The History
Colorado’s State Historical Fund (SHF) awarded Adams State University a
planning grant of $25,474 to preserve the exterior of the university’s Marvel
House, which serves as the President’s Residence. The university will provide a
25 percent match to the grant of $8,491, according to Tawney Becker, Adams
State grant specialist.
The grant will
fund development of construction documents to rehabilitate the building’s
stucco exterior and improve its energy efficiency and access. Constructed in
1932, the structure is included in the City of Alamosa Historic Registry. It
was renamed "The Marvel House" in 2005, in recognition of the
contributions to Adams State made by its fourth president, Dr. John Marvel, and
his wife, Frances.
"The Marvel
House is an excellent example of the Spanish Colonial Revival style, popular in
the 1920s and ’30s," Becker noted. "The style is evident through the
rusticated stucco exterior, gabled roof clad in half-barrel roof tiles, exposed
brick soldier course and window sills, and the stucco courtyard wall." She
said the university plans to apply for an additional SHF grant to perform the
stucco rehabilitation and other exterior improvements.
Becker added the
Marvel House is also significant as a work by the well-known Denver architect
William Bowman (1884-1941). In addition, it represents the early years of Adams
State’s founding and the tenure and passionate architectural interests of its
first president, Ira Richardson (1871-1958). Bowman also designed ASU’s
Richardson Hall (1925) and Rex Gym, another 1930s Spanish Colonial Revival
stucco building now known as the Rex Activity Center.
The construction
documents will be prepared by preservation architect Belinda Zink. Since 1993,
she has specialized in historic preservation projects statewide, particularly
in the San Luis Valley and southern Colorado. In 2008-11, Zink successfully led
the exterior rehabilitation of Rex Activity Center, which provided valuable
insights into stucco preservation that can be applied to work on the Marvel House.
"Preserving
and maintaining one of the campus’s most visible and well-known historic
buildings contributes to the campus identity and sense of place," said
Scott Travis, Adams State associate vice president for Facilities Planning,
Design, and Construction. "By protecting the exterior and improving the
structure’s functionality, these efforts will help to preserve a place that
matters."
