Just one more post about Louis Curtiss and then I promise to move on to other stuff for a while! Given that virtually all of Curtiss’ work is “lesser-known”, saying so about some of the following may be redundant! Still, there are a few places that are more obscure than others.
Built in 1909-1910 and demolished around 1944, this Harvey House hotel in Lamy, New Mexico, was named El Ortiz:
Co-authors Wilda Sandy and Larry K. Hancks describe the hotel as being of “Indian Pueblo-Mexican Hacienda persuasion” in their book, Stalking Louis Curtiss.
The smallest of several hotels designed by Curtiss, El Ortiz had only eleven guest rooms. The lobby must have been very interesting judging by this view of its fireplace.
A view of the lobby of El Ortiz, thoughtfully found by Lara of Sears Homes of Chicagoland.
Built as a centerpiece for his Westheight Manor subdivision in Kansas City, developer Jesse Hoel’s residence has been compared favorably to works by Frank Lloyd Wright as well as Greene and Greene:
Hoel residence, 1915-16. 2108 Washington Boulevard, Kansas City, Kansas. Image courtesy Google Street View.
The six-story Jones Store as Curtiss designed it with terra-cotta and glass facade in the Commercial (aka Chicago) Style.
The Jones Store Company, 1902. It was drastically remodeled and enlarged in 1958 – obscuring or destroying Curtiss’ details. The building was demolished in 2005.
This is how the building looked after its alterations. I have dim memories of shopping here as a kid with my mom in the 1960’s. Image source: The (amazing) Department Store Museum.
This residential design features a green clay tile roof rather than the red found on so many Curtiss designs.
William Rickel residence, 1919. 2000 Washington Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Update 3/27/19: The Victor Beutner residence, below, and built in 1911 at 1300 East 39th Street in Kansas City, Missouri, has long been erroneously attributed to Curtiss. The house was actually designed by Buetner, an engineer who designed factories.
Front elevation. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Rear elevation on Manheim Road. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Window detail, Beutner residence. This image was found at Save the Victor Beutner House where it and other interesting images may be seen.
Built two years after the Boley Building in Kansas City, this St. Louis building has less glass but similar fenestration patterning:
Ideal Clothing Company Building, 1911. 624 Olive Street, St. Louis, Missouri. Image courtesy Google Street View.
One of his earlier residential commissions, this house has an interesting staircase. Note that the entry glazing goes all the way to the porch ceiling. A real estate listing on Zillow did not even acknowledge that Curtiss was the architect! Sorry about the blurry realtor-quality photos:
Porte Haven residence, 1903. 414 Gladstone Boulevard, Kansas City, Missouri. Image from zillow.com.
Looking down the center hall from entry with landing leading to staircase at right. Image from zillow.com.
The foot of the stair begins opposite a bay window with seat at the side of the house. Image from zillow.com.
Bonus link! Check out this interesting church designed by Curtiss in 1893: Chapel of the Veterans
It breaks my heart that the beautiful El Ortiz had such a short life. The bonus link at the end of the post helped make my sadness go away. I love ❤️ a good gargoyle!
Gargoyles have a way of doing that, don’t they? Here is a link to a pair of them… they will permanently eradicate any sadness! These gargoyles famously grace a house in Atchison, Kansas.
Thank you for the gargoyle porn! I’m doing a happy dance!
Those were great links! Brightened my day too!q
you couldn’t put enough Curtiss or Goff on here. too much – bahhh!!
on the chapel, is that space above the 3 little windows on the left supposed to look the way it does or have they done some re-jiggering?
Curtiss wanted it to look that way… historic images show that the masonry has not changed over the years. It’s just more evidence that he was marching to the beat of a different drum even in 1893!
Curtiss was the MAN. Love his work. Because I’m a nerd, I started looking for stuff on El Ortiz.
Here’s a photo of the lobby:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/The-lobby-El-Ortiz-Fred-Harvey-inn-at-Lamy-Santa-Fe-County-New-Mexico-NM-c1930/302689719806?hash=item4679b695fe:g:bD4AAOSwoIlawBRT
And the hotel was standing in Jan 1944 according to local news reports. There were rumors of its demolition at that time. Hotel closed in 1940.
Thanks for finding and sharing this, Lara! It’s amazing to think that a small hotel with only eleven rooms would have a lobby this grand… perhaps the idea was that more rooms would be added later. It’s fun to see the whole room, and reinforces my discontent with the look of contemporary design and construction.
i don’t suppose an interior view of that Beutner stained glass window exists. it wasn’t on the STBH website. i would love to see it if it does somewhere.
I wondered about that too. I can’t even tell where on the exterior the window might be. The art nouveau flourish looks as though it should extend into the adjacent pane of glass, which is clear. I wonder if part of it is missing? If I ever find a better photo (or one of the interior) I will add it to this post.
thanks and it also seems odd in that stained glass doesn’t seem to be a big part of Curtiss’s repertoire at least in the examples you’ve shown us.
I just learned from a Curtiss expert that the Beutner house wasn’t designed by Curtiss… Beutner himself designed the house! There was some confusion over its attribution many years ago and it has remained confusing ever since. Hopefully time will fix that. It’s still an interesting house, though!
Hey, we lost a Curtiss train depot last year. Just saw this…
https://savingplaces.org/stories/places-restored-threatened-saved-and-lost-in-preservation-magazines-2018-spring-issue?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_medium=social#.Ww89HUjBo2w
This is so sad – I had no idea. I’m really surprised that no one in a community of over 11,000 people could find a use for the building. It is a substantial loss for the city of Snyder. Thanks for letting everyone know.