The Sculptured House, also known as the Sleeper House, is a distinctive elliptical curved house built in
Genesee
Genesee, derived from the Seneca word for "pleasant valley", may refer to:
Geographic features Canada
*Genesee, Alberta, an unincorporated community
United States
*Genesee, California
*Genesee, Colorado
*Genesee County, Michigan
*Genesee Co ...
,
Jefferson County,
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, on
Genesee Mountain in 1963 by
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Charles Deaton
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 that was featured in the 1973 film '' Sleeper''. He is also noted as ...
. It is featured prominently in the 1973
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 ...
sci-fi comedy ''
Sleeper''.
Background
Architect Charles Deaton has described his inspiration for the house: "On Genesee Mountain I found a high point of land where I could stand and feel the great reaches of the Earth. I wanted the shape of it to sing an unencumbered song."
Construction
The Deaton-designed house was built in 1963.
Delzell Inc., owned and operated by Clifford M. Delzell, was the original builder of the house on an experimental permit. Deaton ran out of money before the house was finished, so it was never inhabited by the designer.
The interior of the Sculptured House went largely unfinished and was vacant for almost three decades. Deaton died in 1996. In 1999, entrepreneur and one-time
Denver
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 ...
economic-development chief John Huggins purchased the house.
[ He built a large addition designed by Deaton with Nick Antonopoulos. Huggins commissioned Deaton's daughter Charlee to design the interior, and it was completed in 2003. The house covers over five levels, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, along with a state of the art kitchen and top level master suite.
In 2006, fellow Denver entrepreneur Michael Dunahay purchased the house from Huggins.][ By late 2010, Dunahay had become delinquent on the nearly $2.8 million outstanding balance of his $3.1 million mortgage on the house, and the Public Trustee in ]Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 582,910, making it the fourth-most populous county in Colorado. The county seat is Golden, and the most populous city is Lakewood.
...
scheduled a foreclosure auction for November 10, 2010, where it was sold for $1.5 million.[ The house was sold again in November 2010.
]
In the media
* '' The 21st Century'', episode "At Home, 2001" — hosted by Walter Cronkite
Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
(CBS, 1967)
*'' Sleeper'' (Woody Allen film, 1973)[
*'']Livin' Large
''Livin' Large!'' is a 1991 comedy film starring Terrence "T.C." Carson, Lisa Arrindell Anderson, and Loretta Devine.
Plot
Dexter Jackson (Carson) is a young, black deliveryman in Atlanta, Georgia, who aspires to become a news reporter. He ...
'' (MTV, 2003)Discovery
Discovery may refer to:
* Discovery (observation), observing or finding something unknown
* Discovery (fiction), a character's learning something unknown
* Discovery (law), a process in courts of law relating to evidence
Discovery, The Discover ...
, 2011)
*'' Extreme Cribs'' (MTV, 2011)
*'' Home Strange Home'' ( HGTV, 2012)
See also
*
References
External links
{{Commons category
Forbes - Sleeper House
History of Colorado
Houses in Jefferson County, Colorado
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado
Houses completed in 1963
National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Colorado