Icons Only: The Coveted Midcentury Community That Residents Banded Together to Preserve

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.

"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.

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.