The
Spanish Colonial Revival was a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architectural movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
as a regional expression related to both history and environment. The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was also influenced by the opening of the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal which joins the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn...
and the overwhelming success of the novel
RamonaRamona, a novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson , is the story of a part-Scottish and part-Native American orphan girl growing up and getting married in Southern California, suffering racial discrimination and hardship. Originally serialized in the Christian Union on a weekly basis, the novel became...
. Based on the Spanish Colonial style architecture that dominated in the early Spanish colonies of both North and South America, Spanish Colonial Revival updated these forms for a new century.
Early champions of the Spanish Colonial Revival include
OrlandoOrlando is a major city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan region...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
architect
Frederick H. TrimbleFrederick H. Trimble was an American architect practicing in Central Florida from the early 1900s through the 1920s, working in the Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie Style....
whose Farmer's Bank in Vero Beach predates the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 in San Diego.
The
Spanish Colonial Revival was a
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
architectural movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in
CaliforniaCalifornia is the most populous state in the United States, and the third largest by area. California is the second most populous sub-national entity in the Americas, behind only São Paulo, Brazil...
and
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
as a regional expression related to both history and environment. The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was also influenced by the opening of the
Panama CanalThe Panama Canal is a ship canal which joins the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific ocean. One of the largest and most difficult engineering projects ever undertaken, it had an enormous impact on shipping between the two oceans, replacing the long and treacherous route via the Drake Passage and Cape Horn...
and the overwhelming success of the novel
RamonaRamona, a novel written by Helen Hunt Jackson , is the story of a part-Scottish and part-Native American orphan girl growing up and getting married in Southern California, suffering racial discrimination and hardship. Originally serialized in the Christian Union on a weekly basis, the novel became...
. Based on the Spanish Colonial style architecture that dominated in the early Spanish colonies of both North and South America, Spanish Colonial Revival updated these forms for a new century.
Early champions of the Spanish Colonial Revival include
OrlandoOrlando is a major city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan region...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
architect
Frederick H. TrimbleFrederick H. Trimble was an American architect practicing in Central Florida from the early 1900s through the 1920s, working in the Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie Style....
whose Farmer's Bank in Vero Beach predates the Panama-California Exposition of 1915 in San Diego. The San Diego Fair has been credited with drawing national attention to the aesthetic potential of this style.
The movement enjoyed its greatest popularity between 1915 and 1931 and was most often exhibited in single-level detached houses.
Antecedents
The antecedents of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style can be traced to three northeastern architects, New Yorkers John Carrère and
Thomas HastingsThomas Hastings was an American architect. He was born in New York City to Thomas Samuel Hastings, a Presbyterian minister, and Fanny de Groot....
of
Carrère and HastingsCarrère and Hastings, the firm of John Merven Carrère and Thomas Hastings , located in New York City, was one of the outstanding Beaux-Arts architecture firms in the United States. The partnership operated from 1885 until 1911, when Carrère was killed in an automobile accident...
and Bostonian Franklin W. Smith. These three designed grand, elaborately detailed hotels in the Spanish Colonial idiom for
St. Augustine-People:*St Augustine of Hippo or Augustine of Hippo , father of the Latin church*St Augustine of Canterbury or Augustine of Canterbury , first Archbishop of Canterbury*St Augustine Webster or Augustine Webster-Places:*St. Augustine, Florida...
,
FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
in the 1880s. With the advent of the
Ponce de Leon HotelThe Ponce de León Hotel was the grandest hotel built in St. Augustine, Florida in the United States. It was built 1885-87 by contractors and former New England shipbuilders James McGuire and Joseph McDonald, according to the plans of architects John Carrere and Thomas Hastings in the Spanish...
(Carrère and Hastings, 1882), the
Alcazar Hotel-United States:* Lightner Museum, listed on the NRHP in Florida as Alcazar Hotel* New Alcazar Hotel , listed on the NRHP in Mississippi* Alcazar Hotel , listed on the NRHP in Ohio...
(Carrère and Hastings, 1887) and the Casa Monica (later Hotel Cordova) (Franklin W. Smith, 1888) thousands of winter visitors to the Sunshine State began to experience the charm and romance of Spanish Colonial architecture.
These three hotels were influenced not only by the centuries old buildings remaining from the Spanish rule in St. Augustine but also by
The Old City House, constructed in 1873 and still standing, an excellent example of early Spanish Colonial Revival architecture.
The possibilities of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style were brought to the attention of architects attending late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries international expositions. For example, California's Spanish-style stucco mission-meets-mansion at the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in
ChicagoChicago is the largest city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and with more than 2.8 million people, the 3rd largest city in the United States...
, along with the
Electric TowerElectric Tower, or General Electric Tower, is a historic office building and skyscraper located at Buffalo in Erie County, New York. It is the seventh tallest building in Buffalo. It stands and 13 stories tall and is in the Beaux-Arts Classical Revival style. It was designed by James A. Johnson...
of the
Pan-American ExpositionThe Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901.-History:It was organized by the Pan-American Exposition Company, formed in 1897. Cayuga Island was initially chosen as the place to hold the Exposition because of the...
in
BuffaloBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, second only to New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River, Buffalo is the principal city of the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area and the seat of Erie...
in 1900 suggested the potential of Spanish Colonial Revival, although both were admixtures with porticoes, pediments and colonnades that were clearly influenced by
Beaux ArtsBeaux-Arts architecture denotes the academic neoclassical architectural style that was taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The style "Beaux Arts" is above all the cumulative product of two and a half centuries of instruction under the authority, first of the Académie royale...
classicism as well.
By the early years of the 1910s, adventurous architects in Florida had begun to make Spanish Colonial Revival their own.
Frederick H. TrimbleFrederick H. Trimble was an American architect practicing in Central Florida from the early 1900s through the 1920s, working in the Colonial Revival, Spanish Colonial Revival and Prairie Style....
’s Farmer’s Bank in Vero Beach, completed in 1914, is a fully mature early example of the style. The city of
St. CloudSt. Cloud may refer to:*Saint Cloud, also known as Clodoald, a son of the Frankish king Chlodomer*Saint-Cloud, a town in France*Château de Saint-Cloud, a royal chateau in FranceIn the United States:*St. Cloud, Florida...
, Florida, espoused the style both for homes and commercial structures and has a fine collection of subtle stucco buildings reminiscent of old Mexico. Many of these were designed by architecture partners
Ida Annah RyanIda Annah Ryan was a pioneering United States woman architect. She was born on November 4, 1873 at Waltham, MA, one of five children of Albert Morse Ryan and Carrie S. Jameson. Albert Morse Ryan was a Waltham city employee and historian who also ran a milk business. She graduated from the Waltham...
and
Isabel RobertsIsabel Roberts was a Prairie School figure, member of the architectural design team in the Oak Park Studio of Frank Lloyd Wright and partner with Ida Annah Ryan in the Orlando, Florida architecture firm, “Ryan and Roberts”....
.
Design elements
Spanish Colonial Revival architecture shares many elements with the very closely-related
Mission RevivalThe Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century and drew inspiration from the early Spanish missions in California...
and Pueblo styles of the
WestThe Western United States, commonly referred to as the American West or simply "the West," traditionally refers to the region comprising the westernmost states of the United States. Because the U.S. expanded westward after its founding, the meaning of the West has evolved over time...
and
SouthwestThe Southwestern United States is defined as the states that lie west of the Mississippi River, with the qualification of a certain northern limit such as the 37, 38, 39, or 40 degree north latitude. A 97.33 longitude degree west could qualify as the separation of the American Southwest from the...
, and is strongly informed by the same
Arts and Crafts MovementThe Arts and Crafts Movement was a British, Canadian, Australian, and American aesthetic movement occurring in the last years of the 19th century and the early years of the 20th century...
that was behind those architectural styles. Characterized by a combination of detail from several eras of Spanish and Mexican architecture, the style is marked by the prodigious use of smooth
plasterThe term plaster can refer to plaster of Paris , lime plaster, or cement plaster. This article deals mainly with plaster of Paris / gypsum plaster....
(
stuccoStucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a coating for walls and ceilings and for decoration...
)
wallA wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. Most commonly, a wall delineates a building and supports its superstructure, separates space in buildings into rooms, or protects or delineates a space in the open air...
and
chimneyA chimney is a structure for venting hot flue gases or smoke from a boiler, stove, furnace or fireplace to the outside atmosphere. Chimneys are typically vertical, or as near as possible to vertical, to ensure that the gases flow smoothly, drawing air into the combustion in what is known as the...
finishes, low-pitched
clayClay is a naturally occurring material composed primarily of fine-grained minerals, which show plasticity through a variable range of water content, and which can be hardened when dried and/or fired...
tileA tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, and walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
, shed, or flat roofs, and
terra cottaTerracotta, Terra cotta or Terra-cotta is a clay-based unglazed ceramic. Its uses include vessels, water and waste water pipes and surface embellishment in building construction, along with sculpture such as the Terracotta Army and Greek terracotta figurines...
or cast
concreteConcrete is a construction material composed of cement as well as other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water, and chemical admixtures...
ornaments. Other characteristics typically include small
porchA porch is a structure attached to a building, forming a covered entrance to a vestibule or doorway. It is external to the walls of the main building proper, but may be enclosed by screen, latticework, broad windows, or other light frame walls extending from the main structure.There are various...
es or balconies,
RomanThe architecture of Ancient Rome at first adopted the external Greek architecture for their own purposes, which were so different from Greek buildings as to create a new architectural style. The two styles are often considered one body of classical architecture...
or
semi-circularIn mathematics , a semicircle is a two-dimensional geometric shape that forms half of a circle. Being half of a circle's 360°, the arc of a semicircle always measures 180°...
arcadesAn arcade is a succession of arches, each counterthrusting the next, supported by columns or piers, or a covered walk enclosed by a line of such arches on one or both sides....
and
fenestrationThe word fenestration finds its root in the Latin word for window, fenestra.Architecture* Products that fill openings in a building envelope, such as windows, doors, skylights, curtain walls, etc., designed to permit the passage of air, light, vehicles, or people...
, wood
casementA casement window is a window that is attached to its frame by one or more hinges. Casement windows typically are hinged at the side, sometimes at the top or bottom...
or tall, double–hung windows,
canvasCanvas is an extremely heavy-duty plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, and other functions where sturdiness is required...
awningAn awning or overhang is a secondary covering attached to the exterior wall of a building. It is typically composed of canvas woven of acrylic, cotton or polyester yarn, or vinyl laminated to polyester fabric that is stretched tightly over a light structure of aluminum, iron or steel, possibly...
s, and decorative
ironIron is a metallic chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a group 8 and period 4 element and is therefore classified as a transition metal. Iron and iron alloys are by far the most common metals and the most common ferromagnetic materials in everyday use...
trim.
Notable Architects
Probably the most famous proponents of the style in California was
George Washington SmithGeorge Washington Smith, , was an American architect and painter. He is noted particularly for his work around Santa Barbara, California, and for popularizing the Spanish Colonial Revival style in early 20th Century America....
who practiced during the 1920s and 30s. Perhaps his most famous house is the Steedman House in Montecito, CA, now a museum called the Casa del Herrero.
Also notable were
John ByersJohn Winford Byers was a Santa Monica architect and builder noted for use of the Spanish Colonial revival style.-Early life:...
,
Wallace NeffWallace Neff was an architect based in Southern California and was largely responsible for developing the region's distinct architectural style referred to as "California" style...
, Reginald Johnson,
Elmer GreyElmer Grey, FAIA was an American architect and artist based in Pasadena, California. Grey designed many noted landmarks in Southern California, including the Beverly Hills Hotel, the Huntington Art Gallery, the Pasadena Playhouse and Wattles Mansion...
, and
William JohnsonWilliam Johnson may refer to:Arts and Entertainment* William Allen Johnson , organ builder, Johnson Organs* William Gary Johnson , called Bunk Johnson, American jazz musician* William H...
.
In Florida, the names included Marion Wyeth, Robert Weed,
Addison MiznerAddison Cairns Mizner was an American resort architect whose Mediterranean Revival style left an indelible stamp on South Florida, where it continues to inspire architects and developers. Mizner was the visionary behind development of Boca Raton. He was the brother and sometime partner of...
, and Maurice Fatio.
Structural form
- Rectangular or L-plan
- Horizontal massing
- Predominantly one-story
- Interior or exterior courtyards
- Asymmetrical shape with cross-gables and side wings
List of example structures
- George Fearn House
The George Fearn House is a historic residence in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It was built in 1904 in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by local architect George B. Rogers. It was the first Spanish Colonial Revival building to be built in Mobile. The house was placed on the National Register...
in Mobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 198,915 during the 2000 census...
, completed in 1904
- Farmer's Bank in Vero Beach, Florida, completed in 1914
- Adamson House in Malibu, California
Malibu is an incorporated city in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population is 12,575....
- Casa del Herrero (George Washington Smith House)
- Casa Dracaena (George Washington Smith house) completed in 1918.
- Alice Lynch Residence in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
, completed in 1922
- Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, Naval Training Center, San Diego, California
Liberty Station is a project that involves the conversion of San Diego, California's former Naval Training Center into a mixed-use community that includes several distinct districts...
, completed 1922, second phase completed 1932.
- Quapaw Baths building in Bathhouse Row
Bathhouse Row, located in Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas, is a collection of bathhouses in the town of Hot Springs, Arkansas. The bathhouses were included in 1832 when the Federal Government took over four parcels of land to preserve 47 natural hot springs, their mineral waters lacking...
, Hot Springs, ArkansasHot Springs is the 10th most populous city in the U.S. state of Arkansas, the county seat of Garland County, and the principal city of the Hot Springs Metropolitan Statistical Area encompassing all of Garland County...
, completed in 1922
- Casa de las Campañas in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles is the largest city in the state of California and the second largest in the United States. Often abbreviated as L.A. and nicknamed The City of Angels, Los Angeles has an estimated population of 3.8 million and spans over in Southern California...
, completed in 1928
- C.E. Toberman Estate
The C. E. Toberman Estate, also known as Via Las Colinas, is a gated Mission Revival mansion and estate on Camino Palermo in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.-Architecture:...
in Hollywood, California, completed in 1924
- Frank H. Upham House in Altadena, California
Altadena is an unincorporated census-designated place in Los Angeles County, California, approximately from the downtown Los Angeles Civic Center. The population was 42,610 at the 2000 census....
, completed in 1928
- Azalea Court Apartments
The Azalea Court Apartments is a historic three-story apartment building located in Mobile, Alabama. It was built in 1928 and was designed by architect J. Platt Roberts in the Spanish Colonial Revival style. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on February 11, 1988....
in Mobile, Alabama, completed in 1928
- La Casa Nueva in City of Industry, California, completed in 1927
- Serralles Castle in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government....
, completed in the 1930s
- William S. Hart Residence in Newhall, California
Newhall is the southernmost and oldest district of Santa Clarita, California. Prior to the 1987 consolidation of Valencia, Canyon Country, Saugus, Newhall, and other geographically proximate settlements into the conglomerate city of Santa Clarita, it was an independent but unincorporated town...
, completed in early 1920s
- Gaylord Suites in San Francisco, California
San Francisco is the fourth most populous city in California and the 12th most populous city in the United States, with a 2008 estimated population of 808,976. It is the eighth most densely populated city in the U.S. and is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the larger San...
, completed in 1928
- Randolph Air Force Base
Randolph Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located in Universal City, Texas, near San Antonio. Dedicated June 20, 1930, as a flying training base, it continues with that mission today....
(various structures) near San Antonio, TexasSan Antonio is the second-largest city in the state of Texas and the seventh-largest city in the United States. The city is characteristic of other Southwest urban centers in which there are sparsely populated areas and a low density rate outside of the city. It was the fourth-fastest growing...
, designed in 1929
- Hollywood, Homewood, Alabama
Hollywood is a historic district and former town annexed into Homewood, Alabama in 1929. The district is roughly bounded by U. S. Highway 31, U. S. Highway 280, and Lakeshore Drive and is significant for the architectural style of surviving houses and other buildings.Clyde Nelson began developing...
, a 1926 residential development in Homewood, AlabamaHomewood is a city in southeastern Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is a suburb of Birmingham, located on the other side of Red Mountain due south of the city center. It has one of the highest population densities in Alabama. As of 2005 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the...
- El Capitan Theatre
El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood. It is owned by Pacific Theatres and operated by The Walt Disney Company. It serves as the venue for many of Walt Disney Pictures' movie premieres...
, Hollywood (built in 1928)
- Death Valley Ranch
Scotty's Castle is a two-storey Spanish Villa located in northern Death Valley National Park, California, USA. It is also known as Death Valley Ranch...
, also known as Scotty's Castle, a landmark in Death Valley National ParkDeath Valley National Park is a mostly arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in southern Inyo County and northern San Bernardino County in California, with a small extension into southwestern Nye County and extreme southern Esmeralda County in Nevada. In...
, which was begun in 1922 and had construction on the original design continue sporadically as late as 1943.
- Scripps College
Scripps College is a liberal arts women's college in Claremont, California, United States. It is a member of the Claremont Colleges.-History:...
in Claremont, CaliforniaClaremont is a college town in eastern Los Angeles County, California, USA, about 30 miles east of downtown Los Angeles at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains. The population as of 2008 is 37,242. Claremont is known for its seven higher-education institutions, its tree-lined streets, and its...
, a women's college established in 1926.
- Santa Barbara County Courthouse
The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is located at 1100 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara, California. Designed by William Mooser III. and completed in 1929, the Spanish Colonial Revival style building replaced the smaller Greek Revival courthouse of the same location...
in Santa Barbara, CaliforniaSanta Barbara is a city in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the west coast, between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the sea, and having a Mediterranean climate, it is called California's...
, completed in 1929.
- Hamilton Air Force Base near Novato, California
Novato is a city located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, in northern Marin County. Novato is located about north-northwest of San Rafael, at an elevation of 30 feet above sea level . As of 2009, the State of California estimated the city population to be about 52,737...
, completed in 1934
- Pima County Courthouse
Pima County Courthouse is a former courthouse building in downtown Tucson, Arizona. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designed by Roy Place in 1928 in Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture....
- Louis P. Best Residence and Auto House, Davenport, Iowa, Constructed in 1909.
See also
- Mediterranean Revival Style architecture
The Mediterranean Revival was an eclectic design style movement that was first introduced in the United States around the turn of the nineteenth century, and came into prominence in the 1920s and 1930s...
- Mission Revival Style architecture
The Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century and drew inspiration from the early Spanish missions in California...
- Revivalism (architecture)
Revivalism in architecture is the use of visual styles that consciously echo the style of a previous architectural era.There were a number of architectural revivalist movements in the United States in the 19th and early 20th centuries....
- :Category:Spanish Revival architecture