Spanish Colonial Revival Essay

Architecture has the ability to remark and reflect any region, give a feeling and a sense of a place, and present thoughts and creativity. Across the world, especially in the United States, there are many cities that are distinguished by its architecture and unique styles: The skyline of New York City is defined by it’s skyscrapers; San Francisco’s mixture of Victorian and modern colored houses; New Orleans’ iconic Creole townhouses; and Miami’s modernist architecture. Los Angeles, San Diego and some of the cities in the same region are no different from the previous appreciable cities all around America. These cities are located in the state of California which is on the West Coast. They share some significant architectural characteristics

It is a combination of details from various styles such as, Spanish Baroque, Moorish Revival, Churrigueresque; which is a Spanish approach of architectural decoration on the façade of buildings. It aroused in San Diego, during the Panama-California Exposition 1915 by architect Bertram Goodhue. The exposition took place in Balboa Park, and Goodhue was the lead architect, taking over from Irving Gill, with Carleton Winslow Sr. and Lloyd Wright. it became “Known for its sculptured fantasy buildings, which helped to popularize the Spanish Colonial Revival style for many decades” (Marshall, 2007) . The Spanish Colonial Revival had two phases, one before the exposition which was called Mission Revival, and another one which first appeared during the exposition in Balboa

The first side includes the California Building and Tower , and on the other side, The Museum of Man, and the Sr. Francis Chapel. The building has a richly ornamented front piece, and a big dome fully decorated in yellow, blue, green and white handmade tiles, the domes had geometric shapes such as squares and diamonds shapes, including an octagram (eight sided star) . The dome was divided equally by six stone arches, and on top of it there is a small mini tower with pointed finials and six vertical arched windows, and a cross on the very top. next to it the California Tower and the Museum of Man which is the main building in Balboa Park. During the exposition the Museum of Man, was recognized and noted by most architects as the finest example of Spanish Colonial Revival throughout the United States. The building was 200 ft tall, and the façade was excessively ornamented in a beautiful way, and in a mixture of different styles including Gothic, Baroque, Churrigueresque to illustrate the appearance of a Spanish Colonial church. The facade was made of stone, and it did not include usual ornamentation, but sculpted historical figures of remarkable and significant people mostly were