Spanish Colonial Revival architecture

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Spanish Revival architecture
California Churrigueresque, Pueblo Revival architecture
,

The Spanish Colonial Revival architecture (

Spanish colonial architecture and Spanish architecture in general.[1] These styles flourished throughout the Americas, especially in former Spanish colonies, from California to Argentina
.

In the

Henry M. Flagler as a winter resort for wealthy northern families. He built two grand hotels in the Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Revival styles: the Ponce de Leon Hotel (Carrère and Hastings, 1882) and the Alcazar Hotel (Carrère and Hastings, 1887). These influenced the development of the Spanish Colonial Revival style. A few years later, at the Panama–California Exposition of 1915 in San Diego, highlighting the work of architect Bertram Goodhue
, Spanish Colonial Revival was given further national exposure. Embraced principally in Florida and California, the Spanish Colonial Revival movement enjoyed its greatest popularity between 1915 and 1931.

In Mexico, the Spanish Colonial Revival in architecture was tied to the nationalist movement in the arts encouraged by the post–Mexican Revolution government. The Mexican style was primarily influenced by the Baroque architecture of central New Spain, in contrast to the U.S. style which was primarily influenced by the northern missions of New Spain. Subsequently, the U.S. interpretation saw popularity in Mexico and was locally termed colonial californiano.

Modern-day tract home design in Southern California and Florida largely descends from the early movement. The iconic terracotta shingles and stucco walls have been standard design of new construction in these regions from the 1970s to present.

Development of style

Mediterranean Revival

Spanish Colonial Revival style in contemporary residence
Secretary of Culture of Mendoza, Argentina (1929)

The antecedents of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style in the United States can be traced to the

John Carrère and Thomas Hastings of Carrère and Hastings and Bostonian Franklin W. Smith, designed grand, elaborately detailed hotels in the Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Revival styles in the 1880s. With the construction of the Ponce de Leon Hotel (designed by Carrère and Hastings, 1882), the Alcazar Hotel (Carrère and Hastings, 1887), and the Casa Monica Hotel (later the Hotel Cordova) built by Franklin W. Smith in 1888, Spanish-influenced architecture spread to several other parts of Florida. These three hotels were influenced not only by the centuries-old buildings remaining from the period 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.

Mission Revival

The possibilities of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style were brought to the attention of architects attending late 19th and early 20th centuries international

Mission Revival style Pavilion in white stucco at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago,[3] and the Mission Inn, along with the Electric Tower of the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo in 1900[4] introduced the potential of Spanish Colonial Revival. They also integrated porticoes, pediments and colonnades influenced by Beaux Arts
classicism as well.

Florida

Palm Beach Town Hall in Palm Beach, Florida (1925)
El Real Retiro in New Smyrna Beach, Florida (1923)

By the early years of the 1910s, Florida was major center for Spanish Colonial Revival style in the United States. Frederick H. Trimble's Farmer's Bank in Vero Beach, completed in 1914, is a fully mature early example of the style. The city of St. Cloud, Florida, espoused the style both for homes and commercial structures and has a fine collection of subtle stucco buildings reminiscent of colonial Mexico. Many of these were designed by architectural partners Ida Annah Ryan and Isabel Roberts.

One of the most significant examples of the emerging popularity of Spanish Colonial Revival in the United States at the time was is the architecture of

planned city established in the 1920s, the city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean Revival style, mandated in the original plan. The city was developed by George E. Merrick, a real estate developer from Pennsylvania
, during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The Coral Gables Congregational Church, donated by Merrick, and the Catholic Church of the Little Flower, were classic examples of the Spanish Renaissance style. Early in the city's planning and development, Merrick shared his vision for Coral Gables as "a most extraordinary opportunity for the building of 'Castles in Spain'. Merrick's success in executing this vision for the city would catch the attention of Spain's King, Alfonso XIII, who awarded Merrick the Order of Isabella the Catholic for his support of Spanish culture in Coral Gables.

Several other cities in southern Florida showcased the Spanish Revival of the time, including Palm Beach. The Palm Beach Town Hall, built in 1925 by Harvey and Clarke, with renovations later made by several notable architects.

California

Santa Barbara County Courthouse in Santa Barbara, California (1926)
Kelso Hotel and Depot in the Mojave Desert
, Southern California (1923)

The major location of design and construction in the Spanish Colonial Revival style was California, especially in the coastal cities. In 1915 the San Diego Panama–California Exposition, with architects Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow Sr., popularized the style in the state and nation. It is best exemplified in the California Quadrangle, built as the grand entrance to that Exposition. In the early 1920s, architect Lilian Jeannette Rice designed the style in the development of the town of Rancho Santa Fe in San Diego County.

The city of Santa Barbara adopted the style to give it a unified Spanish character after widespread destruction in the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake. The County Courthouse designed by William Mooser III and the Arlington Theatre designed by Edwards and Plunkett are prime examples. George Washington Smith designed many residences in Santa Barbara including Casa del Herrero and Jackling House, along with businesses Lobero Theatre and the Santa Barbara News-Press.

Real estate developer

Arthur Brown, Jr., the Sonoma City Hall, and the Beverly Hills City Hall by Harry G. Koerner and William J. Gage are other notable civic examples in California. Between 1922 and 1931, architect Robert H. Spurgeon constructed 32 Spanish colonial revival houses in Riverside
and many of them have been preserved.

Mexico

companion building (1940s) to the colonial Mexico City palace of the ayuntamiento
INBA-catalogued house built in the colonial californiano style in Lomas de Chapultepec in Mexico City
(1930s)

The Spanish Colonial Revival of Mexico has a distinct origin from the style developed in the United States. Following the Mexican Revolution, there was a wave of nationalism that emphasized national culture, including in architecture. The neocolonial style arose as a response to European eclecticism (favored during the Porfiriato). The 1915 book La patria y la arquitectura nacional by architect Federico E. Mariscal (es) was influential in advocating viceregal architecture as integral to national identity.[5] During the government of President Venustiano Carranza (serving 1917 to 1920), tax exemptions were offered to those that built houses in a colonial style.[6] In the early 1920s there was a surge of houses built with Plateresque elements; such as grotesques, pinnacles and mixtilinear arches (es).[6]

Secretary of Education

Talavera tiles were incorporated into neocolonial buildings.[6]

The colonial-era

government building
was remodeled in the 1920s and a neocolonial companion building was built in the 1940s.

Colonial californiano

The style, as developed in the United States, came full circle to its geographic point of inspiration as in the late 1930s, single-family houses were built in

Polanco and Lomas de Chapultepec areas of Mexico City. The Pasaje Polanco
shopping court is an example of the style's application in commercial architecture.

Australia

Influential Australian architects such as Emil Sodersten and Professor Leslie Wilkinson brought back styles from Italy and Spain in the early 20th century convinced that Mediterranean styles would be well-suited for the Australian climate and lifestyle. Mediterranean style became popular in places like

Plaza Theatre
in Sydney is a celebrated cinema in the style.

China

In the 1930s, numerous houses in Spanish Revival style were built in

French Concession
. Although Shanghai was not culturally linked to the Spanish-speaking world, these buildings were probably inspired by Hollywood movies, which were highly influential in the city at the time. Local architectural magazines of the period like The Chinese Architect and The Builder regularly printed detailed examples of the style for local builders to copy and implement.

Spanish East Indies

Gota de Leche Building in Manila, Philippines (1915)

After being conquered and ruled for the Spanish crown, and for the most part being administered as a territory under the jurisdiction of the kingdom of New Spain (Mexico), the Philippines and Mariana islands received Iberian and Latin-American influences in its architecture. By the time the United States occupied the Philippines, the Mission-style and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture also arrived, with inspirations from California. American architects further developed this style in the Philippines, modernizing the buildings with American amenities.

The best example of the Spanish Colonial Revival architecture and California mission style is the famed Manila Hotel designed by William E. Parsons and built in 1909. Other examples exist throughout the country such as Gota de Leche, Paco Market, and thousands more, especially in the churches and cathedrals throughout the country.

Design elements

The Woodward Condominium in Washington, D.C. (1910)

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture shares some elements with the earlier

Arts and Crafts Movement
.

Spanish Colonial Revival architecture is characterized by a combination of detail from several eras of

Roman or semi-circular arcades and fenestration, wood casement or tall, double–hung windows, canvas awnings, and decorative iron
trim.

Structural form:

Notable architects

One of the most accomplished architects of the style was George Washington Smith who practiced during the 1920s in Santa Barbara, California. His own residences El Hogar (1916, a.k.a. Casa Dracaena) and Casa del Greco (1920) brought him commissions from local society in Montecito and Santa Barbara. An example landmark house he designed is the Steedman estate Casa del Herrero in Montecito, now a registered National Historic Landmark and restored historic house—landscape museum. Other examples are the Jackling House and Lobero Theatre also in California.

In California

El Sueño, designed by Kevin A. Clark

Bertram Goodhue and Carleton Winslow initiated the style as the dominant historical regional style in California; they also influenced Hawaiian architecture in the 1920s. Notable in Californian architecture were the following architects:[11]

Currently:

In Florida

Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida

In Florida notable architects include:[11]

In Hawaii

List of example structures

Plaza del Lago, Wilmette, Illinois (1920s)
Stanford University's main quad
Main entrance to Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey

See also

References

  1. ^ Bailey, Gauvin Alexander. Art of Colonial Latin America (London: Phaidon Press, 2005): 402–405.
  2. .
  3. ^ "File: mw137h3.jpg, (364 × 216 px)". erbzine.com. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
  4. ^ "File: 79983-004-5084E319.jpg, (391 × 450 px)". media-2.web.britannica.com. November 22, 2004. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  5. . Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  6. ^ . Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  7. . Retrieved May 24, 2017.
  8. .
  9. ^ "Spanish Mission/Mediterranean, Manly City Council, 2006". manly.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  10. ^ "Spanish mission style - Australian Capital Territory". Sydney Morning Herald. October 31, 2007. Retrieved September 4, 2015.
  11. ^ a b Mediterranean Domestic Architecture in the United States Newcomb, Appleton
  12. . Retrieved April 24, 2017.
  13. From No Man's Land, To Plaza del Lago. 919 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL. 60611: American References Publishing Corporation.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link
    )

Further reading