EDWIN A. FRANCIS ARCHITECTURAL RECORDS

Denver and Colorado Springs based architect, Edwin Allen Francis was born March 7, 1905 in La Junta, Colorado. He was the only child of Lettie Louise Bentley (b.1880, New York) and John W. Francis (b.1874, Iowa). The family moved to Denver in 1908 where John Francis worked as an electrician. Edwin Francis attended South High School and received his architectural training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Francis worked for Denver architect J. B. Benedict and as an associate architect with Harry James Manning before opening his own architectural practice in 1932. Although trained in a traditional manner and known for his decorative designs, Francis simplified his style and became an early proponent of the International Style prevalent in Europe. He utilized the International Style for residences he designed in Denver at 300 Exposition Avenue (1936; William Cabot, associate architect); 660 Fairfax Street (1937); 940 Bonnie Brae Boulevard (1938); as well as for the Harbor Hotel (1939) in Glenwood Springs, Colorado.

The last building designed by Francis before the outbreak of World War II was the Mount Evans Crest House, a.k.a. Summit House (1939-1941), located at the summit of Mount Evans. It is arguably one of the most famous structures designed by Francis before the war. Touted in the press of the day as the "world's highest hotel..." the impetus and funding for the construction came from William Thayer Tutt of the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs. In order to withstand the site's fluctuating and often extreme weather conditions, the structure was thickly built of granite as a comfortable, indoor venue for visitors. At an altitude of 14,269 feet, the restaurant, observation area and gift shop were only open to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Due to partial destruction caused by a propane gas explosion in 1979, the Crest House has since been re-configured by the United States Forest Service as an outdoor observation deck and wind shelter.

Reestablishing his practice in Denver after wartime service in England with the Army Corps of Engineers, Francis embraced the emerging modernist style of design for his commercial structures as characterized by his well-known Van Hummel Insurance Company Building (1948-1951), located at 444 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado. With the possible exception of the decorative design work done for the Cherry Hills Country Club, Cherry Hills Village, Colorado; he continued designing commercial structures in a modernist style for the remainder of his career. Notable among these are the Johnson-McFarland Residence Hall, Centennial Halls, and the Ben Cherrington Hall a.k.a. Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver (1957, 1961, 1965); Willows Buildings (1961); various projects for the J.K. Mullen High School (1962); and the Capitol Life Insurance Company Building (1963). In the 1950s, Francis also developed a successful architectural practice in Colorado Springs with associate architect, Carlisle B. Guy. The two men were responsible for a number of commissions from the Broadmoor Hotel: Broadmoor South (1960), Broadmore International Center (1960-1961), as well as the "Great Ape House" for the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (1964).

In contrast with his post war commercial designs, Francis' residential work was much more conventional. Examples include decorative work done for the Thomas J. Howard, Jr. addition (1948), the R. L. Rickenbaugh residence (1949-1951), Edwin A. Francis' own residence (1950), and the William J. Burkhardt (1951) and Lafayette M. Hughes, Jr. (1954) residences.

Francis was married August 29, 1924. His wife, Mary Evelyn, was born in Clinton, Mississippi October 4, 1907 and died in Denver, Colorado, April 29, 2000. The couple had one daughter. Edwin Allen Francis died in Denver, Colorado, July 8, 1966 at the age of 61.