Boulder Modern House:
Mid-century architecture in Boulder County, Colorado
Hunter was born in Omaha and moved east before he came west. From college at Iowa State he graduated from architecture school at the University of Illinois in 1936. Moving to Boulder, he began as a draftsman under Glen Huntington and by 1940 he was collaborating with the latter on the eight houses in Floral Park known as "Red Square." His architectural endeavors were interrupted by the war, and he spent over two years in the South Pacific before returning to what would be a long career.
Much of Hunter's extant works are commercial or institutional buildings. Beginning probably with the Small Building on the Uni-Hill campus (1949), he designed Base Line Junior High, The Boulder Municipal Building, a building for the Public Service Company of Colorado (now Wild Oats at Broadway and Arapahoe, the Boulder Medical Center, the Boulder Public Library, Grace Lutheran Church, and the Nomad Playhouse at 1410 Quince.
Other large projects were in other cities: At Colorado State University (then Colorado A & M) his designs include at least the library and Danforth Chapel. He also designed buildings for the campuses of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Regis College in Denver, and Tarkio College in northwest Missouri.
The residential projects were numerous, and some of them still exist. Varying in style from a vernacular of the times to more adventurous usonian and solar projects, some can still be seen in Boulder, Denver, and elsewhere.
Here is a link to a usonian house by Hunter in Boulder:
Much of Hunter's extant works are commercial or institutional buildings. Beginning probably with the Small Building on the Uni-Hill campus (1949), he designed Base Line Junior High, The Boulder Municipal Building, a building for the Public Service Company of Colorado (now Wild Oats at Broadway and Arapahoe, the Boulder Medical Center, the Boulder Public Library, Grace Lutheran Church, and the Nomad Playhouse at 1410 Quince.
Other large projects were in other cities: At Colorado State University (then Colorado A & M) his designs include at least the library and Danforth Chapel. He also designed buildings for the campuses of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Regis College in Denver, and Tarkio College in northwest Missouri.
The residential projects were numerous, and some of them still exist. Varying in style from a vernacular of the times to more adventurous usonian and solar projects, some can still be seen in Boulder, Denver, and elsewhere.
Here is a link to a usonian house by Hunter in Boulder:
James M. Hunter (1908-1983)
The Colorado Building. ca 1955
Some Public Projects:
Uni-Hill Small Building
Base Line Junior High
Boulder Municipal Building
Boulder Public Library
Grace Lutheran Church
Colorado State University
Tarkio College, Tarkio, Missouri
Fort Lewis College, Durango
Regis College, Denver
Uni-Hill Small Building
Base Line Junior High
Boulder Municipal Building
Boulder Public Library
Grace Lutheran Church
Colorado State University
Tarkio College, Tarkio, Missouri
Fort Lewis College, Durango
Regis College, Denver
James M. Hunter (1908-1983)
