Welcome to Icons Only, a series about loving restorations of historically significant homes.
Jennifer Jaffke first learned about Arapahoe Acres when she was studying architecture at the University of Colorado Denver. She’d often drive by the post-World War II subdivision in Denver’s Englewood area and dream of living in one of the midcentury enclave’s 124 houses, which were built between 1949 and 1957 and heavily influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian homes and International Style architecture.
A 1955 aerial photo of Arapahoe Acres in Englewood, Colorado, nearing completion (left). The vision for the postwar residential subdivision came from Denver developer Edward B. Hawkins, whose early career in Chicago led him to study Frank Lloyd Wright’s work and develop a passion for Usonian architecture. European emigré architect Eugene Sternberg, who was influenced by the International Style, designed the first homes for the neighborhood, including the 1950 Wood House, now owned by architect Jennifer Jaffke (right).
“Then, 20 years later, it actually happened,” says Jennifer, explaining that in 2019, she found a 1,000-square-foot, three-bedroom ranch in the historic residential development and took the leap. Her house is one of about 20 in Arapahoe Acres designed by Czech-born modernist Eugene Sternberg, the original architect and planner behind the project led by Denver-native developer, designer, and builder Edward B. Hawkins.
Sternberg had recently been hired as the first faculty member at the University of Denver’s new School of Architecture when Hawkins commissioned him to plan the layout for Arapahoe Acres and design its first homes on a 30-acre parcel of land just south of Denver. The residential development, which was sponsored by the Revere Copper and Brass Company as part of its national postwar home-building program, was envisioned for families of varying sizes and incomes, with homes grouped in price ranges—from around $10,000 to $20,000—and lot sizes—from 6,600 to 12,000 square feet—to attract a more diverse community of residents.
Frank Lloyd Wright visited the University of Denver’s short-lived School of Architecture and Planning, where Sternberg had recently become a professor, in the 1940s (left). Though Sternberg left the Arapahoe Acres project after designing its first nine model homes, Hawkins built about 20 total residences in the neighborhood to Sternberg’s plans, among them the Wood House (right).
Sternberg designed the first nine model homes to be livable and cost-effective, with a single plan that incorporated features like acoustic ceilings, insulated cavity brick walls, and radiant floor heating, as well as the latest modern appliances from Herman Miller and Knoll—and Revere Copper and Brass finishes, as part of the sponsorship. His unconventional layout for Arapahoe Acres disregarded the street grid in surrounding neighborhoods. Instead, the homes—inspired by the International Style, and, specifically, Marcel Breuer’s works—were positioned along circuitous streets that discouraged through traffic, and oriented for privacy, as well as southern and western exposures for solar heating and mountain views, on lots that retained their natural grade (rather than ones that were regraded and leveled, which was common practice).
Despite the success of Sternberg’s first nine homes for Arapahoe Acres—more than 4,000 people attended the development’s March 1950 opening during a snowstorm, even though the homes had already been sold, and the same year the neighborhood was included in a Life feature titled “Best Houses Under $15,000″—the architect left the project after his original model home was sold for more than the $11,500 he and Hawkins agreed upon, which caused a rift between them. After Sternberg’s departure, Hawkins designed as many as 70 of the neighborhood’s increasingly larger residences alongside their future owners, and brought on local architect Joseph G. Dion to assist him in around 35 others. Almost all of the homes Hawkins and Dion designed for Arapahoe Acres, including Dion’s own residence, were influenced by FLW’s Usonians, with elements like natural materials including wood and stone, custom millwork and cabinetry, floor-to-ceiling glass, and large fireplaces as central features in open plans with private sleeping areas.
But the last few decades have brought some changes. The original owners of many Arapahoe Acres homes started moving out in the ’90s, opening the door to new residents who loved the midcentury character and history of the homes, but had differing ideas on what updates—if any—were needed. Some kept them as pristine testaments to their original designs, while others took more liberties with updates and remodels.
Arapahoe Acres was the first post–World War II residential subdivision to be listed as a National Register Historic District in 1998, around the time many of its longtime original residents started to turn their houses over to new residents. Jennifer Jaffke is among the newcomers to buy and restore midcentury homes in the neighborhood in the decades since. Some newer residents have prioritized maintaining original details, while others have gone more contemporary.
In 1998, Arapahoe Acres became the first postwar residential community to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, thanks to some of its residents, including preservation consultant Diane Wray Tomasso, who wrote a 2004 book about the neighborhood and lives in a Hawkins-designed two-bedroom that she has kept largely unchanged since she purchased it in 1989. “I like the modest finishes, and I enjoy living in the house as originally built as much as possible,” Diane says of the 900-square-foot house, noting that Hawkins had strict standards for the enclave’s homes, correcting owners’ design choices and even paint color selections as he saw fit.
In 2011, Arapahoe Acres was listed on the Cultural Landscape Foundation’s “At-Risk Landscape” list thanks to a growing number of nonperiod renovations that were beginning to shift the neighborhood’s planned aesthetic, from the removal of classic carports to the replacement of original landscaping by Hawkins and local contractor Roy Woodman, as well as some of the homes’ Japanese-inspired gardens designed in the ’60s by Stanley K. Yoshimura and Hylam Shimoda. Some newer residents swapped original building materials for more contemporary options or installed rooftop solar panels.
While the primary exterior materials for Sternberg’s initial homes were red or yellow brick, plywood panels, and glass, Hawkins went on to incorporate natural stone, concrete block, and a variety of brick and wood in his designs. Andrea Register and Matthew Kaniaris updated the Hawkins-designed 1954 Welch House after buying the three-bedroom midcentury in 2020.
Though Jennifer jumped at the chance to buy her Arapahoe Acres home, the 1950 Wood House designed by Sternberg, she says it had to undergo an extensive renovation to rid it of its very ’90s remodel. “The inside was pretty beige,” she says, adding that she installed better insulation and new wood flooring, opened up the kitchen, and updated the bathroom and ceilings. The architect and resident tried to honor the home’s midcentury roots while giving it some 21st-century necessities. She admits that her larger-scale renovation may have been a bit easier to pull off than others in the neighborhood as her home is on the smaller side and located on the subdivision’s perimeter, drawing less attention than the bigger homes built more centrally.
Hawkins was known to be particular about the use of color in Arapahoe Acres, even personally supervising and selecting custom-mixed paint colors by his painting contractor, Charles Buckley. For their restoration, Andrea and Matthew prioritized a mostly neutral palette.
Andrea Register and Matthew Kaniaris’s 1954 Welch House, designed by Hawkins, sits in the center of Arapahoe Acres. When the couple moved into the 1,700-square-foot, three-bedroom midcentury after purchasing it in 2020, they removed the swaths of pink that were drenched throughout the home, thanks to the design choices of a prior owner. “It was a…bold choice,” says Andrea, who sits on the Arapahoe Acres Neighborhood Committee, a group of homeowners dedicated to preserving the neighborhood’s history through organizing community gatherings and talks by local midcentury-modern experts to educate homeowners on issues of sustainability and preservation.
The previous owner was also in the middle of an extensive renovation before deciding to sell, leaving the home with some immaculate restoration and some last-minute, hastily done code updates, like a $5 LED exterior light plugged into an outdoor socket. Andrea and Matthew worked to bring visual balance back to the home by repainting and retiling much of the interior and making some major landscaping changes. “I wanted to honor the things that work very well, and preserve those things, but not just preserve things because they exist,” says Matthew.
The 1948 street plan and lot division for Arapahoe Acres (left). Karen Lausa and her husband David live in one of two houses that Hawkins built there from designs for Colorado display homes by national architects. Theirs is the 1955 Hawkins/Davis House by architect Hugh Stubbins (right).
Karen Lausa, who sits on the neighborhood committee with Andrea, and her husband, David, live in the Hugh Stubbins–designed Hawkins/Davis House, one of two homes Hawkins built from designs by national architects as Colorado display homes for Better Homes & Gardens. The 1955 residence is just under 2,000 square feet, with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, a front courtyard garden, a freestanding brick fireplace, and numerous clerestory windows throughout. When Karen and her husband moved into the home in late 2021, they had to make several structural repairs to the roof, electrical systems, and irrigation systems. But they also gave the narrow, metal-clad galley kitchen a comprehensive renovation: “By the time I put my mugs in the cabinet, I said to my husband, ‘We can’t live with this kitchen—it’s unworkable,’” Karen says, laughing. “The houses need upkeep, renovation, and a lot of just bringing it up to contemporary standards.”
The Lausas made several structural repairs and also opened up the former galley kitchen.
Still, 75 years into Arapahoe Acres’s existence, the neighborhood’s residents praise more than just its strong midcentury design history; they also covet its tight-knit community. There are regular neighborhood events, including “Food Truck Fridays,” on its streets. Homeowners use an active Facebook group to send invites to “carport movie nights and concerts,” share questions and recommendations related to restorations or home upkeep, list for-sale (or free) furniture or unused building materials, and pass along general notices about the area, like snow removal reminders or local openings. The Neighborhood Committee even helped coordinate a number of events throughout 2024 to celebrate Arapahoe Acres’s 75th anniversary, among them a self-guided tour of six of its homes and gardens, and made limited-edition anniversary merch. “There’s a sense of community that I haven’t seen elsewhere,” says Matthew.
“I think this is an extraordinary neighborhood. I really do,” says Karen. “Everywhere I go in Denver, people say, ‘Where do you live?’ I say, ‘Arapahoe Acres.’ Their jaws drop.”
Top photo by Daniel Scott Jenkins
Carpentry, Woodwork, and Tile Installation: Remodelex
Cabinetry Design: Enchanted Kitchens and Europa
Cabinetry Installation: Greg Dickason, Sky’s the Limit
