Carmelite Convent (Benedict House)

After marrying socialite June Brown, architect Jacques Benedict moved into an old Farm-house on the south shore of Ketring Lake. Over the years he transformed it into this Beaux-Arts villa, incorporating Italianate, Gothic Revival, and Romanesque Revival elements. A demanding architect who supervised workmen closely, Benedict had artisans on scaffolds hand paint the ceiling and worked with landscape architect Saco R. DeBoer on the extensive grounds. A Chicago native, Benedict was the first Colorado architect trained at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and he worked with Carrère and Hastings in New York City at the time they designed the New York Public Library (1909). A flamboyant character noted for inspecting buildings while wearing white gloves, he designed some of Denver's grandest Beaux-Arts residences and churches, as well as Littleton's landmark town hall ( AH04), public library ( AH05), and First Presbyterian Church (1929), 1609 West Littleton Boulevard. After his death in 1948, a cloistered order of Roman Catholic nuns, the Carmelites, moved into this suburban retreat of an architect who had been a notorious bon vivant. The red brick and round arches of the original house are echoed in the new chapel and other additions to the Carmel of the Holy Spirit.