Isaac Hamilton Rapp, (1854 – March 27, 1933) was an American architect who has been called the "Creator of the Santa Fe style." He was born in

Orange, New Jersey The City of Orange (known simply as Orange) is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 34,447, an increase o ...

. Rapp learned his trade working for his father, a sometime architect and building contractor in

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson County, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 25,083, making it the most po ...

. He left in 1887 and by 1889 had moved to

Trinidad, Colorado Trinidad is the List of cities and towns in Colorado#Home rule municipality, home rule municipality that is the county seat of and the List of cities and towns in Colorado, most populous municipality in Las Animas County, Colorado, United Stat ...

where he joined with C.W. Bulger in establishing the architectural firm of Bulger and Rapp. The company dissolved after about five years at which point Rapp's brother William Mason Rapp moved to Trinidad and the firm of Rapp and Rapp was created. (This should not be confused with the architectural firm of

Rapp and Rapp C. W. & George L. Rapp, commonly known as Rapp & Rapp, was an American architectural firm famed for the design of movie palaces and other theatres. Active from 1906 to 1965 and based in Chicago, the office designed over 400 theatres, includ ...

, noted for their theatre designs, composed of Isaac Rapp's two youngest brothers, Cornelius and George.) Eventually a third brother, Charles Rapp moved to Trinidad, but did not join the architectural firm. The First Christian Church in Trinidad, built in 1922, was one of the later works by Rapp. With Isaac Rapp died in 1933 at his home in Trinidad, Colorado.

Notable commissions

All are in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , literal translation, lit. "Holy Faith") is the capital city, capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Santa Fe County. With over 89,000 residents, Santa Fe is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, fourt ...

unless otherwise noted: * Chaves County Courthouse, Roswell,

Chaves County, New Mexico Chaves County is a county in New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 65,157. Its county seat is Roswell. Chaves County was named for Colonel Jose Francisco Chaves, a military leader there during the Civil War and ...

, 1911 * La Fonda Hotel, 1921–1922 * Las Animas County Court House,

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

Las Animas County, Colorado Las Animas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,555. The county seat is Trinidad. The county takes its name from the Mexican Spanish name of the Purgatoire River, originally ...

, 1912 * New Mexico Building at the

Panama–California Exposition The Panama–California Exposition was a World's fair, world exposition held in San Diego, California, between January 1, 1915, and January 1, 1917. The exposition celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, and was meant to tout San Diego as t ...

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, 1915 *

New Mexico Military Institute New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) is a public military junior college and high school in Roswell, New Mexico. Founded in 1891, NMMI operates under the auspices of the State of New Mexico, under a dedicated Board of Regents that reports t ...

(multiple buildings), Roswell, beginning 1907 *

New Mexico Museum of Art The New Mexico Museum of Art is an art museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe governed by the state of New Mexico, United States. It is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe that are part of the Museum of New Mexico. It is located one bloc ...

, 1917 * New Mexico State Building, Saint Louis World's Fair,

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

, 1904 * New Mexico Territorial Capitol, 1900 (heavily remodeled) * New Mexico Territorial Executive Mansion, 1908 (no longer extant) *Gross, Kelly, and Company Warehouse, built in 1913, in the

Santa Fe Historic District Santa Fe Historic District is a Historic districts in the United States, historic district in Santa Fe, New Mexico that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. It includes two sites that are individually named U.S. Nati ...

* First Christian Church of Trinidad, Colorado, 1922 * Fox West Theatre,

, 1908 * Temple Aaron,

, 1889

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rapp, Isaac 1854 births 1933 deaths Architects from Colorado Architects from New Mexico Pueblo Revival architecture