Peek & Booze Club: Arapahoe Acres
PEEK & BOOZE CLUB
The Peek & Booze Club is a bi-monthly’ish event that gathers lovers of architecture, homes and design and explores a new suburb, home, housing concept in and around Denver. No tour is the same and the aim is to have fun, meet new people and learn something new.
Want to come to other VIP Peek & Booze events? Numbers can be limited so sign up here for sneak peeks and early access invites to the next one.
April Peek & Booze: Arapahoe Acres
In this first Peek & Booze event, I unlocked the door to three incredible architecturally designed, mid-century modern homes in the historic Arapahoe Acres neighborhood in Englewood.
A group of 12 people toured the homes, discovered a whole new neighborhood and finished up enjoying champagne at the final house of the tour!
Arapahoe Acres
Arapahoe Acres is on the US National Register of Historic Places. Built between 1949 and 1955, it’s a stunning example of new patterns developed for residential housing after World War II.
The three houses we visited give a fantastic example of the different sizes, styles and types of homes within this MCM enclave.
SCHEDULE
Friday 26 April 2019 | 6:00pm to 7:00pm
6:00pm: Dion House
6:20pm: Subry House
6:40pm: Reid House + champagne served in the Japanese garden.
THE DION HOUSE
House One on the tour is the Dion House. Built in 1955, this immaculately maintained home has had very little cosmetic updates and is a perfect example of the typical finishes and fixtures of the period.
The Dion House was designed by Joseph G Dion, a prominent local modernist architect. He designed approximately 35 homes in Arapahoe Acres including this house, his own residence.
Unique original features including bathroom, log fireplace, forest green kitchen with preserved oven, stove, and sliding cabinets, and terrazzo floor. Japanese-designed sliding Shoji screens open onto outside patio and raised bed garden.
THE SUBRY HOUSE
House Two on our stop is The Subry House. Built in 1956 this home is a beautiful example of Usonian style, with an exterior wood-frame grid, low-pitched roof with deep overhangs, and ribbon windows.
Developer Hawkins used natural materials including Filipino mahogany and built-ins, plus a massive double-sided redstone fireplace with a cylindrical concrete flue. The spacious backyard has two patios (one covered) and a built-in wood burning grill, which greatly enhances indoor-outdoor living.
The open floor plan features dramatic, flowing living, dining, and kitchen areas with a master bedroom suite that includes an updated modern bathroom with floor-to-ceiling tile and geometric hexagon marble floor.
THE REID HOUSE
The Reid House is the final stop on our tour and is the jewel in the crown of this neighborhood. Both house and garden are a work of art. This iconic 1955 Mid-Century Modern home sits on a prominent corner lot.
The integrity of design and craftsmanship is seen in the Filipino mahogany walls and built-ins as well as cork tile floors. An open floor plan and clean lines give a sense of architectural flow and continuation. The floor-to-ceiling windows beautifully blur the line between inside and outside.
The private backyard has a Japanese garden designed and executed sixty years ago by Yoshimura. In this magical landscape flows a wide waterfall surrounded by character pines and maintained by an ISA Certified Arborist.
