The Architects of
the Southwest
HOW THE WEST GOT ITS LOOK
Rapp Brothers, Isaac
Hamilton and William Morris
by Antoinette Wharton
The architectural history of
Trinidad, Colorado can be attributed
much to the successes of the Rapp
Brothers; Isaac and William Rapp.
Isaac, having learned his trade from
his father in Carbondale, Ill., moved
to Trinidad and in 1889 joined with
C.W. Bulger to form the architecture
firm Bulger and Rapp. This company
dissolved after five years, upon which
First National Bank in Trinidad
time Isaac’s brother William also
moved out west and the two founded
Rapp and Rapp.
With Bulger, the first commission
by this firm was in 1889; the City
Building/Fire House which is now
the Children’s Museum. Later that
year, the two built the Temple Aaron.
Following these two accomplishments
came the Zion German Lutheran
Church, the First Baptist Church,
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