Mediterranean Revival Style architecture

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The River Terrace Apartments in Santa Clara, California represent a modern interpretation of the Mediterranean Revival Style.

Mediterranean Revival Style Architecture is an eclectic design style that was first introduced in the United States around the turn of the nineteenth century, and came into prominence in the 1920s and 1930s. The style evolved from "rekindled interest in Italian Renaissance palaces" and seaside villas dating from the sixteenth century, and can be found predominantly in California and Florida due to the popular association of these coastal regions with Mediterranean resorts.

Architects August Geiger and Addison Mizner did much to popularize this style in Florida; Sumner Spaulding and Paul Williams (Architect) did likewise on the West Coast. Structures are typically multi-story and based on a rectangular floor plan, and feature massive, symmetrical primary façades. Mediterranean Revival is generally characterized by stuccoed wall surfaces, flat or low-pitched terra cotta and tile roofs, arches, scrolled or tile-capped parapet walls and articulated door surrounds. Feature detailing is occasionally executed in keystone.

Balconies and window grilles are common, and are generally fabricated out of wrought iron or wood. Ornamentation can range from simple to dramatic, and may draw from a number of Mediterranean references. Classical, Spanish, or Beaux-Arts architecture details are often incorporated into the design, as are lush gardens.

The style was most commonly applied to hotels, apartment buildings, commercial structures, and even modest residences. Mediterranean Revival was one of several architectural styles utilized extensively by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads when designing their depots in California.

[edit] A list of structures designed in the Mediterranean Revival Style

Cabrillo Beach Bath House in San Pedro, California, completed in 1932
Francis Marion Stokes Fourplex in Portland, Oregon, completed in 1926
Greenacres (Former Harold Lloyd Estate) in Los Angeles, California, completed in 1928
Nicolosi Estate in Los Angeles, California, completed in 1931
Presidio Building 35 in San Francisco, California, completed in 1912
(Former) Santa Fe Railway Depot in Orange, California, completed in 1938
(Former) Southern Pacific Railroad Depot in Glendale, California, completed in 1923
Santa Fe Railway (now Amtrak and Metrolink) depot in Fullerton, California, completed 1930
Hayes Mansion in San Jose, California, completed 1905

[edit] References

Gustafson, Lee and Phil Serpico (1999). Santa Fe Coast Lines Depots: Los Angeles Division. Acanthus Press, Palmdale, CA. ISBN 0-88418-003-4.
Newcomb, Rexford (1992). Mediterranean Domestic Architecture for the United States. Hawthorne Printing Company, New York, NY. ISBN 0-926494-13-9.
Signor, John R. (1997). Southern Pacific Lines: Pacific Lines Stations, Volume 1. Southern Pacific Historical and Technical Society, Pasadena, CA. ISBN 0-9657208-4-5.