Burnham Hoyt (February 3, 1887 – April 3, 1960) was a prominent mid-20th-century architect born in

Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

Early years

Born in North Denver, Burnham Hoyt was the son of Lydia Tompkins Hoyt and Wallace Hoyt, a carriage designer who emigrated from

New Brunswick, Canada New Brunswick is a province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to the west. It is part of Eastern Cana ...

. He is the younger brother of Denver Architect Merrill H. Hoyt. He grew up in the house located at 2849 West 23rd Avenue Denver and would return to that residence later in life. Burnham graduated from Denver’s North High School in 1904 and apprenticed with the Denver architectural firm of Kidder and Wieger. In 1908, he left Denver to study at the Beaux-Arts Institute in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he won 6 Beaux-Arts design competitions and continued his professional training at the well-respected New York firm of George Post and

Bertram Goodhue Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue (April 28, 1869 – April 23, 1924) was an American architect celebrated for his work in Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival design. He also d ...

. While there, he designed the interior woodwork for New York City’s St. Bartholomew Church. After serving two years in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, where he designed camouflage in France, he returned to Denver in 1919 to join his brother Merrill and form the Denver architectural firm of M.H. and B. Hoyt, Architects.

Later years

The Hoyt brother's firm prospered during the post war years and they designed numerous commercial, residential academic and religious buildings in Denver. Their buildings incorporated various historical styles, including

English Gothic English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished from the late 12th until the mid-17th century. The style was most prominently used in the construction of cathedrals and churches. Gothic architecture's defining features are pointed a ...

Spanish Baroque Spanish Baroque is a strand of Baroque architecture that evolved in Spain, its List of provinces of Spain, provinces, and former Spanish Empire, colonies. History The development of the style passed through three phases. Between 1680 and 1720, ...

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

and Romanesque. In later years, Burnham would embrace

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French (), is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design that first Art Deco in Paris, appeared in Paris in the 1910s just before World War I and flourished in the United States and Europe during the 1920 ...

and the modernist

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

. In 1926, Burnham returned to New York when he was commissioned by

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He was one of the List of richest Americans in history, wealthiest Americans of all time and one of the richest people in modern hist ...

to design the interior of

Riverside Church Riverside Church is an interdenominational church in the Morningside Heights, Manhattan, Morningside Heights neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The church is associated with the American Baptist Churches USA and the Un ...

. He worked several years as a Professor of Architectural Criticism at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

, and in 1930 he became the Dean of the School of Architecture. On February 11, 1933, the Hoyt brothers' partnership ended suddenly when his brother Merrill died of a heart attack at age 52. In 1936 at age 49, Burnham married interior designer Mildred Fuller and returned to Denver. Lake Junior High School

He owned his own firm in Denver from 1933 to 1955. In 1953, he was elected to the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederick Styles Agate, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, an ...

as an associate academician. He received an honorary doctorate from Denver University, the Civic Princeps Award from Regis College, and a fellowship for design in the

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. It is headquartered in Washington, D.C. AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach progr ...

. Burnham Hoyt was diagnosed with

Parkinson disease Parkinson may refer to: *Parkinson (surname) * ''Parkinson'' (TV series), British chat show, presented by Sir Michael Parkinson *Parkinson, Queensland, suburb of Brisbane, Australia *The Parkinsons (fl. early 20th century), American father-and-son ...

in the early 1950s and died at the home he designed for himself at 3130 East Exposition Ave. in Denver. A number of his works are listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. File:Montview Presbyterian Church (3829142545).jpg, alt=Montview Presbyterian Church Denver, CO, Montview Presbyterian Church Denver, CO File:Interior of Riverside Church 01.JPG, alt=Interior of Riverside Church New York, NY, Interior of Riverside Church New York, NY File:Burnham Hoyt Room Signage at the Central Branch of the Denver Public Library.jpg, alt=Burnham Hoyt Room, Burnham Hoyt Room, Denver Public Library File:View of a courtyard, looking southwest, on the east rear of the original building - Boettcher School for Crippled Children, 1900 Downing Street, Denver, Denver County, CO HABS COLO,16-DENV,67-20.tif, alt=Boettcher School for Crippled Children, Boettcher School for Crippled Children File:Red Rocks Amphitheatre Panoramic.jpg, alt=Red Rocks Amphitheater, Red Rocks Amphitheater

Credited buildings (partial list)

Source:

References

Architects from Denver 1887 births 1960 deaths Fellows of the American Institute of Architects Peabody and Stearns people {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoyt, Burnham