Richard L. Crowther
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Richard Layton Crowther, , (December 16, 1910 – December 25, 2006) was an architect and author who achieved international renown for his progressive holistic compositions, particularly his pioneering designs employing
passive solar In passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, reflect, and distribute solar energy, in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer. This is called passive solar design because, unli ...
energy.


Career

Crowther was born in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
at age 21. He worked for a neon sign manufacturer and later employed
neon light Neon lighting consists of brightly glowing, electrified glass tubes or bulbs that contain rarefied neon or other gases. Neon lights are a type of cold cathode gas-discharge light. A neon tube is a sealed glass tube with a metal electrode a ...
as an architectural element and as ambient illumination. In 1948, Crowther moved to
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 ...
, where he built ticket booths and renovated the ballroom at
Lakeside Amusement Park Lakeside Amusement Park is a family-owned amusement park in Lakeside, Colorado, adjacent to Denver. Originally named White City, it was opened in 1908 as a popular amusement resort adjacent to Lake Rhoda by the Denver Tramway, making it a tro ...
. He also began building energy-efficient homes in Denver. Crowther designed the spacious, sleek-lined Cooper theaters in Denver, St. Louis Park, Minnesota, and the
Indian Hills Theater The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was a movie theater built in 1962 showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. Its location was at 8601 West Dodge Rd. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the Unite ...
in
Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...
. All were the first theaters designed around the
Cinerama Cinerama is a widescreen process that originally projected images simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, subtending 146° of arc. The trademarked process was marketed by the Cinerama corporati ...
film technology, with cushioned seats on curving risers. The original blueprints for the theater are in the
Denver Public Library The Denver Public Library is the public library system of the City and County of Denver, Colorado. The system includes the Denver Central Library, located in the Golden Triangle district of Downtown Denver, as well as 25 branch locations and ...
Western History and Genealogy Department. The first such theater, the Cooper Theater, in Denver, featured a 146-degree louvered screen (measuring a massive 105 feet by 35 feet), 814 seats, courtesy lounges on the sides of the theatre for relaxation during intermission (including smoking facilities), and a ceiling which routed air and heating through small vent slots in order to inhibit noise from the building's ventilation equipment. The other two theatres were built in a similar format, however, the last theatre, the
Indian Hills Theater The Indian Hills Theater in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, was a movie theater built in 1962 showcasing films in the Cinerama wide-screen format. Its location was at 8601 West Dodge Rd. The theater's screen was the largest of its type in the Unite ...
had a slightly larger screen and other improvements. Each element of the theaters was designed to enhance the Cinerama experience. The circular design took advantage of the discovery that patrons, if left to their own devices, would seat themselves in an oval pattern. The exterior circular shape served as a constant reminder to passing motorists that this was a Cinerama theater. The design included a cylindrical shape and a flat roof. The base of the building exteriors consisted of black
Roman brick Roman brick can refer either to a type of brick used in Ancient Roman architecture and spread by the Romans to the lands they conquered; or to a modern type inspired by the ancient prototypes. In both cases, it characteristically has longer and f ...
. The upper portion of the exteriors were clad in insulated Monopanels which were a burnt-orange color called "Swedish red." His pioneering work in residential solar technology led to lectures at the
Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
, solar conferences and universities across the U.S. Crowther's architecture publications are still used to teach students. His "Sun-Earth" text has a reputation for setting a benchmark in holistic architecture design, with arguments outlining economic and environmental benefits. He practiced what he preached, both by living and working in holistically designed spaces, and by a diet replete with organic and natural foods. In 2006, Crowther was interviewed by filmmaker Jim Fields, for his documentary movie '' Preserve Me A Seat,'' about the grass-root failures and successes of activists working to preserve historic movie theaters in Boston, Chicago, Omaha and Salt Lake City.http://www.apartment101films.com The Cooper theaters and many of Crowther's other designs have been demolished. He particularly regretted seeing one of his energy-efficient homes expanded into a larger but inefficient showcase. Crowther was a Fellow of the
American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
. Crowther's late modern style home at 401 North Madison Street in Denver, which he designed and had built in 1979, is, in 2022, being considered for historic preservation.


Selected works

*''Ecological architecture'' (Butterworth–Heinemann, 1992) *''Sun, earth: Alternative energy design for architecture'' (Simon and Schuster, 1983) *''Affordable passive solar homes: Low-cost, compact designs'' (American Solar Energy Society, 1984)


References


External links

*
Cooper Theatre, Denver, at Cinema Treasures

Richard L. Crowther Architectural Records

Article about Lakeside Amusement Park in ''American heritage'' magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowther, Richard L. Architects from Denver American theatre architects Fellows of the American Institute of Architects 1910 births 2006 deaths Writers from Denver