It’s June, Portlanders, and we all know what that means, right? Well, yes, it does mean Rose Festival is here again, but the month also heralds in the return of the sun to us light-deprived northerners. Sometime during June, El Sol will roll into town and remain more-or-less parked in the daytime sky until it’s time to go back to school in September (or if we’re lucky, until Halloween). What better way to celebrate the coming bright season than to learn more about the historic architecture of sunny Spain, Mexico, and California?

Spanish Revival combined with Colonial Revival window symmetry.

Twisted columns flank this arched entryway.

Typical Spanish bungalow.

Triple arched window with a small wrought iron veranda. The middle window is often a door as in this example.

“Churrigueresque” (Spanish Baroque) was reserved for the most prominent buildings in New Spain. Portland’s Hollywood Theater approximates that grandeur.

A view of the Pacific Ocean from the backyard of the Adamson house/studio, Malibu, CA. The Adamson and Rindge families operated Malibu Tile Company from 1926-1932 — peak years for the Spanish Reivival style. Malibu tiles can be found in California’s many Spanish-style houses and public buildings. Most likely, many made their way to Oregon too. The house is now part of the California State Parks System.

The Salerno condo courtyard adds authenticity and illustrates how important the concept of a courtyard is to Spanish design. Wrought-iron staircase in a filigree pattern below shows the detail in these condos. Photo by Ron Cockerham

Photo by Ron Cockerham

Photo by Ron Cockerham

Portland does not have nearly the number of Spanish Revival buildings as California. For those of you unfamiliar with our sunny neighbor to the south, try and imagine a city like Portland where every wood or brick Craftsman or English Tudor house has been replaced by a white (or pastel) stucco Spanish house. California is serious Spanish Revival country. A number of wayward Spanish Revival stragglers did find their way northward, though, and can be found in older neighborhoods of most every Oregon city and town. These houses serve as beacons of brightness in the middle of an Oregon winter. They remind us that warmer days will come and the sun will indeed return.

First, a word or two about terminology. Many architectural historians consider the label Spanish Revival to be subordinate to the broader term Mediterranean Revival, which includes Italian, Portuguese, and Greek elements as well as Spanish. The popular usage, though, at least on the west coast, leans toward calling it all Spanish Revival. While sometimes technically incorrect, there are some good arguments for using the term Spanish Revival broadly: The west coast does have a precedent of Spanish colonial settlement, and most stylistic features here will be Spanish derived and not Italian or Greek (with some exceptions). California was once a part of New Spain after all. And even Oregon was first charted by Spanish explorers. Many a galleon was blown off its California path and set land (or wrecked) on the Oregon coast. Some of our place names, especially on the coast, have their origin in Spanish words. Some researchers even think the word “Oregon” was coined by the Spanish for our wild oregano herb. But perhaps the most compelling reason that “Spanish Revival” has won out over “Mediterranean Revival” is that it is just easier to say. Two-syllable words are going to win out over six-syllable words every time. It’s a good thing there are no architectural history police enforcing correct terminology!

Spain began colonizing the New World not long after Columbus’s voyage of 1492. The conquest of the Aztec Empire in 1521 provided the first great leap of colonization efforts by the Spanish Crown. The settlement of Alta California (present-day California) did not begin, though, until 1769 with the establishment of the first Franciscan mission at San Diego. Twenty-one mission-settlements would eventually be built along the 650-mile El Camino Real (means The King’s Highway). The last and most northern mission was built in Sonoma in 1825. In the early 1900s the simpler Mission Revival style of architecture preceded the more ornate Spanish Revival style of the “teens” and the 1920s. Mission Revival is important enough to be discussed as a separate style and will be featured in the next issue of Northwest Renovation. Portland contains a number of fine examples of both Mission Revival and Spanish Revival buildings.

In 1821 Mexico achieved its independence from Spain. In 1848 the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican American War, with Mexico ceding California to the United States and giving up any of its vague claims to the Oregon Territory. At the time of the American transfer, California was thoroughly stamped with the marks of Hispanic culture, including its architecture. This was to change very quickly, though, when gold was discovered in the Sierra foothills just months after the signing of the treaty. Thousands of Americans (and others) flooded in through the Golden Gate seeking fortune and adventure. Thousands of buildings were erected seemingly overnight. These were built in the styles most familiar to American transplants from the east coast. Even the resident Hispanic Californios would build in the new American style (at least those who still retained their wealth after bruising land-claim court battles). General Mariano Vallejo, former alcalde (mayor) of Sonoma, built his grand 1850 house in the American Gothic style, dripping with early-Victorian gingerbread. Certainly with a house like this, no one could ever question his allegiance to the new conquering country.

For the rest of the 19th century, California completely turned its back on its Hispanic past. A certain nostalgia for the early Spanish missions developed around 1900, but it was not until the 1915 Panama Pacific Exhibition in San Diego that the Spanish Revival style was reborn in earnest. The fair’s architect, Bertram Goodhue, correctly calculated that enough time had passed for Californians to begin re-appreciating the beauty of their Spanish heritage. The City of San Diego pulled out all the stops for this fair intended to celebrate their city’s first-port-of-call status of the newly opened Panama Canal. Goodhue was given free reign to create a Disneyesque fairyland of Spanish fantasy. The fair’s design was an immediate hit, and soon, cutting-edge architects in California and elsewhere were churning out versions of Spanish Revival designs for their influential clients. (Interestingly, the “65-years-to-glory” rule still holds true today. It took the post- war baby-boomer generation to rediscover Victorian and Craftsman styles. And now, the current generation of twenty-something’s is thoroughly enamored with all things Mid-Century Modern. Some things never change.)

Soon after the fair, Hollywood began broadcasting images of Spanish Revival architecture to the rest of the country and to the world. Oregon was not immune to this draw; the first California invasion had begun. Spanish Revival buildings were built here in the late “teens” and continued right up to the Great Depression. Though our inventory is not as great as California’s, a significant representation of these houses can be found in all older neighborhoods of Portland and other Oregon cities. They can be identified by the following characteristics: rough stucco finish, usually white or a light color; red tile roofs; curved arches over doorways and windows; hand-painted glazed tiles, inside and out; balconies; decorative use of wrought-iron; heavy wood carved doors; casement or double-hung windows often not of uniform size or shape; ornate wood carving around windows; and usually, asymmetrical façade.

Now, with this background knowledge, you can go out and discover Spanish Revival houses you may never have known existed. Just remember to wear your sunglasses and sunscreen!

Jack Bookwalter is a freelance writer and architectural historian living in Portland, OR. All photos by Jack Bookwalter unless noted.