Charles Utter Deaton (January 1, 1921 – December 18, 1996) was an American architect. He designed several athletic stadiums, and is noted for his futuristic

Sculptured House The Sculptured House, also known as the Sleeper House, is a distinctive elliptical curved house built in Genesee, Jefferson County, Colorado, on Genesee Mountain in 1963 by architect Charles Deaton. It is featured prominently in the 1973 Woody ...

that was featured in the 1973 film '' Sleeper''. He is also noted as the designer of Kansas City's

Arrowhead Stadium Arrowhead Stadium is an American football stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. It primarily serves as the home venue of the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). The stadium has been officially named GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stad ...

and

Kauffman Stadium Kauffman Stadium (), often called "The K", is a baseball stadium located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). It is part of the Truman Sports Complex together with the adjacent Arrowhe ...

Biography

Deaton was born in

Clayton, New Mexico Clayton is a town and county seat of Union County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,980. History Early History Native Americans were present in the area of Clayton for at least 10,000 years, as evi ...

and his family lived in a tent on the Oklahoma plains for two years. Deaton studied structural engineering, industrial design and architecture on his own, and earned certification. He designed the futuristic Sculptured House on Genesee Mountain near

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

that was featured in the

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

movie ''Sleeper''. He also designed a similar Key Savings and Loan Association (now Colonial Bank) building in

Englewood, Colorado The City of Englewood is a home rule municipality located in Arapahoe County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 33,659 at the 2020 United States Census. Englewood is a part of the Denver–Aurora–Lakewood, CO Metropolitan Stati ...

and the Wyoming National Bank in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in, and the county seat of, Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the second-largest city in the state, with the population at 59,038 as of the 2020 census. Only Cheyenne, the state capital, is larger. Casper is nic ...

. In 1967,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

was planning to build a new multipurpose arena for its professional baseball and football teams. Deaton caught the ear of

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

General Manager

Jack Steadman Jack W. Steadman (September 14, 1928 – July 5, 2015) was an American football executive who served as chairman, vice president, president and general manager for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League. Steadman retired as vice c ...

and suggested building side-by-side stadiums for the two sports with each stadium customized to its needs. The entire complex would share parking facilities and highway infrastructure. Deaton's design for

and

(known collectively as the

Truman Sports Complex The Harry S. Truman Sports Complex is a sports and entertainment facility located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is home to two major sports venues: Arrowhead Stadium—home of the National Football League's Kansas City Chiefs, and Kauffman Stadiu ...

) was implemented by

Kivett and Myers Kivett & Myers was a Kansas City, Missouri architecture firm that pioneered the design of modern professional sports stadiums. Clarence Kivett (born Clarence Kivovitch) graduated from the University of Kansas in 1928 and his first big design proje ...

. Deaton was also a notable board game designer who received three US

Patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

s for that work. He applied for his first patent at age 19 for the board game ''Gusher'', which was marketed by Carrom Industries of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

from 1940 through the early 1960s. Deaton received US Letters Patent 2,299,803 for ''Gusher'' in 1942. Gusher is something of an improved version of

Monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

-style trading games, with oil wildcatting as its theme. The main improvement in this game is that the board itself actually helps influence the outcome of the game: the game board is shaken before playing commences, and pieces that are distributed internally then determine which" holes" are dry wells or

gushers Fruit Gushers (also simply Gushers) are a Betty Crocker-branded fruit snack introduced in 1991. They are soft and chewy with a fruity-juice center. History Fruit Gushers (sometimes simply "Gushers") were introduced in 1991 as a Betty Crocker f ...

. Deaton's other two patents also involve games which utilize interactive boards. He received US Letters Patent 2,295,452 in 1942 for ''Magnetic Minesweeper'', marketed in 1941 by the Walco Bead Co. of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He received US Letters Patent 4,078,805 in 1978 for ''Country Road''. Deaton also received additional patents for his various commercial designs, including furniture and interior lighting. He received his final US Letters Patent 4,688,357 in 1987 for a multi-use baseball/football sports stadium with movable seating. In 1969, the

Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans The Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans is a nonprofit organization based in Alexandria, Virginia, that was founded in 1947 to honor the achievements of outstanding Americans who have succeeded in spite of adversity and to emphas ...

honored Deaton by naming him to its membership. Deaton died in

Morrison, Colorado The Town of Morrison is a Colorado municipalities#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 428 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Red R ...

at the age of 75.

Gallery

File:Sleeper house.jpg, The Sculptured House, 1963 File:BankofChoiceEnglewood1.jpg, Key Savings and Loan Building, 1965 File:Truman Sports Complex.jpg, Truman Sports Complex, 1972

References

External links

Colonial Bank Building in Colorado
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deaton 1921 births 1996 deaths People from Union County, New Mexico Architects from New Mexico 20th-century American architects People from Morrison, Colorado Architects from Colorado Sports venue architects