| I bet you the Spanish priests would never have | | | | exterior of the Spanish mission style, as opposed to |
| guessed over 300 years ago that the missions they | | | | the real deal. I don't think anyone is going to |
| were painstakingly building from inadequate materials | | | | commission their home to be built with adobe anytime |
| and untrained labor would one day become an | | | | soon! |
| architectural phenomenon! They built those missions to | | | | Take for example a lovely Spanish Revival building in |
| convert, by force, the native peoples on the west | | | | St. Louis, by the architect T.P. Barnett, son of George I. |
| coast of the United States, and after doing the job, the | | | | Barnett, another famous architect in St. Louis. The T.P. |
| "cheap Spanish palaces" that they built would go on to | | | | Barnett building is particularly interesting because it also |
| influence American architecture indefinitely. Particularly | | | | has Art Deco influences, making it one of the most |
| at the beginning of the 20's and well into the 40's, | | | | unique buildings in the Grand Center region of St. Louis. |
| people in the west and southwest made this | | | | Certainly the next time you're in St. Louis, you need to |
| architectural style all the rage. There are countless | | | | visit this Spanish Revival building on Washington |
| modern residences, commercial establishments and | | | | Avenue. |
| institutions, including schools and railroad stations, built in | | | | George Washington Smith is credited as the father of |
| this popular architectural style. | | | | the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. His original |
| Certain design characteristics can be found in all the | | | | Montecito home, as well as "Casa Del Greco", his |
| missions in California, thanks to the lack of necessary | | | | second self-designed home next door, built in 1920, are |
| building materials available to the founding priests, or | | | | still extant today as family residences. |
| Padres, and the lack of experienced construction | | | | After his paintings received much recognition in New |
| workers. All the missions were characterized by huge | | | | York, Smith moved to California and designed and built |
| walls with big, simple surfaces with very few windows. | | | | his own home in Montecito, modeled after the Spanish |
| All these missions had protruding eaves, low tile roofs | | | | farmhouses he so admired in Andalusia. The house he |
| made of clay, and long arcaded corridors with pierced | | | | built, known as Casa Dracaena was beautifully |
| arches and curved gables. Walls were covered in | | | | successful, and images of the property were used as |
| plaster to protect the adobe brick that lay underneath. | | | | adds to sell certain kinds of tile and cement for other |
| Adobe brick can be very sensitive to weather, so this | | | | building projects. His neighbors started to want to live in |
| protected the safety and upkeep of the missions. | | | | similar buildings, and Smith became a full time architect |
| Today, people use modern building materials to either | | | | to fulfill the demand. He became one of the most |
| authentically recreate the Spanish revival look, or they'll | | | | famous architects in the United States. Smith is |
| create a sort of sophisticated faux rendition of the | | | | credited as the father of the Spanish Colonial Revival |
| look. Mission San Fernando Rey de Espana has a | | | | Style. His original Montecito home, as well as "Casa Del |
| wonderful long arcade corridor that rich people in Los | | | | Greco", his second self-designed residences next door, |
| Angeles would pay hundreds of thousands of dollars | | | | built in 1920, are still extant today as family residences. |
| to recreate. Often people are going for the cosmetic | | | | |