Riverside Building
The Riverside building (1718 Broadway) is one of the last remaining historical structures on Broadway next to Boulder Creek and Central Park in Boulder Colorado, and stands today as a Boulder landmark on this major thoroughfare.
Constructed in 1914, it originally housed a candy store and restaurant. Photographer Daniel Yocom bought the building in 1932 and adapted it for use as a photography studio. In 1975 the building still had painted signs advertising Yocom's Studio. From the rear, a view of the slanted window used for naturally lighting portrait subjects is visible.
Haertling acquired the building in 1975 and renovated the interior for use as a restaurant, preserving the exterior of the main building, developing a beautiful creek-side patio to the north, remodeling the building next door, and adding a section on the south side (1714 Broadway) that bears such Haertling trademarks as copper siding and curvilinear wall and window forms. From 1976 until his death in 1984, Haertling practiced architecture here. From 1976-1980 the Haertling Art Gallery was housed here as well.
In 1980 the Yocom Studio restaurant expanded its downstairs area and took over the space that the Haertling Art Gallery occupied, making it a nightclub and disco called The Darkroom. The restaurant closed in 1982, and a new tenant was found, the First Wok chinese restaurant, which has been there since 1983. Haertling took possession of the downstairs area in the new lease, and had his office in this space until his death in 1984, while renting the area directly above that. For a time the upstairs also housed the Haertling Art Gallery.
Haertling had designed the reconstruction of the Riverside building to include pads and columns sturdy enough to support a 4 story building (sketch) he wanted to call the Gallery Office Building. In fact, it was this consideration which resulted in the realization of the basement area, which was in a way an afterthought.
Presently that side of the building houses the studio of Haertling's son John Haertling, sculptor and designer, the Charles A. Haertling Foundation, and the Office of filmmaker and musician Joel Haertling.
