SPANISH COLONIAL
Spanish Colonial Revival is really a catalog of styles, unified by the use of arches, courtyards, form as mass, etc. all derived from the Mediterranean world. Designers are inspired by a number of sources: the adobe and colonial buildings of Monterey, California; late forms of Moorish architecture; medieval Spanish and Italian church architecture; ultra-baroque design of colonial Spain and Portugal; rural forms from Andalusia; Italian Romanesque and Renaissance revival elements; and southwest Hopi and Pueblo Indian adobes.
This broad source base made it relatively easy to create a convincing harmony between the exterior image, interior space, decorative elements, and the building’s function. Eclectic as the Spanish revival is, the purity of single elements was often retained, such as an ultra-baroque entry decoration. Built from indigenous components, Spanish Colonial homes might be made of adobe in the Southwest, coquina rock in Florida or material from the Hill Country in Texas. They would usually have thick walls, which are ideally situated for a hot environment. Thick walls absorb the day’s heat and gently radiate it back into the building during the evenings. Wooden shutters, when present, are traditionally mounted on the inside of the home. Ornamentation on informal homes was often limited to arches on entranceways, principal windows and interior passageways. More elaborate homes might feature intricate stone or tile work, wrought iron grillwork, detailed chimney tops and square towers. Wooden roof supports often project out over the exterior walls in classic Spanish Colonials. Towers and columns are often seen as are balustrades, cantilevered balconies, covered porches, and arcaded walkways. Front entrances were often highly ornamented. The following are typical features of Spanish Revival houses: Asymmetrical, low-pitched flat or hip roofs, typically with no overhang, half round arches, doors and windows, stone or plaster walls, plaster interior walls, ornate tile, wrought iron and wood work.
