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Fort Collins Architecture
The preservation of Fort Collins historic buildings has enhanced the beauty of our town and attracted many people to our city. Building owners continue to recognize the importance of preserving their buildings and listing their properties as Local Historic Landmarks and/or nominating their properties to the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties and the National Register of Historic Places. The Historic Designations Database provides a complete listing of the properties already listed.Fort Collins architecture is not neatly categorized into architectural styles, a term used to describe the relationship between buildings which have certain common characteristics. These characteristics may be the architectural elements and ornamentation of the building or the formal organization of its space. Therefore many of Fort Colllins buildings are classified as vernacular and bear details of two or more styles. Vernacular architecture is based on popular culture, ethnic heritage, and geographic trends. Generally, local Fort Collins builders and carpenters used elements of the "high style" architecture and building plans designed by the Eastern United States architectural elite, and then translated these styles or plans into their own stylistic versions. Therefore to describe our architecture, one must research architectural styles and elements of our region and the United States in general.
To assist you in this research, our volunteers are entering historic data into our Buildings Database. We hope you will contribute to this database by donating or allowing us to copy written or photographic materials pertaining to our built environment. Additionally, the following links are provided to assist you in finding other local, regional, and national architectural information:
Fort Collins Historic Building Contexts and Surveys
- Fort Collins History and Architecture
- Old Fort Site Cultural Survey Project
- Agriculture in the Fort Collins Urban Growth Area
- The Sugar Factory Neighborhoods: Buckingham, Andersonville, and Alta Vista
- Quonset Huts in Fort Collins
- Guide to Colorado Architectural Styles
- Heritage Colorado Architecture
- Excellent examples of vernacular styles and drawings of Architectural Elements.
- House Styles
- A Digital Archive of American Architecture
- House and Commercial Styles
- Roadside Architecture
- Colorado Main Streets Glossary
- Glossary of Architectural Terms
- Architectural Feature Descriptions and Terms
- Glossary of Architectural and Building Terms