See the Modernist Home of Colorado’s First Black Architect
The late John Henderson Jr. left behind his striking midcentury home and a pioneering design legacy in Denver
A chance stop in Denver in 1959 changed the course of John Henderson Jr.’s life. As an African-American, the Kansas native was at a disadvantage when it came to securing a job as an architect at the time. He had worked as a junior city planner in Ohio after graduating from Kansas State University’s architecture school in 1952 but ran into hurdles when he tried to find another opportunity. One firm cut off contact when it received a requested photo of him in the final rounds of interviews.
Architect John Henderson Jr. Photo by Shannon Schaefer Stage, Denver Landmark Application
Henderson’s passion for architecture may have been sparked by his grandmother. She had rented out small houses she had built out of scrap lumber to railroad workers in Kansas. Fellow African-American architect Paul Revere Williams was another role model. Though Henderson worked on projects like the National Register-listed Denver Courthouse and other federal buildings, schools, health care facilities and private residences throughout his career, it was the three-bedroom, three-bath house he built for his family north of City Park that he said made him most proud.
Henderson’s passion for architecture may have been sparked by his grandmother. She had rented out small houses she had built out of scrap lumber to railroad workers in Kansas. Fellow African-American architect Paul Revere Williams was another role model. Though Henderson worked on projects like the National Register-listed Denver Courthouse and other federal buildings, schools, health care facilities and private residences throughout his career, it was the three-bedroom, three-bath house he built for his family north of City Park that he said made him most proud.
Photo by Dave Grimm
The house’s bold floor-to-ceiling windows, dark red brick and other modern elements stood out among the nearby Denver bungalows and Victorians.
Henderson had been inspired by Mies van de Rohe, and the modernist icon’s airy Farnsworth House in particular, as he worked on his 2,800-square-foot home. (He had even been accepted to study under van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology, but van der Rohe left the position before Henderson was able to attend.) In fact, one of Henderson’s guiding principles for the house was van der Rohe’s mantra: Less is more. “Three simple words and those words can mean so much when it comes to visualizing a beautiful tree or an automobile or a piece of art or a piece of furniture,” Henderson told The Denver Post in a 2004 article.
Read more about Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House
The house’s bold floor-to-ceiling windows, dark red brick and other modern elements stood out among the nearby Denver bungalows and Victorians.
Henderson had been inspired by Mies van de Rohe, and the modernist icon’s airy Farnsworth House in particular, as he worked on his 2,800-square-foot home. (He had even been accepted to study under van der Rohe at the Illinois Institute of Technology, but van der Rohe left the position before Henderson was able to attend.) In fact, one of Henderson’s guiding principles for the house was van der Rohe’s mantra: Less is more. “Three simple words and those words can mean so much when it comes to visualizing a beautiful tree or an automobile or a piece of art or a piece of furniture,” Henderson told The Denver Post in a 2004 article.
Read more about Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House
Photo by Shannon Schaefer Stage, Denver Landmark Application
The resulting house was flooded with light, with sweeping views of the City Park Golf Course across the street. Wood beams spanned the ceiling, creating open spaces with no doors separating rooms. Built-in storage allowed for a clean, minimalist look. White walls and pale oak floors maintained an atmosphere of lightness. Neighbors dubbed the structure the Glass House.
Henderson lived in and maintained the house until his death at age 97 in 2018. His son, Lynn, owns it now.
The resulting house was flooded with light, with sweeping views of the City Park Golf Course across the street. Wood beams spanned the ceiling, creating open spaces with no doors separating rooms. Built-in storage allowed for a clean, minimalist look. White walls and pale oak floors maintained an atmosphere of lightness. Neighbors dubbed the structure the Glass House.
Henderson lived in and maintained the house until his death at age 97 in 2018. His son, Lynn, owns it now.
John Henderson Jr. was photographed in the living room of the home he designed and lived in until his death last year. Photo by Paul Brokering
“It still retains a lot of that openness from the interior to the exterior, and when you’re inside, you feel that connection to the outside as well,” Historic Denver’s preservation coordinator Shannon Schaefer Stage says.
With the new landmark designation, the house will need city approval for any major exterior changes going forward. Lynn Henderson recalls the alterations his father was driven to make to the house in 1971, adding additional brick sections to the existing plate glass walls after one too many golf balls from the course across the street damaged the original exterior. At that time, the elder Henderson also incorporated a second wing of the house (forming an appropriate “‘H’ for Henderson” shape, Lynn says), a detached garage and a slightly pitched asphalt shingle roof with wood-gabled trim to replace the original flat asphalt roof that was prone to water issues.
“My dad was detail oriented, and pretty much anything in the house, my dad could do,” Lynn says. “If there were plumbing problems, my dad would get down in his overalls and take care of the problems.”
Details like a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace framed by plate glass panels in the living room, modern furniture including wire-and-upholstery Harry Bertoia chairs and art installations like the hanging curtain of sash weights that decorates the entryway are just a few of the things that John and Lynn Henderson pointed to, along with John’s storied career, when they first went to Historic Denver in early 2018 with hopes of landmark status.
“It still retains a lot of that openness from the interior to the exterior, and when you’re inside, you feel that connection to the outside as well,” Historic Denver’s preservation coordinator Shannon Schaefer Stage says.
With the new landmark designation, the house will need city approval for any major exterior changes going forward. Lynn Henderson recalls the alterations his father was driven to make to the house in 1971, adding additional brick sections to the existing plate glass walls after one too many golf balls from the course across the street damaged the original exterior. At that time, the elder Henderson also incorporated a second wing of the house (forming an appropriate “‘H’ for Henderson” shape, Lynn says), a detached garage and a slightly pitched asphalt shingle roof with wood-gabled trim to replace the original flat asphalt roof that was prone to water issues.
“My dad was detail oriented, and pretty much anything in the house, my dad could do,” Lynn says. “If there were plumbing problems, my dad would get down in his overalls and take care of the problems.”
Details like a floor-to-ceiling brick fireplace framed by plate glass panels in the living room, modern furniture including wire-and-upholstery Harry Bertoia chairs and art installations like the hanging curtain of sash weights that decorates the entryway are just a few of the things that John and Lynn Henderson pointed to, along with John’s storied career, when they first went to Historic Denver in early 2018 with hopes of landmark status.
Photo by Dave Grimm
Schaefer Stage had met with and interviewed John Henderson several times in preparing the application they would submit to the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission, but he passed away before the designation was ultimately approved.
“I went in front of the City Council and reiterated what Dad said,” Lynn says. “That he wanted the house to be designated historically landmarked before he closed his eyes for the last time.”
The house is one of few historically designated midcentury modern homes in the Denver area, Schaefer Stage says, and is doubly significant in that it’s the first landmark-designated property in the historically segregated African-American Skyland neighborhood and one of very few designated properties that celebrate the achievements of Denver’s African-American community.
“By designating the Henderson House at 2600 N. Milwaukee St. as an individual Landmark, it will add another layer of history to Denver Landmarks, with a story about diversity over time in the area that has not yet been told,” Schaefer Stage wrote in the landmark application. “The designation will also preserve the home and its important story, in perpetuity. This history includes the development of City Park North, as well as the story of integration in the architecture profession in Denver, and the social history of the Skyland/City Park North Neighborhood.”
See more historic homes in the Mountain States and Plains
Schaefer Stage had met with and interviewed John Henderson several times in preparing the application they would submit to the city’s Landmark Preservation Commission, but he passed away before the designation was ultimately approved.
“I went in front of the City Council and reiterated what Dad said,” Lynn says. “That he wanted the house to be designated historically landmarked before he closed his eyes for the last time.”
The house is one of few historically designated midcentury modern homes in the Denver area, Schaefer Stage says, and is doubly significant in that it’s the first landmark-designated property in the historically segregated African-American Skyland neighborhood and one of very few designated properties that celebrate the achievements of Denver’s African-American community.
“By designating the Henderson House at 2600 N. Milwaukee St. as an individual Landmark, it will add another layer of history to Denver Landmarks, with a story about diversity over time in the area that has not yet been told,” Schaefer Stage wrote in the landmark application. “The designation will also preserve the home and its important story, in perpetuity. This history includes the development of City Park North, as well as the story of integration in the architecture profession in Denver, and the social history of the Skyland/City Park North Neighborhood.”
See more historic homes in the Mountain States and Plains
Photo by Dave Grimm
The house’s story, for Lynn, is also one of memories — of the hours his dad spent with his extensive record collection in the basement, of the TV room (Lynn’s favorite) and of being tasked with bringing invoices to the golf course clubhouse whenever stray balls would crack one of the treasured window walls. His father’s trailblazing position as an architect of color during such an intolerant time also still stands out to Lynn.
From losing his vision in one eye in a childhood accident to finding a parcel of land on which his family could construct their dream home despite discriminatory housing practices, John Henderson overcame a lot to build an impressive career and life in Denver.
The house’s story, for Lynn, is also one of memories — of the hours his dad spent with his extensive record collection in the basement, of the TV room (Lynn’s favorite) and of being tasked with bringing invoices to the golf course clubhouse whenever stray balls would crack one of the treasured window walls. His father’s trailblazing position as an architect of color during such an intolerant time also still stands out to Lynn.
From losing his vision in one eye in a childhood accident to finding a parcel of land on which his family could construct their dream home despite discriminatory housing practices, John Henderson overcame a lot to build an impressive career and life in Denver.
Photo by Shannon Schaefer Stage, Denver Landmark Application
“There were a lot of obstacles, but he also had a lot of persistence, and just hearing all of his stories and how optimistic he was despite all of these things that were stacked against him was very inspirational for me. And then just being able to be a part of his last wish to honor his life and his career and his legacy through designating his home was also quite an honor,” Schaefer Stage says.
The younger Henderson is in the process of organizing and preparing to eventually sell the house in the next two years or so, he says, in accordance with his father’s wishes. But he’s adamant that whoever moves in respect the house and his father’s legacy.
“We have to be very selective.… I’ve been in this house 35 years — I know every inch of this house,” he says. “The integrity of the house has to be maintained.”
Tell us: What are your favorite details in the Henderson house? Let us know in the Comments.
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“There were a lot of obstacles, but he also had a lot of persistence, and just hearing all of his stories and how optimistic he was despite all of these things that were stacked against him was very inspirational for me. And then just being able to be a part of his last wish to honor his life and his career and his legacy through designating his home was also quite an honor,” Schaefer Stage says.
The younger Henderson is in the process of organizing and preparing to eventually sell the house in the next two years or so, he says, in accordance with his father’s wishes. But he’s adamant that whoever moves in respect the house and his father’s legacy.
“We have to be very selective.… I’ve been in this house 35 years — I know every inch of this house,” he says. “The integrity of the house has to be maintained.”
Tell us: What are your favorite details in the Henderson house? Let us know in the Comments.
More on Houzz
A New Era for African-American Trailblazer Madam Walker’s Villa
The Mann-Simons House: A Home for History
Read about other midcentury homes
Find a specialist in historic building conservation
Shop for midcentury modern-style furniture
Henderson was visiting a friend in Denver for the day en route to meet relatives in California when he made inquiries into the local architecture community. He secured a position at the Fisher & Davis firm the next day. His wife, Gloria, and their young son, Lynn, soon joined him in the new state where Henderson would go on to be the first licensed African-American architect and a major shaper of Denver’s buildings. The home he designed for his family would be similarly pioneering for the Denver area in its modern influences and features. Nearly six decades later, the city in November honored Henderson’s legacy by designating the early-1960s house as a historic landmark.
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