Who was Lowell Batchelder and why does it matter?
The Denver architect and interior designer was responsible for a number of memorable Denver interiors, the Brown Palace Hotel’s Ship Tavern, Palace Arms and Brown Palace West, and Denver Country Club among them. He also designed, worked and lived in the 1938 streamline Moderne-International building that occupied the southwest corner of Speer Boulevard and Washington Street – that is, until Dec. 27, 2005, when owners Rockmont Capital demolished the building, despite being aware of its historic merit.
The untimely destruction of the Havens-Batchelder building raises several important issues.
Denver is one of the few cities in the nation that does not require demolition review for historic purposes. The state requires 10 to 15 days for environmental and wastewater reviews. And the demolition contractor is supposed to notify property owners when an adjacent property is to be razed – though the requirement is not consistently enforced.
Despite the misplaced alarm of certain business and development interests, Denver ought to join the preponderance of other cities and enact a demolition review ordinance.
The modest proposal under discussion includes a review by city staff of demolition permits for potential historic landmarks. Their review would be concurrent with other required reviews. If a potential landmark emerges, based on city-regulated criteria, demolition would be delayed. Even then, the Landmark Preservation Commission may not deem the building as historic against the legal criteria.
Denver planning director Peter Park suggests that less than 1 percent of all demolition permits might be flagged for discussion and further review. It’s a small price to pay for what’s at stake.
There are dozens of Denver buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. National designation provides no local protection, neither notification nor posting nor review nor design oversight of a replacement structure.
Perhaps the most egregious loss of a National Register-designated building was the 1990 demolition of the much-loved 1911 Jacques Benedict Central Bank building at 15th and Arapahoe. Caught in the crosshairs of a real estate deal gone awry, a greedy out-of-state institutional lender and a desperate bank holding company, even the best efforts of local political and civic leaders could not save the building.
A one-year demolition delay for locally designated landmarks and the creation (in 2000) of a flexible downtown historic district resulted from the debacle.
It’s easy to understand why Denver has more than 40 historic districts, an unusually high number for a young city. It’s because historic district designation is the only way to guarantee the character of a neighborhood and its treasured buildings are preserved.
If a structure contributes to the integrity of a district, it cannot be demolished and alterations must be overseen by the LPC. If a structure is non-contributing, the LPC must approve the demolition and oversee the design of a replacement structure.
If Denver had alternative but far less rigorous ways of protecting neighborhood character or important buildings, the rampant enthusiasm for creating historic districts might abate.
Those who oppose demolition review say what’s needed is a citywide inventory of historic buildings. The cost of assembling the survey is estimated at $1 million or more. It must be a living document that is periodically updated and reviewed. A survey could be a very helpful tool, but useless without demolition review.
Denver should also take a look at neighborhood conservation districts. Less rigorous and time-consuming to enforce, those districts acknowledge design and architectural qualities of neighborhoods, encouraging their protection and maintenance for the benefit of the entire city. Designed to promote economic revitalization and encourage new, compatible development, a neighborhood conservation district attends to the quality of the public realm – the street, sidewalk, landscape, fencing, building exteriors, garage and building siting and scale – as key elements of neighborhood identity and livability.
Denver boasts an abundance of wonderful neighborhoods. The quality and character of those neighborhoods are important assets, deserving protection and stewardship. The same is true for the handful of important structures that tell the story of the city’s brash, entrepreneurial history.
As Denver approaches its 150th birthday in 2008, it’s time to acknowledge and celebrate what makes it special. A mature city is more than a collection of interests, more than bigger, better, newer. We must begin to ask how a building responds to its neighbors, the street and the past.
Lowell Batchelder understood those values 70 years ago when he designed his home and office on Speer Boulevard. His sensitivity to this place was reflected in his work and his civic generosity.
Those values matter.
Susan Barnes-Gelt served eight years on the Denver City Council and was an aide to former Denver Mayor Federico Peña. Her column appears on alternate Sundays.
