Edward Hawkins (1902–1991) was an American architect, developer, and builder in Colorado. Inspired by

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements o ...

, he designed houses of the

Usonia Usonia () is a word that was used by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright to refer to the United States in general (in preference to ''America''), and more specifically to his vision for the landscape of the country, including the urban plannin ...

n-style architecture for his Arapahoe Acres development 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 ...

. He also began development of the Arapahoe Hills neighborhood.

Early life and education

Edward B. Hawkins was born in

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 ...

in 1902. He graduated from East High School and studied civil engineering in

Fort Collins A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

at Colorado State Agricultural College, now

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

. He studied the work of

's residential design.

Career

He worked for Home Builders of America in

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as a building superintendent beginning in 1924. He also was a general contractor on the side. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he worked for the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

(CCC) building picnic areas, fireplaces, and roads. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Hawkins worked at the

Rocky Mountain Arsenal The Rocky Mountain Arsenal was a United States chemical weapons manufacturing center located in the Denver Metropolitan Area in Commerce City, Colorado. The site was completed December 1942, operated by the United States Army throughout the late ...

as a civilian. He also began to design and building houses. He built 35 modern houses in northeast Denver between 1942 and 1949. He established Construction Products Company in

Lakewood, Colorado The City of Lakewood is the home rule municipality that is the most populous municipality in Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 155,984 at the 2020 U.S. Census making Lakewood the fifth most populous city in Col ...

to prefabricate portions of the house that were assembled at the housing site. He manufactured aluminum-frame windows for the houses he developed and for sale to other home builders. In August 1949, he began development the Arapahoe Acres neighborhood in Englewood. The houses display characteristics of

n and International Style architecture. With He was accepted by a national program developed by the

Southwest Research Institute Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, is an independent and nonprofit applied research and development (R&D) organization. Founded in 1947 by oil businessman Tom Slick, it provides contract research and develop ...

and the Revere Copper and Brass Company to advance "better architect-builder relations and the general improvement of the quality of speculatively built houses", which focused on livable, cost-effective housing. He hired architect Eugene Sternberg to develop construction plans and design houses for the neighborhood. Hawkins relocated his pre-fabrication construction shop to be closer to the new development. Houses are oriented for privacy, solar heating, and mountain views. Streets are curvilinear to reduce through traffic. The houses had modern appliances, fireplaces, and used Revere Copper and Brass products. Heating systems were a combination of radiant floor heat and force air heat. Among the press received for the development, ''

Life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

'' magazine featured Arapahoe Acres in "Best Houses under $15,000; Eight fine, mass-produced examples show buyers what they can get in low-priced homes." After the initial model home was sold for more than $11,500 agreed upon between Hawkins and Sternberg, Sternberg ended the collaborative effort and Hawkins designed all but about 20 houses for the development. Sternberg favored the International Style. Hawkins designed about 70 larger houses in the Usonian style of Frank Lloyd Wright, using natural stone, wood sunscreens and louvers, and glass as a design element. Construction was completed in 1957. Hawkins lived and worked in Arapahoe Acres. He then began development on Arapahoe Hills, which was completed by business partner and contractor Clyde Mannon.

Personal life

Hawkins was married by 1942 to Charlotte. They retired in 1967 to

Vista, California Vista (; Spanish for "view") is a city in San Diego County, California. Vista is a medium-sized city within the San Diego-Carlsbad, CA Metropolitan Area and has a population of 101,638. Vista's sphere of influence also includes portions of un ...

, where he designed his retirement home in a Japanese style. They spent eight years traveling internationally. He died in 1991 and Charlotte died four years later.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Edward 1902 births 1991 deaths American residential architects Architects from Denver East High School (Denver, Colorado) alumni