EDITORS: See the attached list of historic renovation projects and fact sheet on Grandview Terrace.
The historically renovated Armory Building, original site of the Colorado National Guard, built in l915, will soon be home to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, CU officials announced today at a meeting of the CU-City Steering Committee, a joint City of Boulder and university coordinating group.
One of the other major historic renovation projects in the Grandview Terrace area of Boulder, the former Delta Tau Delta house, built in l921, is now occupied by the Division of Continuing Education and will be dedicated Feb. 12, said Paul Tabolt, CU vice chancellor for administration.
Grandview Terrace is a 12-acre plot of land on the northern edge of the university campus. North of University Avenue and east of Broadway, the land is designated in the CU campus master planning scenario as the primary site of new academic and research space that will accommodate the expected growth of the student body and research enterprise.
"As we develop the Grandview Terrace area, we will preserve many of the historic aspects of the area, particularly on the perimeter," Tabolt said. "We want to mix the new with the old to enhance and preserve the dignity of our history, while adding the new spaces we need, achieving both functional use and beauty."
These two major renovation projects are among several in a long-range plan to create an accessible and beautiful interface between the university and the city, often called a "campus neighborhood," for many to enjoy. The university is committed to preserving some of the buildings along University Avenue and Broadway while creating walkways, modern buildings, and green spaces within the boundaries of the area, Tabolt said.
He said that the university is willing to give the city, at no charge, some of the properties deemed to have historical value, allowing the city to move them to a different location.
Historic Preservation of Landmark Buildings at CU-Boulder
Fact Sheet
Feb. 4, 1999
The University of Colorado at Boulder has maintained since its earliest days that the careful stewardship of its buildings is one of the campus's most important functions. The result of this continuing effort, in the words of Historic Boulder, "bespeak an investment in beauty, historic authenticity, and character that has made the campus one of the most beautiful in the country."
Among our most notable historic preservation efforts:
忙 1876 忙 According to Historic Boulder, the oldest house in the city is the Squires Mansion at 1019 Pearl St., which was built in 1865. The main university building (Old Main) was completed on July 22, 1876. Therefore, the Squires Mansion has been in existence only 11 years longer than the oldest building on the university campus. Old Main, built in the same year that Colorado was admitted to the Union, remains in use today.
The first CU president, Joseph Sewall, lived with his family in the basement of the Old Main. The President聮s House was constructed in 1884, and with periodic remodeling and additions, the Victorian structure served as the home for university presidents until 1968. Since then it has housed the Koenig Alumni Center.
忙 1885 忙 Cottage No. 1 was built at the same time as the President聮s House. The little brick structure on the east side of Broadway near the College Avenue underpass housed the first women聮s dormitory on campus. It is now known as the Hazel Gates Woodruff Cottage, and houses faculty members for the women聮s studies department. Thanks to a $1 million makeover in 1996, the cottage still features cherry bookshelves, stained hardwood floors, antique lighting fixtures, appropriate colors, intricate stenciling to mimic Victorian style wallpaper and the original winding mahogany staircase.
忙1890 聳 Woodbury Hall was constructed in 1890 just east of Old Main as a men聮s dormitory, with heavy use of stone, ornamental towers, marble pillars in the front entry and a pair of decorative glass windows. The first building on campus to have electricity, steam heat and hot and cold running water, Woodbury contained the most advanced creature comforts of the day.
Woodbury typifies a rather common trait among typical University of Colorado buildings, in that it served different purposes over the decades. At various times, Woodbury housed the Offices of the Extension Services, the School of Business, Student Personnel Services Department and the Center for Community Services prior to its role today as the site of a variety of programs. During the flu epidemic of 1918, it even found use as a morgue. It has been remodeled several times, and in 1988 a first-floor classroom was renovated in Victorian style.
Another of the many examples of how the careful use of property and buildings ameliorates the impact of change is the story of the first engineering building and heating plant, which was constructed with a towering smoke stack in 1893. The building eventually became the School of Applied Science, then expanded into the College of Engineering until it was torn down in 1937. The site is now occupied by Norlin Library, which was finished in 1939, and replaced the Buckingham Library, which was founded in 1903 and now houses the University Theater.
忙1894 忙 The Hale Science Building, a tall, steepled Romanesque structure, opened in 1894 as home to general science studies, but even housed the law school for a time during its long existence. The east and west wings were added in 1910, in its last major facelift for almost 75 years. In 1992, Hale Science underwent a renovation project costing $3.2 million that restored the unique sandstone structure, with great care given to the masonry, sandstone, floors, windows and intricate interior woodwork. Having stood for more than a century, Hale is the second oldest academic building on campus.
忙 1922 忙 Macky Auditorium was built in 1922 with a bequest from gold rush settler turned banker Andrew Macky. More than half a century after groundbreaking, a $2.8 million renovation project that took 16 months was finished in 1986. Craftsmen took great care to preserve the turn of the century motif, including the unique windows, interior woodwork and broad stairs. Ironically, Andrew Macky built both the first frame and the first brick houses in Boulder. Neither of those exists today, but the structure erected with his gift on the university campus still stands and is in daily use.
忙 1938 忙 Not every restoration project has been of massive scale. A small building with multiple windows through which tickets were sold, probably designed by original CU architect Charles Klauder, was constructed just southwest of the stadium. But in expanding the biology building and creating a plaza, the little building was found to be in the way. Rather than raze it, the 60-year-old structure was moved in 1993 to the southeast side of the stadium.
As decades passed, the university grew and changed with the times, but the building of new structures and preservation of old ones continued.
聴 The 1940s 聴
The University Faculty Club opened in September 1939, but almost immediately was swept into the World War II effort, when it became the home of the Navy聮s Japanese language school. After the war, it served as a women聮s residence until 1956, when it reverted to being a faculty club. Later, for a time, it was called Regent Hall, and is now the University Club.
聴The 1950s聴
As noted in the draft of the Master Plan, the university grew steadily after the war, adding new buildings and buying farmland for expansions. One example of how the university continued to deal with change while preserving its heritage was the old student union. Contracts were awarded on March 16, 1951, for construction of the University Memorial Center, which was built on the site of Gamble Field, the first official CU football field. The university bought the old Memorial Student Union, which is now the Economics building on the west end of campus facing Broadway. The money from that purchase went to finance the existing UMC, which was dedicated in September 1953, and expanded in 1964.
In recent decades, newer buildings were constructed on various points of the university property to meet the growing requirements of a first-class research university, and housing a mushrooming student population, but that has not lessened our commitment to preservation.
Only last year (in 1998) the Continuing Education Division of the university moved into new offices in the renovated Delta Tau Delta fraternity house at 1550 University Ave. A 1920s-era building, the former fraternity house has Greek Delta symbols over the fireplace on the main floor, in the wrought iron railing of the stairway and in stonework over the front door. The remodeling cost the university $1.5 million above the purchase price.
Armory Hall has been designated by Historic Boulder as a successful Boulder historic preservation project.
The campus has only 321 total acres and is surrounded by the City of Boulder. As the children of the post-war baby boom graduate from high school, the university will continue, in partnership with its neighbors and nearby communities, to meet the challenge of growth in sensitive and effective ways.
Fact Sheet:
Accommodating Academic and Research Growth at the
University of Colorado at Boulder
November 11, l998
Paul Tabolt
Vice Chancellor for Administration
Background Facts:
The University of Colorado at Boulder is presently engaged in a facilities master planning process to address: future enrollment, research growth, and academic initiatives designed to enhance the total learning environment of the campus. The last master plan was approved in l990 by the CU Board of Regents. The new Master Plan goes before the Board in June l999.
The Board聮s Capital Planning Committee heard a presentation November 11 on initial plans for the portion of the Master Plan related to the development of research and academic space to be located in the Grandview Terrace area.
Grandview Terrace is an interface area between the city and the campus. It is a 12-acre plot of land north of University Avenue and east of Broadway. Most of the properties within the 12 acres are owned by the University. University buildings provide 168,000 square feet of space for academic and administrative programs. There are 195 parking spaces in use.
The new campus Master Plan proposes that the University acquire additional properties as they become available, representing 16 percent of the Grandview Terrace total area. Properties that are privately owned but part of campus life are a lower priority for acquisition.
The need for additional academic and research space is of paramount importance in developing a long-range facilities plans for the campus. CU-Boulder faculty members have become enormously successful at competing for research funding, achieving an all-time record of $182 million in external funding in the past year. These monies come into Colorado from outside sources and provide jobs and prestige while contributing to the quality of the faculty and the educational experience. Space needed to house research and accompanying academic programs is projected to grow by 10,000-12,000 square feet every year.
Master Planning Activities
Thoughtful planning will assure that the Grandview area will serve as a moderate density academic and research area that will provide a friendly and attractive entr茅e to the campus for the city. Improved connections to the rest of the campus are being planned. The area is easily reached by public transportation, open space will be generously included, and campus accessibility to downtown Boulder will be enhanced.
Parking problems associated with concerts and other events at Macky Auditorium will be resolved.
Under scenarios developed as part of the Master Plan, square footage devoted to academic activities will grow to 345,000 square feet and a new parking garage will bring the total parking spaces to 600. Planners will improve the intersection of 15th and University for pedestrians and bicyclists, and are also considering a pedestrian bridge across 17th Street. The existing historically-valuable buildings along University and Broadway would be preserved.
Development of the Grandview area would be phased over many years.
Comment:
The proposed moderate-density development for academic and research purposes of the Grandview area takes advantage of the proximity to the campus while serving a valuable purpose in beautifying the transitional space between the city and the University. Grandview is the logical place in which to expand our academic enterprise. There will be positive impact on the quality of life in the vicinity as we create a "campus neighborhood" for many to enjoy. We want to partner with the city in creating a beautiful area that both citizens and the campus community can enjoy.