BUILDING BLOCKS

What is the finest building in Colorado Springs? Few people have probably given it much thought.

Architecture is the game “of forms assembled in light,” the preeminent French modern architect Le Corbusier said.

It is “the will of an epoch translated into space,” said his contemporary, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.

It is “the triumph of human imagination over materials, methods, and men, to put man into possession of his own earth,” said American luminary Frank Lloyd Wright.

For all that, it is also, probably, the most ignored of art forms. Architecture isn’t just all over the city, it is the city. We see it everywhere. Yet we rarely take notice.

To focus a little recognition on the buildings of Colorado Springs, the local chapter of the American Institute of Architects has compiled what it considers the 20 greatest structures in the region. The list includes grand, instantly recognizable icons and little-known period pieces that only an architecture buff could love.

The AIA wants you to vote for the best one — Colorado Springs’ favorite building. Think of it like “American Idol,” except when people mention pitch, they’re talking roofs.

Doug Abernethy, president of the local AIA chapter, polled local architects and selected the contenders.

“To be a good piece of architecture, a building will not only represent values and aspirations of a community but enhance and contribute,” he said. “Beyond that, we looked at buildings that are historically significant or particularly representative of an era.”

Narrowing the field to 20 is tough for architects. It’s like asking a librarian to pick the 20 best books.

“We struggled. Colorado Springs has a lot of great buildings,” said Abernethy. In the end, they strove to include on the list an array of styles from different eras.

Nonarchitects tend to favor big, well-known structures over more refined designs. The Empire State Building topped a list of America’s 150 favorite buildings in a recent poll of 1,800 people taken by the AIA. The Empire State’s more expressive Manhattan neighbor, the Chrysler Building, placed ninth. Las Vegas’ bold but bland Bellagio Hotel (No. 22) edged the perennial architects’ favorite Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright (No. 29).

Since big and familiar seem to dominate, Abernethy expects crowd pleasers such as The Broadmoor or Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel to top the charts in the Springs.

“But I hope through the list, people will be exposed to buildings they don’t know in their community,” he said.

You can see pictures of each building on the list and vote online at gazette.com by going to Life news.

There are no nominees from the AIA for the ugliest building in town, though there seem to be plenty of contenders.

Frank Lloyd Wright once said, “A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines.”

The Gazette’s online ballot has a write-in spot for the “Plant Vines” award, too.

TOP BUILDINGS IN THE PIKES PEAK REGION

Cutler Hall:

Colorado College’s oldest building dates to 1877. The steep-gabled, High Victorian Gothic Revival-style building is made of rough ashlar masonry and a trim of white Manitou limestone.

Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center:

This building won architect John Gaw Meem the coveted Pan American Prize of Architecture in 1940 by fusing art deco and traditional New Mexican Pueblo architecture.

Glen Eyrie:

The hidden, castlelike estate of Colorado Springs founder William Jackson Palmer. Completed in 1908, the sprawling Tudor-style manor has 24 fireplaces imported from Europe and some of the first telephones and electric wiring in the region.

Grace Episcopal Church:

This soaring English Gothic Revival church was built, like many great churches, over generations. The steep-gabled center was built in 1895. The tower was completed in 1925, and a twostory south wing was added in 1949.

Hibbard & Company Building:

Colorado Springs’ last independent department store, Hibbard’s closed in 1996 after 82 years on Tejon Street. The building, now home to offices and a Chipotle, has a turn-of-the-century Classical Revival-style brick and terra cotta parapet.

Lowell School:

For more than 20 years, this stately 1891 Romanesque Revival-style school sat vacant. Today the broad brick and sandstonearched windows are home to offices.

Palmer Hall:

The massive, arched main doorway of this 1904 Romanesque Revival sandstone building is rumored to have once had a streetcar going through it. In fact, the hall was built partially to block a proposed streetcar line through the Colorado College campus.

Carnegie Library wing of Penrose Library:

When built in 1905, this bright, airy book house was state of the art, sporting the city’s first sanitary drinking fountain. It was restored to original glory in 2000 and now holds the library’s rare books.

Trianon:

This 1907 French Classical mansion has all the white, frilly decoration of a wedding cake and a rich interior of parquet and marble that makes it priceless.

Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum:

This striking Second Renaissance Revival-style building was originally the El Paso County Courthouse. The opulent marble and granite building materials were paid for by mining magnates such as Winfield Scott Stratton. It was almost demolished in the 1970s to make room for a new courthouse.

Taylor Memorial Chapel:

This hidden-away replica of New Mexican mission architecture, designed by renowned Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem, was one of the first to resurrect the traditional folk architecture of the Southwest.

The Broadmoor:

Built in 1918, this landmark was designed by architect C.L. Wetmore to fit into the mountain landscape, with tiers from upper to lower stories of the building and an off-center tower.

The Cliff House:

One of the great watering places of Manitou’s bygone resort era started as a tiny stage stop in the 1850s and grew into a rambling 200-room Victorian resort by 1920. The inn has hosted Theodore Roosevelt, P.T. Barnum and Thomas Edison.

Maytag Aircraft Building:

This little-known 1957 office building has been called a “little masterpiece of local modernity,” by the Colorado Historical Society. Designed by local architects to evoke an aeronautic feel, it is an important example of modernism in Colorado Springs, distinguished by its folded plate roof and cantilevered walls of glazed turquoise brick.

Air Force Academy Cadet Chapel:

Colorado Springs’ most distinctive building has 17 steel and aluminum spires soaring 150 feet into the air. The early 1960s Space Age design has become an icon of the region.

Vista Grande Community Church:

Designed by Elizabeth Wright Ingraham, granddaughter of legendary architect Frank Lloyd Wright, the church has several thoughtful touches, such as a stairway designed to discourage haste and encourage a meditative attitude as one approaches the worship area.

Will Rogers Shrine of the Sun:

This stone turret, completed in 1937, is the final resting place of Spencer and Julie Penrose. The tower, with its ringing chimes, is anchored 28 feet into a solid rock buttress by 200,000 pounds of steel and 30 wagonloads of cement.

Van Briggle Pottery Company:

This 1907 Dutch farmhouse-style factory turned out some of the most beautiful Arts and Crafts tile in the world. Fittingly, the building is festooned with one-of-a-kind terra cotta tiles and a newly restored black clay cat that watches over the grounds like a gargoyle.

City Auditorium:

The City Auditorium, designed by local architectural firms Chas Thomas and Mac-Laren & Hetherington in the Classic Revival style, was completed in 1923. The lobby includes two New Deal-era murals by locally known artists.

Pikes Peak Regional Development Center:

This 2004 building was one of the first “green certified” buildings in the region. It suggests the direction architecture will move in the future as more environmentally responsible buildings become the norm.