23 Room Richardsonian Romanesque Style Home in CO
Bowen Mansion, Pueblo Colorado
Designed by the prominent local architect, F.W. Cooper, the Bowen Mansion is representative of the unique architectural style found in Colorado toward the turn of the century. The distinctive style of the Bowen Mansion represents an interesting cross between the well loved Queen Anne style and the well-known Richardsonian Romanesque, which were popularized in the late 1800s.
The irregularity of house shape, variety of color, and texture, so characteristic of the Queen Anne style, well portrayed in the Bowen Mansion. The decorative shingles, Pennsylvania brick, and rusticated stone result in a complex and unique massing, especially on the front facade. The Bowen Mansion also is composed of windows of various forms, quarter round, rectangular, eyebrow, square, and circular, another major characteristic of the Queen Anne style. The Richardsonian Romanesque influence is shown in the rusticated stone lintels over the windows and the stone string courses that contrast with the red brick massing. The tower, topped with a dome and arched opening found in the upper story porch, is also of primary consideration in the Romanesque style. The chimney is also worth noting, as it seems to represent a compromise between the large ornamental chimneys of the Queen Anne style and the more modest squat chimney of the Romanesque style.
The Bowen Mansion is a major visual feature in the community, due to its proximity to the Central Business District and the County Courthouse. It once stood among other noteworthy residences, representing the indigenous architectural style of homes belonging to the prominent and wealthy citizens of Pueblo. The Bowen Mansion remains as the only existing residence of what was once the traditional higher-income neighborhood found at the edge of every city, a neighborhood close to transportation lines (in Pueblo's case, the street car), and within easy access of downtown retail activities.
Thomas Mead Bowen was an intelligent, ambitious man, who accomplished a great deal in his seventy-one years in the fields of law, the military, politics, government, and mining.
Always a colorful figure, Bowen was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives at 21 (1856) from Wayne County. In 1858, he moved to Kansas where he engaged in the practice of law until the outbreak of the War between the States. During the war, he advanced in the Union Army from the rank of Captain of the First Regiment of Nebraska volunteers to Colonel of the Thirteenth Kansas Infantry, then to the rank of Brigadier General by Brevet. When the Confederacy collapsed, he was stationed in Arkansas and remained to take an active part in the reorganization of the state government.
Bowen served as President of the Constitutional Convention (convened under the Reconstruction Act of 1867), and for four years served as a Judge of the Arkansas Supreme Court. He attracted the attention of President Ulysses S. Grant, who appointed him Governor of Idaho Territory in 1871. Bowen did not find Boise to his liking, so returned to Arkansas and continued in reconstruction politics.
Traveling through Colorado on his way back to Arkansas, he was fascinated by the prospectors, and in 1875, moved to Del Norte, a new town in the San Luis Valley, where he established a law office and took an active interest in the mining activities in the San Juan Mountains. In 1876, shortly after the organization of the new Colorado State government, he was elected Judge of the Fourth Judicial District of Colorado and presided over many controversial cases. One of his most famous decisions related to the Denver and Rio Grande and the Santa Fe railways fighting for control of the Royal Gorge. His decision was contested but eventually sustained by the Supreme Court. About 1880, his investments in mining were abundantly rewarded. He bought the Little Annie and the Little Ida mines near Summitville, on the north slope of South Mountain, from prospectors Peterson and Brandt. The Little Annie proved to be the largest producer of gold, and the Little Ida had the purest vein of gold in the Summitville District.
Bowen resigned his judgeship and was elected to the lower house of the Colorado Legislature in 1882. The following year, he was elected to the United States Senate. He served the full six-year term, 1883-1889. He was a free spender, and after six years in Washington D.C., his fortune dwindled. Hence, he returned to Colorado to resume his mining activities. Bowen bought the Ridge and the Solomon mines near Creede from prospector Charles F. Nelson in 1890 and once again made a fortune.
At this point, he decided to settle down. Thus, he contracted with Architect F.W. Cooper to draw up the plans for a mansion for himself and Mrs. Bowen in the thriving City of Pueblo, Colorado. He bought an attractive lot on the corner of 12th and Court and the Mansion was built in 1892. He was active in local affairs, helping to organize the Pueblo Country Club on April 11th, 1892, and served on its first Board of Governors. The Bowens enjoyed living in their Mansion until his death on December 30th, 1906.
Although the local paper referred to Bowen, upon his death, as a "prominent figure in National politics," the significance of Bowen occurs because he is representative of the frontier civic leaders, as he held many prominent positions in many states in the 1800s.
Building Description
Resting proudly on its weathered red rusticated sandstone foundation, the Bowen Mansion blends the Richardsonian Romanesque with the Queen Anne. Its lower floors, built of Pennsylvania red brick (said to have been wrapped individually for shipment to Pueblo) are highlighted with rusticated stone lintels and stringcourses. The third (top) floor, also revealing Richardson's ever-present inspiration, is faced with shingles arranged in a wavy decorative motif.
Several vertical elements tie the lower floors to the uppermost floor, most noticeably the tower (southwest corner), chimney (east side), projecting bay windows flanking each side of the mansion, and shingled frontal projection rising from the veranda roof. Moving skyward, the tower pushes rounded architectural lines, composed first of brick and then of shingles, upward while the chimney carries lower floor brick successfully through the shingled pediment above. Continuing the strong vertical lines, bay windows reach out and up to Support their gable roofs while, in contrast, third-floor wavy shingles cascade dramatically downward covering over and overcoming the Pennsylvania red brick before splashing upon the veranda roof below. Holding the vertical forces safely in check, sandstone string courses securely girdle the mansion several times.
Windows throughout the mansion, with several notable exceptions, are double-hung and, in the case of those looking out from the tower, are curved. On the third floor, carrying over the shingled design, the double-hung upper portion is broken into sixteen lights. On the side of the mansion, and inserted within the pediment surmounting the bay, two quarter round circle windows, separated by the rising chimney, look east while just to the south of that bay, the elegant stained glass window captures the light of the rising sun flooding the grand oaken staircase inside. Most of the windows rest upon the rusticated sandstone stringcourses that winds their way around the mansion, while overhead, sturdy block lintels or arch-stepped voussoirs cap each of them.
Entrance to the mansion is gained beneath a shingle faced, airy veranda masterfully occupying a large area of the southeast corner. Originally a double-storied porch, it is supported by two double and three triple (corners) sets of ionic columns set on massive foundations composed of cut sandstone blocks projecting from beneath its protective cover, two engaged lookouts athwart the columns bulge from front and side. A pediment, built atop the south side and supported by two modest but stylistically adequate consoles, announces the grand entry.
The third floor, which breaks into the roof, sets squarely but lightly upon its ample brick and sandstone foundation. Completely at ease architecturally, its multiple gables lead one to the next and from there to another, rhythmically forming waves that animate the skyline. Substantial consoles (again having no more bulk than necessary) of shingle on the south and brick on the east, easily and comfortably support their gable-topped projections. The curiously notched main gable was designed to announce the wife of the owner (Mrs. Margarette Bowen) to passersby. The whole of the mansion rises to its climax by way of the bellcast cupola topped with its finial.
The elegant exterior houses a virtually unaltered interior. Extensive use of oak characterizes each of the rooms. Hung on gleaming hinges, golden oak doors, surrounded by golden oak frames, open from room to room, twenty-three in all, seven of which boast fireplaces in original condition, no two alike, and all built of heavy, beautifully carved golden oak surrounding and supporting beveled plate glass mirrors above the mantel and faced with tiles of various shades below. The paneled entry hall leads to the second floor by way of a golden oak staircase decorated with a carved balustrade composed of spooled and twisted balusters interrupted at corners by bold newel posts. Anchoring the staircase at its foot stands the massive carved newel supporting a Grecian-faced brass figure holding aloft what was once a gas light but which is now electric. A beautiful solid oak hat rack and umbrella stand complete with brass umbrella pan, occupies the grand hallway ready to greet visitors to the mansion.
Wall coverings in many parts of the house are original. In the dining room, the elaborate heavy brocade pressed paper above contrasts with the carved Lincrusta Walton forming the wainscoting below. Paintings by Mrs. Bowens, graced by their gold leaf frames, still hang throughout the mansion while the several large oils by Mitteldorfer Strauss are amply displayed within the mansion in their exquisite gold leaf frames.
Eleven rooms, some of which contain the original furniture, occupy the upper two floors. The second floor is taken up by five bedrooms (one containing a massive bed and its matching marble-topped pieces) and a large cedar-lined closet. The third floor, separated by three feet of space capable of dampening gleeful sounds emanating from above, originally served as a recreation area and artist studio but has been converted to six bedrooms.