Mediterranean Revival architecture

The Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida is an example of Mediterranean Revival style.

Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style that incorporates traditional design aspects from the Mediterranean region, particularly Italy, Spain, southern France and Greece.[1] The style includes influences from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonial, Beaux-Arts, Moorish, and Venetian Gothic architecture.

Originating in Italy, the style was introduced to North America in the early 20th century and peaked in popularity during the 1920s and 1930s.[2] It drew heavily on Renaissance-erapalaces and seaside villas and applied their elements to the rapidly expanding cities and coastal resorts of Florida and California. The movement also spread to neighboring countries, often through American architects, such as Cuba and Canada.

Structures are generally based on a rectangular floor plan, typically one or two stories, which feature massive, symmetrical primary façades. Common characteristics include stuccoed walls, red tiled roofs, arched or circular windows, wood or wrought ironbalconies with window grilles, and articulated door surrounds; keystones were occasionally employed, while ornamentation varied from simple to dramatic.[3][4] The style often integrated lush gardens and landscapes through courtyards, patios, open-air doorways.[1]

Mediterranean Revival was most commonly utilized for hotels, apartment buildings, commercial structures, and residences. Architects August Geiger and Addison Mizner were foremost in Florida, while Bertram Goodhue, Sumner Spaulding, and Paul Williams were in California.

Examples

Pasadena City Hall in California is also an example of the City Beautiful fashion.
Located in Miami Beach and built in 1927 to house the Washington Storage Company, the Mediterranean Revival building opened to the public as a museum and research center in 1995.

See also

References

Further reading

  • Gustafson, Lee and Phil Serpico (1999). Santa Fe Coast Lines Depots: Los Angeles Division. Palmdale, CA: Acanthus Press. ISBN 0-88418-003-4.
  • Newcomb, Rexford (1992). Mediterranean Domestic Architecture for the United States. New York: Hawthorne Printing Company. ISBN 0-926494-13-9.
  • Nolan, David (1995). The Houses of St. Augustine. Sarasota, Pineapple Press.
  • Nylander, Justin A. (2010). Casas to Castles: Florida's Historic Mediterranean Revival Architecture. Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7643-3435-1.
  • Signor, John R. (1997). Southern Pacific Lines: Pacific Lines Stations. Vol. 1. Pasadena, CA: Southern Pacific Historical and Technical Society. ISBN 0-9657208-4-5.
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