Casa California Spanish-style Houses From

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I bet you the Spanish priests would never have guessed over 300 years ago that the missions they were painstakingly building from inadequate materials and without training labor would one day become an architectural phenomenon! They built those missions to convert, by force, the native peoples on the west coast of the United States, and after doing the job, the “cheap Spanish palaces” that they built would go on to influence American architecture indefinitely. Particularly at the beginning of the 20′s and well into the 40′s, persons in the west and southwest made this architectural style all the rage. There are innumerable innovative residences, mercantile particular spatial arrangements and institutions, including schools and railroad stations, built in this ordinary architectural style.

Certain design characteristics may be found in all the missions in California, thanks to the lack of necessary building materials available to the founding priests, or Padres, and the lack of experienced construction workers. All the missions were characterized by big walls with big, simple surfaces with very few windows. All these missions had protruding eaves, low tile roofs made of clay, and long arcaded corridors with pierced arches and curved gables. Walls were covered in plaster to protect the adobe brick that lay underneath. Adobe brick may be very sensible to weather, so this protected the safety and upkeep of the missions.

Today, persons use progressed building materials to either authentically recreate the Spanish revival look, or they’ll manufacture a sort of sophisticated faux rendition of the look. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana has a terrifi long arcade corridor that rich humans in Los Angeles would recompense hundreds of thousands of dollars to recreate. Often humans are going for the cosmetic exterior of the Spanish mission style, as opposed to the real deal. I don’t think any individual is going to commission their home to be built with adobe anytime soon!

Take for example a lovely Spanish Revival building in St. Louis, by the architect T.P. Barnett, son of George I. Barnett, another widely known and esteemed architect in St. Louis. The T.P. Barnett building is peculiarly interesting because it also has Art Deco influences, making it one of the most distinguishable buildings in the Grand Center region of St. Louis. Certainly the next time you’re in St. Louis, you need to visit this Spanish Revival building on Washington Avenue.

George Washington Smith is credited as the father of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. His initial Montecito home, as well as “Casa Del Greco”, his second self-designed home next door, built in 1920, are still extant today as family residences.

After his paintings received much acknowledgement in New York, Smith moved to California and designed and built his own home in Montecito, modeled after the Spanish farmhouses he so admired in Andalusia. The house he built, known as Casa Dracaena was beautifully successful, and images of the property were used as adds to trade sure kinds of tile and cement for other building projects. His neighbors started to want to live in similar buildings, and Smith became a full time architect to fulfill the demand. He became one of the most famous architects in the United States. Smith is credited as the father of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. His basi Montecito home, as well as “Casa Del Greco”, his second self-designed residences next door, built in 1920, are still extant today as family residences.

Casa California Spanish Style Houses From

Florida’s architectural history may be traced to the Spanish colonial settlement of St. Augustine in the mid-16 century, while the state’s architectural development reached it is mature stage in the 19th century. Casa Florida is an exuberant, full-color celebration of the enduring influence of Spanish architecture and design upon Florida’s resorts, private houses, and gardens.
Casa Florida explores the earliest influences of the Spanish style in the Sunshine State, it is revival in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and it is contemporary expression in architecture today, with a strong focus on the style’s unifying conception of fantasy and Florida’s distinguishable tendency to inspire enraptured states of mind and spectacular built environments. Susan Sully provides colorful history and anecdotes that supplement Steven Brooke’s splendid full-color photography of the region’s signature style in examples representing the entire state and ranging from the charming to the splendid.

About the AuthorSusan Sully is the author of New Orleans Style, Charleston Style, and Savannah Style. A graduate of Yale University with a degree in art history, Sully lectures and writes for publications including Southern Accents, the New York Times, Art and Antiques, and House & Garden.
Steven Brooke is a Fellow of the American Academy in Rome and winner of the AIA National Institute Honor Award for photography. He is the author and photographer of Rizzoli’s Views of Rome and Views of Jerusalem and the Holy Land, and the photographer for Rizzoli’s Napa Valley Style, Savannah Style, and Seaside Style. He lives in Miami.

Most helpful customer reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Spanish Mansions Oh My!
By Joyel Love
In my hunt for more information on Spanish Style homes, (I own a bungalow in California), I have been frustrated at the limited amount of books out there. I work at a Library, and many of the patrons share the same frustrations. In order to be able to find books on these subjects, I have had to self-teach about the many surrounding subjects; ie, tiles, Mexico, Moorish, Morocco, Spain, etc. This book is one of the better ones. It has beautiful pictures on how to decorate and landscape. I learned that air-conditioning changed architecture in a substantive way. I had also never heard about concrete ceilings made to look like wood before, apparently a Florida staple, due to humidity. These houses are oh-my-Gorgeous! The only problem was that the author frequently discussed beautiful rooms and details of the houses, then didn’t show pictures. Maybe/hopefully, they’re saving those pics for a follow-up book on interiors and details? I agree with the previous reviewer, how about a book now on Florida Spanish bungalows?

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
It’s About Time!
By Michael J. Boonstra
I have been waiting a long time for a book like this! While the Spanish style homes of California have been documented in numerous books, the large amount of this architecture that was built in Florida during the same period has never gotten the amount of press it deserves. There are books on the architecture of Addison Mizner and a few other noted Florida architects, but nothing comprehensive on the style that was so prevalent during the boom years, and which was used in big cities like Miami and much smaller towns all over the state. This book covers houses from Miami to Winter Park and gives a nice overview of the style. I was very impressed not only by the amazing photographs, but by the histories that went along with each home featured. These histories allow the reader to put the home into its proper context and can be used as guides for people like me that are restoring similar homes. I wasn’t as impressed with the newer homes in the back of the book, but there are only three relatively modern houses covered, so it does not take much away from the overall content. Since many of the homes built in this style were smaller bungalows it would have been nice to have seen some of them included, but the homes pictured are stunning! This book is must have.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
Spanish Architecture a la Florida is Different than California
By John Matlock
The first town in the New World was in Florida and it was a Spanish town. Since then the Spanish influence on the arthitecture and culture of Florida has been large.

In this book a selection of buildings has been carefully selected to illustrate the history of Spanish-style structures from across the state. From an age standpoint, there are some quite old (but certainly not run down) homes varying up through some modern homes built using traditional styling. A few commercial buildings such as hotels are also included.

From a style standpoint, the homes of Florida seem to have been influenced more by a Mediterranean, even Moorish, look than the Spanish architecture houses more common in the Western States that have more of a Mexican influence.

Beautiful pictures beautifully printed on a high quality matte finished paper add a warmth to the book that glossy magazine style printing imparts.

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