Monterey Colonial

Monterey Colonial buildings mix New England and Southwestern building techniques. They are constructed with wooden frames and mud bricks to make a leaner, sturdier adobe buildings than ones made primarily from mud and straw. The greater stability of Monterey buildings--compared to single-story adobes--allows for a large second-story and long covered porch. The covered second story porch also protected the adobe façade and walls of the house from water damage.

The first known example of the style is the Larkin House in Monterey, California, built by Thomas O. Larkin in 1835. By adapting an east coast building form to available California materials, including adobe and redwood, and to California architectural preferences, Larkin created a style that synthesized elements of two very different cultures, that of the Spanish and Mexican colonists and of the Americans moving into California.