Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture
May 29, 2009 by blogtopia
Filed under Architectural style
The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was a United States architectural movement that came about in the early 20th century, starting in Florida as a regional expression related to both history and environment. The Spanish Colonial Revival Style was also influenced by the opening of the Panama Canal and the overwhelming success of the novel Ramona. 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 Orlando, Florida architect Frederick H. Trimble 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.
Spanish Colonial Revival architecture shares many elements with the very closely-related Mission Revival and Pueblo styles of the West and Southwest, and is strongly informed by the same Arts and Crafts Movement 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 plaster (stucco) wall and chimney finishes, low-pitched clay tile, shed, or flat roofs, and terra cotta or cast concrete ornaments. Other characteristics typically include small porches or balconies, Roman or semi-circular arcades and fenestration, wood casement or tall, double–hung windows, canvas awnings, and decorative iron trim.
Structural form
- Rectangular or L-plan
- Horizontal massing
- Predominantly one-story
- Interior or exterior courtyards
- Asymmetrical shape with cross-gables and side wings