Brighton High School

The Brighton High School, built in 1926, and its associated agricultural/shop building, constructed in 1940, are wonderful examples of the exotic Byzantine Revival style, as interpreted and executed by one of Colorado's master architects, Robert K. Fuller. The Byzantine Revival style is evident on these buildings in the form of winged capitals resting on Tuscan-style columns. ornate terra cotta is resting on Tuscan-style columns, ornate terra cotta highlights on the arches and archivolts, brick and terra cotta banding on the primary exterior walls, and dogtooth coursing atop the parapet wall. All of these elements lend an Eastern (Byzantine) flair to the otherwise Mediterranean appearance of the buildings.

With Brighton High School, Fuller designed a dignified, elegant and functional building while keeping within the modest budget of a rural school district. In addition to their unique architectural style, the buildings are historically significant for their long association with the education of the youth of the Brighton community from 1927 through the present time. However, the period of significance for the purpose of this nomination is limited to the period from 1927 to the 50-year significance threshold of 1947. The property served as a high school from 1927 through 1955 through 1984 and is utilized by Brighton Heritage Academy in the 1990s as a public educational facility. The Brighton High School building and the agricultural/wood shop building meet National Register Criterion A in the area of Education as excellent examples of the public instruction of students in Colorado farming communities during the pre-WWII auto age. In addition, these buildings meet National Register Criterion C in the area of Architecture for their distinctive characteristics of a type or style of construction, as well as their association with the body of work of a noteworthy Colorado architect, Robert K. Fuller.

The city of Brighton was incorporated in 1887, three years after the organization of School District 27 in September of 1884. Over the following several decades, Brighton thrived as an agricultural center and became the county seat in 1904. The school district responded to the community's growth by constructing new school buildings as needed. The first high school was constructed on 4th Street in 1913 when the population was pushing 1000 (in 1916, this school was attended by 143 students). By 1923, the population had more than tripled as a result of the growing agricultural economy and the expansion of the Kuner Pickle Co. plant (1917) and the Great Western Sugar Co. factory (1917). A December 1925 city assessment of Brighton school conditions found that the old high school had 276 students enrolled in a building that could contain only 225 seats. Brighton community leaders realized that a larger high school facility would be required to handle the growing student population, which was overloading both the limited space and teacher-per-student ratios in the 1913 school building.

In 1925, School District 27 successfully floated a $175,000 bond for the construction of a new community high school. The Board of Education, along with Superintendent of Schools Arthur J. Foster, hired renowned Denver architect Robert K. Fuller to design the new building. Eleven bids were received for the general construction contract, which was awarded to William Tamminga for $115,202.00. A separate award for the plumbing and heating contract was made to Samson Brothers for $21,664.00. In addition, Fuller submitted a total equipment cost of $10,997.71, and the architect's fee was $9,078.52. Construction began on the new Brighton High School building, which was completed in late 1926 for a total cost of $156,942.23. The building was prepared for the students and faculty and occupied in March 1927.

Robert Kenneth Fuller was one of Colorado's most esteemed architects, the son of Fort Collins pioneer architect Montezuma Fuller, and the father of widely respected architect Kenneth Fuller of Denver. Born in 1886, Robert Fuller grew up in Fort Collins and graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering from Colorado A & M in 1906, now known as Colorado State University. After working with his father for a short time, he continued his professional education, graduating in 1908 from Cornell University with a bachelor's degree in architecture. He returned to Fort Collins and joined his father's firm, then known as M.W. Fuller & Son, where he worked for two years before deciding to find his fortune in Denver.

Being an ambitious and now married young man, Robert Fuller set his sights on working with prominent Denver architect Robert S. Roeschlaub. Known as Colorado's first great architect, Roeschlaub was the founder of the Colorado chapter of the AIA and was the most influential Denver architect during the late1800s, known for his design work on many of the city's early schools, as well as public buildings in other Colorado communities. In 1903, his son Frank joined the practice, which was renamed Roeschlaub & Son. Robert Fuller arrived at Roeschlaub & Son in 1910 and was hired as the firm's chief draftsman, a position he held until 1914. He immediately went to work on the design of the Greeley High School and the ornate Isis Theater in Denver. Fuller's early design experience coincided with the City Beautiful movement, spearheaded by mayor Robert Speer, which emphasized public works projects designed to beautify Denver and elevate it from an overgrown mining supply town to a full-fledged cosmopolitan city. Reaching the end of his long career the senior Roeschlaub retired in 1912, leaving the firm to his son Frank, who elevated of a partner in 1914 and renamed the firm Roeschlaub & Fuller.

Frank Roeschlaub left the firm several years later, and by 1917 Robert Fuller had gained enough of a reputation to change the name of the company to his own. Over the next 48 years, Robert Fuller designed numerous public buildings throughout the state. He is particularly noted for his courthouses in places such as Glenwood Springs, Steamboat Springs, Lamar and Hot Sulphur Springs, and for his school buildings in Berthoud, Boulder, Brighton, Carbondale, Denver, Littleton, Loveland and Meeker. Fuller also designed other public and private buildings such as the Boettcher Center at the University of Denver, the Grand Junction Public Library, the 1st National Bank Building in Greeley, the Rialto Theater in Loveland, and a dozen structures at the School of Mines in Golden. He is also remembered for his work as president of the Allied Architects Association, the organization responsible for the 1924-1934 design work on the Denver City and County Building. In 1949, Robert Fuller added his two sons to the firm and changed its name to Fuller, Fuller & Fuller Architects-Engineers. After a long and successful career, he retired in 1965 and passed away the following year.

With both Montezuma Fuller and Robert Roeschlaub as his mentors, Robert Fuller was guaranteed to provide the community of Brighton with a new high school educational needs, yet soar to heights of architectural beauty. He certainly did not let the school district down. Fuller's plans for the new school were in line with the predominant Eclectic movement of the time, which drew its stylistic inspiration from the entire spectrum of traditional architecture. He looked to the styles of the ancient Mediterranean for this project, specifically drawing inspiration from the architectural heritage of the Byzantine Empire, which flourished in the eastern Mediterranean after Byzantium (Constantinople/Istanbul) became the capital of the Roman Empire in 330 AD.

The original Byzantine style is known for its use of Roman methods of construction, modified by the use of colorful materials and unrestrained ornamentation. The Byzantine Revival style emerged in the United States after the Civil War as an offshoot of the Romanesque style, introduced by the prominent architect, Henry Hobson Richardson. The first Richardson buildings designed with Romanesque and Byzantine elements were the 1871 Brattle Church and the 1872 Trinity Church, both of which are located in Boston. The revival style was inspired by Byzantine Empire-era structures, many of them churches, found in Mediterranean cities such as Ravenna, Milan, Florence, Venice, and the heart of the empire, Constantinople.

A small number of buildings in the Denver metropolitan area were designed in the Romanesque/Byzantine Revival style, notably the 1915 National Jewish Hospital Building (an ornate Byzantine Revival structure), the 1924 South High School (with some Byzantine elements), and the 1923 Valverde School (also with some Byzantine elements). Throughout the state, seventeen historic Romanesque Revival school buildings have been documented thus far, and only seven structures including non-school buildings) designed in this style have been documented for the period from 1920-1929. Because "Byzantine Revival" is not an officially accepted stylistic term, falling under the general category of Romanesque Revival, it is difficult to determine how many buildings with Byzantine elements are in existence statewide. It does appear, however, that a relatively low number of buildings with Byzantine features exist in the state.

Other schools and public buildings designed by Robert Fuller during this stage of his career were similarly designed as period revivals, and his creative use of terra cotta and masonry resulted in a collection of some of the most beautifully conceived and ornamented buildings in the state. The Brighton High School was designed to fit the scale and budget of a small agricultural town, yet it exhibits the same historical image of Eastern beauty and elegance that the Byzantine Revival style brought to structures in Denver and other large American cities. In turning to Robert Fuller to design their new educational showpiece, the Brighton community essentially imported an element of the City Beautiful movement from Denver to their own rural municipality, siting the building on the main east-west thoroughfare for visibility and ease of access.

The 1926 Brighton High School also represents a new era in small-town education in Colorado. Prior to 1913, Brighton area high school students attended 19th-century rural schools. The high school constructed that year consolidated students at one central location, and the advent of the automobile (and school bus) allowed students to attend school in Brighton from a wide geographic area. However, this building quickly became overcrowded and had to be replaced due to the tremendous growth of the Brighton area. The 1926 high school was built in response to the community's understand education in a quality environment. Overcrowded conditions and limited facilities were not conducive to the proper education of their children, and the city acted quickly to replace the decade-old school with a larger, more versatile structure designed for providing education in an increasingly sophisticated world. The new building offered amenities not found in the old, including more classrooms (and more teachers), a gymnasium, and an auditorium. The 1940 addition of the agricultural/wood shop building brought a vocational component to the school that enhanced its educational offerings as well. Robert Fuller's Brighton High School building replaced what was in form an essentially late 19th century, centrally-massed school (although constructed in 1913) with an inspiring, horizontally sprawling 20th-century structure that accomplished Brighton's goal of a facility in which they could bring quality education to their children.