Kelvinator House | |
---|---|
The house in 2004 | |
Location | 324 Hermosa Dr. SE, Albuquerque, New Mexico |
Coordinates | 35°04′33″N106°36′11″W / 35.0757°N 106.60315°W Coordinates: 35°04′33″N106°36′11″W / 35.0757°N 106.60315°W |
Built | 1938 |
Architect | William E. Burk Jr. |
Architectural style(s) | International |
Designated | October 20, 1978 [1] |
Reference no. | 704 |
The Kelvinator House, also known as the Raabe House, is a historic house in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1938 by Walter C. Raabe, the owner of Raabe & Mauger Hardware Company, as a showcase for the Kelvinator appliances the company distributed. It was one of over 200 "Kelvin Homes" built around the country starting in 1936. The house was designed by William E. Burk Jr., and was one of the city's earliest International Style homes along with the Lembke House. In 1976, a stylistically consistent second-story studio space was added to the building. It was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1978. [1]
The first Kelvin Home was built in 1936 in Livonia, Michigan [2] and by 1938 there were reportedly over 200 of them around the country. [3] Each home was equipped with a complete Kelvinator climate control system and electric appliances, and was intended to be affordable to the average consumer. According to the company's promotional materials, "The Kelvin Home, the result of years of scientific research on the part of Kelvinator corporation, applies the latest findings in the fields of air-conditioning, refrigeration, heating and architectural design to the needs and desires of the home owners of America. Designed for the moderate income group family, the Kelvin Home plans and specifications will be offered by Kelvinator corporation to the architects and builders of the country as a basis for the construction of truly modern homes." [4]
In Albuquerque, Walter C. Raabe built his own Kelvin Home in 1937–38 [5] in the Granada Heights subdivision, which was then at the edge of the city. Raabe was the owner of the Raabe-Mauger Hardware Company, a local distributor of Kelvinator products. [3] An advertisement for the building's grand opening in February, 1938, read:
Yes—it has actually been built right here in our own community—the Kelvin Home you've been reading about—and hearing about—everywhere. And here's why you'll want to see it: It's a beautiful home—it's a well built home, it's a perfectly designed home. It's a home where all the drudgery is eliminated—where tasks are done electrically. It's a home that is completely air conditioned—summer and winter. And yet—you can "operate" this home at no greater cost than that of running an ordinary six room house! [6]
It was reported to be the first house in Albuquerque to be equipped with air conditioning, and was called "ultra-modern in every respect" and the "home of tomorrow". It featured centrally controlled air conditioning, heating, and humidity control, as well as the newest Kelvinator refrigerator and electric range. [3] The design by local architect William E. Burk Jr., featured the latest International Style architecture, which stood out among the mostly Pueblo Style houses in the area. In 1972, the house was purchased by Edna Heatherington, then an architecture student, who studied the building's design principles and constructed a second-story addition consistent with the original architecture. The addition was completed in 1976 and became the basis for Heatherington's master's thesis. [7]
The Kelvinator House adheres to the principles of the International Style: an emphasis on functional, rational spaces, and a rejection of symmetry and ornament. According to architect Edna Heatherington, "Kelvinator House has an interesting place in the brief history of 'modern' architecture in Albuquerque, not only because of its aesthetic distinction but also because of its theoretical purity." [8] The house is of frame construction and is two stories high, with a flat roof. The first floor is organized around a large living room which includes a semi-cylindrical wall of windows overlooking the back yard, with two bedrooms on one side and a garage, kitchen, and small dining area on the other side. The second floor originally consisted of only a single recreation room and an outdoor terrace area, but was expanded to include an additional bedroom or studio space in 1976. Like other International Style homes, the Kelvinator House makes extensive use of steel casement windows and glass brick. [8] [7]
William Edmond Lescaze was a Swiss-born American architect, city planner and industrial designer. He ranked among the pioneers of modernism in American architecture.
Frigidaire Appliance Company is the US consumer and commercial home appliances brand subsidiary of European parent company Electrolux.
Kelvinator was a United States home appliance manufacturer and a line of domestic refrigerators that was the namesake of the company. Although as a company it is now defunct, the name still exists as a brand name owned by Electrolux AB. It takes its name from William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, who developed the concept of absolute zero and for whom the Kelvin temperature scale is named. The name was thought appropriate for a company that manufactured ice-boxes and refrigerators.
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. It was inspired by aerodynamic design. Streamline architecture emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, toasters, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.
The Simms Building is historic high-rise office building in downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. Designed by Flatow and Moore and completed in 1954, it was the city's first large-scale modernist building and is regarded as "Albuquerque’s best example of the International Style". The building was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1997 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1998, only 44 years after it was completed.
The New Mexico State Fair is an annual state fair held in September at Expo New Mexico in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, U.S.A. The event features concerts, competitions, rodeos, carnival rides, games, farm animals, horses, agriculture and art. The Tingley Coliseum is on the fairgrounds.
John Gaw Meem IV was an American architect based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival Style and as a proponent of architectural Regionalism in the face of international modernism. Meem is regarded as one of the most important and influential architects to have worked in New Mexico.
The Pueblo Revival style or Santa Fe style is a regional architectural style of the Southwestern United States, which draws its inspiration from traditional Pueblo architecture and the Spanish missions in New Mexico. The style developed at the beginning of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it is still commonly used for new buildings. Pueblo style architecture is most prevalent in the state of New Mexico.
Park Plaza Condominiums is a residential high-rise building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. At 160 feet (49 m) in height it is the 15th-tallest building in the city, as well as the tallest residential building in New Mexico. The 14-story tower originally consisted of rental units but was converted to condominiums in 1979. It is located one block south of Central Avenue, just west of Downtown.
Territorial Revival architecture describes the style of architecture developed in the U.S. state of New Mexico in the 1930s. It derived from Territorial Style, an original style which had developed in the 1800s and before, in the wider region of the New Mexico Territory (1850–1912). Territorial Revival incorporated elements of traditional regional building techniques with higher style elements. The style was intended to recall the Territorial Style and was extensively employed for New Mexico state government buildings in Santa Fe.
Scholes Hall is the historic administration building of the University of New Mexico, located on the main campus in Albuquerque. It was the first of many buildings designed for the university by Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem, who helped to cement the Pueblo Revival style as the "official" architecture of the campus. Built in 1934–36 with Public Works Administration funding, it is regarded as one of Meem's most notable designs.
The Old Main Library is a historic building in the Huning Highlands neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico, originally built in 1925 as the main facility of the Albuquerque Public Library. Since the opening of the current Main Library in 1975, it has served as the library system's Special Collections branch, housing historical and genealogical research materials. Designed by Arthur Rossiter with interior decorations by Gustave Baumann, the building is a notable example of Pueblo Revival architecture. It was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1975 and is also an Albuquerque Historic Landmark.
Huning Highlands, also known as EDo or East Downtown, is an inner-city neighborhood in Albuquerque, New Mexico, directly east of Downtown. It is a mostly residential area known for its high concentration of Victorian and early 20th-century houses and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Huning Highlands Historic District. There is also a commercial district along the main thoroughfares, Central Avenue and Broadway Boulevard. Huning Highlands was developed starting in 1880 and is named for Franz Huning, a prominent businessman at the time.
La Posada de Santa Fe, formerly known as La Posada Inn, is a hotel in Santa Fe, New Mexico that dates back to a mansion built in 1882.
The W. E. Mauger House is a historic Queen Anne style home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built around 1896 by Maude Goodlander and Martha Talbott, but is most closely associated with William and Brittania Mauger, who owned it from 1907 to 1932. Later, it was converted into a boarding house and remained in use as rental housing until the 1980s. Starting in 1985, the building was restored to its original appearance and has operated as a bed and breakfast since 1987. It is a 2 1/2 story brick house with a hip roof, asymmetrical front elevation with a large entrance porch, and a two-level sleeping porch on the west side. The house was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places in 1985 as "701 Roma NW".
The Lembke House is a historic house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and one of the best examples of residential International Style architecture in the city. It was built in 1937 by Charles H. Lembke (1889–1989), a local construction company owner who was also Chairman of the City Commission during the time he occupied the house. It was one of the earlier houses in the Huning Castle neighborhood, an area of large homes that was mostly developed between the 1930s and 1950s. The house was probably constructed as a speculative venture as Lembke lived there for less than a year before selling it. The house was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1976 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.
The John Pearce House is a historic house in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is notable for its architecture and as the only extant house on the Downtown section of Central Avenue, which is otherwise occupied entirely by commercial buildings. The house was built in 1905 by Dr. John F. Pearce, one of the city's first physicians. The contractor, Wallace Hesselden, also built the Henry Mann House the same year. After Pearce moved out of the house in 1933, it was used for various functions including a boarding house and chiropractic clinic. In 1982, the house was renovated and converted to office space. The architect for the renovation was Antoine Predock. The property was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties and the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It is next door to another historic structure, the Skinner Building.
The Huning Highlands Historic District is a historic district in Albuquerque, New Mexico which encompasses the entirety of the Huning Highlands neighborhood. The district is bounded by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue to the north, Locust Street to the east, Iron Avenue to the south, and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad tracks to the west, covering an area of about 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2). The neighborhood was Albuquerque's first residential subdivision and was mostly developed between the 1880s and 1920s. It is known for its high concentration of Victorian and early 20th-century houses. The district was added to the New Mexico State Register of Cultural Properties in 1976 and the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
The Whittlesey House is a historic house in the Huning Highlands neighborhood of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1903 by architect Charles Frederick Whittlesey, who briefly lived there with his family, and currently houses the Albuquerque Press Club. The building is a rustic, three-story log and stone structure based on Norwegian Vernacular architecture, which is highly unusual for New Mexico.
The Alvarado Hotel was a historic railroad hotel which was one of the most famous landmarks of Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built in 1901–02 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway and was operated by the Fred Harvey Company until 1970. With 120 guest rooms, it was the largest of all the Harvey hotels. Its demolition by the railroad in 1970 was described by preservationist Susan Dewitt as "the most serious loss of a landmark the city has sustained" and helped mobilize stronger support for historic preservation efforts in the city.