernist architects designed influential ‘signature’ buildings on the CU campus and at the Federal labs.

The result is that Boulder has a higher concentration of MCM architecture than any other community in Colorado; yes, more than Denver, CO Springs, Ft Collins and Aspen. Modernism has created the setting that incubated the progressive city we know today.

The predominant characteristics of MCM architecture are:

1. Clean lines: The building exteriors and interiors have almost no applied ornament, expressing the nature of the materials and the strong geometric lines.

2. Connection to nature: Buildings are sited to take advantage of natural features like daylight, views, and landforms. Interiors flow outside functionally and visually due to large expanses of windows.

3. Open Floor plans: The structure of the buildings is utilized to allow for interior spaces to flow into each other without interruptions of walls.

4. Creative building shapes: Designers enjoyed a freedom of artistic expression with building forms that were cubic, curvilinear and angular.

5. Exploration of building materials: The Modern approach explored brand new ideas in construction techniques that were affordable and made it possible for bold building shapes and room layouts.

6. Environmentalism: Buildings were designed to use less energy, to sit more sensitively on the land, to pollute less, to be efficiently constructed, and explore the use of local materials.

Leaders in the MCM design movement who had influence on architecture in Boulder were:

1. Europeans who developed the beginning ideas of modernism include Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Gerrit Rietveld, and Eero Saarinen.

2. Frank Lloyd Wright and other American innovators including Rudolph Schindler, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, Gregory Ain, Alden Dow, and Joseph Eichler.

Why it’s important to understand and appreciate MCM Design:

English Prime Minister Winston Churchill made a statement that explains how important buildings are to the spirit of humanity saying, “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.” By its nature, MCM design was innovative and the resulting cutting-edge buildings created the setting that nurtured the progressive place that Boulder has become. However, over the past 30 years MCM buildings have been torn down at an increasing rate as the population of Colorado and Boulder has expanded. Historic Boulder Inc. hopes that this tour will demonstrate the importance of preserving great examples of MCM architecture. They tell stories and embody lessons about the innovative values of Boulder. We encourage you to share the tour with your family and friends.

If you enjoyed this free tour would you please consider making a donation to Historic Boulder Inc. and becooing a member to support our ongoing mission to preserve important historic places? You can click on this name - Historic Boulder, Inc. - to go to the website. Thanks.