1200 Pennsylvania St
Denver, CO, USA

National Register of Historic Places - Dunning-Benedict House (state survey no.:5DV1488)

Statement of Significant:

The mansion at 1200 Pennsylvania, designated by the city of Denver as a landmark in 1975, has held a special place in the city's urban landscape since its construction in 1889. One of the first houses designed by William Lang after his arrival on the Denver scene, it displays Lang's special brand of Victorian exuberance and complexity which so well fitted the fashion of the period. The stone Romanesque Revival structure, ornately detailed both on the exterior and interior, retains its integrity and takes its place as one of the city's important residences of the late 19th century.
In 1889 Colorado was in the midst of its second boom fueled by the silver from Leadville and the surrounding mountains. Denver, a city barely thirty years old at the time, had always attracted the newly wealthy from the mountains in addition to migrants from the East who wished to create their new ideal of comfort in the isolation of Colorado. Between 1888 and the silver crash of 1893, William Lang designed almost one hundred and fifty homes for this growing upper-middle-class of the state. Denverites were eager to have houses reflecting the latest styles, such as the style made popular by H. H. Richardson. However, while the overall effect of Richardson's work was dignified, ordered and stately, that of Lang's was lively, complicated, even whimsical--what might be called a truer expression of the American West of the time. The residence Lang designed for the Dunning family reflects his attraction for the Romanesque, for luxurious detail in exterior and interior, for pattern on pattern and complication in design. Walter Dunning came from a family that had slowly moved West over several generations. He was born on a farm in Edwardsburg, Michigan. His father, who had joined the 49ers in their search for gold in California, decided after his return to move the family to Iowa where he established the town of Mount Ayr. The Dunning cabin at one time or another was the general store, post office, hotel and courthouse for the town. Walter Dunning enlisted with the Iowa Infantry. Volunteers during the Civil War, was discharged in 1865 and married Jane Elizabeth Fellows in 1867. In 1869 he established Mount Ayr's first bank.
After the death of his youngest brother, Dunning decided to move his family, which by then consisted of his wife and three children, to Denver. He bought the lots at the corner of 12th Avenue and Pennsylvania in Denver's fashionable Capitol Hill although their grey stone mansion was not constructed until 1889. The plans of the home were drawn to incorporate a library, a ballroom on the third floor, and servants' quarters. The property was sold in 1898 and for the next thirty-two years was owned by Mitchell Benedict and his wife and then his son James Doolittle Benedict. Mitchell Benedict, a lawyer originally from New York state, came to Colorado in 1865 after service in the Union army. After an unsuccessful attempt at mining in Gilpin County, Benedict resumed the practice of law in Denver. His accomplishments include the position of city attorney for many years prior to establishing his own law firm; a member of the original commission appointed to oversee the erection of a Capitol building for the new state; assisting in organization of Riverside Cemetery; and a distinguished law practice until shortly before his death in 1906.
Benedict married Mary Caroline Doolittle in 1872 and their only child James followed his father into the law, joining his father's firm in 1900 and practicing until 1949. The mansion at 1200 Pennsylvania has not been a single-family residence since the Benedicts sold it in 1930. Subsequent owners divided the space into apartments, while maintaining much of the mansion's interior details. The present owner has done considerable restoration work while remodeling the first floor for his real estate offices.
The structure is significant as an outstanding example of the work of William Lang, one of Denver's most imaginative domestic architects of the late Victorian period. The design reflects the popularity of Romanesque styling as well as the craftsmanship and ornate detailing possible in stone construction. The interior, almost intact on the first floor, is of exceptional quality and is an important example of the luxurious use of wood in building interiors of the late 19th century era. Therefore, in its design, execution and state of preservation, the house makes as impressive a statement as it did when constructed.