The University Building (built 1911) in downtown Denver is one of my favorites due to its beautifully ornate and thoughtfully composed crown.
The top 1.5 floors read as an elaborate three-part composition:
At the top of the building's main brown-brick volume is a highly articulated, multi-layered, light-colored stone course or frieze comprised of various panels and carvings that serves as a strong, horizontal base to the composition. Rising from this base is the middle (and, to me, the most compelling) part: green, glazed terra-cotta "pinstriped" ribs that align with a modillioned cornice, giving each vertical band the appearance of its own miniature crown, that curve outward to form a continuous fluted band that encompasses the top-floor windows and provides vertical thrust and visual support to the third part: the thick projecting cornice with classical ornamentation that caps the building as a parapet, serves as the horizontal mate to the base, and completes the building's crown with authority.
This tripartite "horizontal – vertical – horizontal" composition of the building's crown mirrors the classical order of "base – shaft – capital" with the crown itself serving as the "capital" to the entire building, creating a nested hierarchy of classical-order compositions. Bathed in the bright Colorado sun, this building's exuberant crown makes me feel joyful every time I look at it.
February 2026 | Denver, USA
#architecture #classicalarchitecture #urbanexploration #urbandesign #denver #downtowndenver #colorado
Ken
