A Mayan Temple in Denver? Not quite.
The name of this cache is a conflation of the architect who designed this building and the style he did it in.
Temple Hoyne Buell (1895-1990) is one of the most celebrated architects in Denver history. He came here, like many people once did, to cure his tuberculosis, which may have been caused by exposure to phosgene gas during "The Great War" (WW1). He was actually treated next door at St. Joseph's Hospital. Years later he got the commission to design this building - the Catherine Mullen Memorial Nurses Home, and boy, what a doozy he designed!
Built in 1933, it is in the "Mayan/Aztec Revival Art Deco" style. As architect Mark Gerwing puts it: "the vertical bands of dark red brick blast up the facade and over the top of the building's parapet and are oddly akin to a Mayan headress, albeit executed in abstracred brick geometry."
I know it grabbed my attention the first time I glimpsed it. I was driving down 17th street when I saw it out of the corner of my eye - looking like some kind of wild Dr. Suessian dream house on fire - and stoped too abruptly. Fotunately, I was not rear-ended.
Truly one of Denver's hidden archtectural gems.
This is a micro/nano, hidden in a protected spot. Happy hunting!
Mayan Temple
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