Spanish Colonial

The Spanish Revival style includes Spanish Colonial Revival and Spanish Eclectic. The Colonial style is based on Spanish architecture in the New World. The Eclectic style is based on Spanish architecture in Europe.

The Spanish Colonial Revival style immediately followed the Mission Revival style and shared many of the same architectural elements.

The style was popularized by the 1915 California-Pacific Exposition in San Diego and by the depots and hotels built by Fred Harvey for the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in the Southwest. For many years, it was the style of choice for the mansions of the Hollywood stars.

Many Spanish Colonial Revival buildings have courtyards and enclosed gardens. The orientation is private and inward with simple, undecorated street façades.

The style borrows from many sources: California missions, New Mexico pueblos, Spanish Baroque, Spanish Colonial, Moorish, Byzantine, Renaissance, and Mexican Churrigueresque.

Some distinctive features of Spanish Colonial Revival buildings are:

smooth stucco walls and chimneys
ornaments of terra cotta or cast concrete
decorative iron trim
arcades supported by columns
carved and molded capitals
hipped, red tile roof
shaped parapet with coping
loggia
arched windows
casement windows
tall, double–hung windows
quatrefoil windows
paneled doors
balconies or small porches
canvas awnings
bell tower