Walter DeMordaunt (1894 â April 7, 1962), sometimes spelled Walter de Mordaunt, was an American architect who practiced in Pueblo, Colorado from 1920 to 1962. He was one of Colorado's most prolific architects. Several of his buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Demordaunt was born 1894 in Butte, Montana. He studied at the University of Utah. He then apprenticed in architecture in Butte.
In 1921, DeMordaunt moved to Pueblo, Colorado, where he was an associate with architect William H. Stickney. In 1926, he took over the architectural firm and became one of Colorado's most prolific architects. DeMordaunt worked in modern and revival styles. He also established his own "local sub-style of the Mediterranean Revival" that was used throughout Pueblo. He focused on the structure of buildings, allowing his staff of four to six people to add the style and decorative elements. Their work was primarily in Pueblo, but also in the Colorado cities of Cañon City, Grand Junction, Lamar, Las Animas, Meeker, and Salida.
One of his early projects was the Star-Journal Model Home, executed in English Country style. This design was supposed to showcase "modern living". The house is on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1929, he was selected to design the Chaffee County Courthouse in Salida, Colorado. His Art Deco style design called for stained glass windows for the records vaults; however, county officials bricked over the windows, citing securing concerns. Community vigilantes removed the bricks to expose the windows, only to have the county replace them. The courthouse open without the windows in 1932. It is listed on the Colorado State Register of Historic Properties.
In the Great Depression era, his firm worked on numerous New Deal-related and Public Works Administration projects, such as several adobe buildings for Pueblo Community College and two dining halls, eight dormitories, and thirty other buildings for the Colorado Mental Health Institute at Pueblo (aka Colorado State Hospital). Other projects in Colorado included a women's dormitory for the University of Colorado Boulder, the Bessemer School in Pueblo, the Carlile School in Pueblo, the central building of Pleasant View High School in Pueblo, the Lincoln School in La Junta, and schools in Buena Vista, Eads, Hooper, Meeker, Mosca, Ouray, Piñon, Ridgway, San Luis, and Sheridan Lake. He also designed additions to the Columbian School in Las Animas in 1936, Park School in Fowler, Avondale School in Avondale, Boone High School in Boone, and a gymnasium for Walsh High School in Walsh.
He also designed the Spanish Colonial style Lamar Post Office of Lamar, Colorado in 1936 as a Public Works Administration project. It is now on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). His Keating Junior High School nd the McClelland Orphanage in Pueblo are also listed on the National Register of Historic Places. He also designed The Nuart Theatre in Blackfoot, Idaho which is also on the NRHP. Another of his NRHP works is the Young Women's Christian Association in Pueblo. Built in 1936, this building is in Mediterranean Revival style with thick masonry walls, an arcaded walkway, bracketed eaves, a third-story loggia, a corner tower, and clay roof tiles.
DeMourdant was president of the American Institute of Architects from 1955 to 1956.
DeMourdant was married to Fredella DeMourdant. They had two children: Walter J. DeMourdant and Pauline Sells. Around 1940, DeMourdant purchased a house at 1827 North Grand Avenue in Pueblo, formerly the home of banker Jonathan Burwell Kilbourn and state senator and U.S. Marshall Samuel J. Burris. He lived here until he died.
DeMourdant died in Pueblo on April 7, 1962, at the age of 67. He was buried in Pueblo at the Roselawn Cemetery.
Following are some of DeMourdant's most notable projects.