We all like to see stylish, architecturally meritorious houses in our neighborhood. The more of a mix of styles, the more interesting our blocks become. Fortunately, these houses abound, and Southern California sports many fine examples of significant historic homes.
Quite common and recognizable is the Spanish Colonial Revival style made popular in California from about 1915 to 1931. It was introduced in 1915 at the San Diego Panama-California Exposition and takes its cues from other styles, among them Spanish Baroque, Spanish Colonial, Moorish Revival and Mission styles.
This style is distinguished by its use of smooth plaster stucco wall treatment, often painted white and red clay roofs. It often incorporates details reminiscent of Spain, like small balconies with iron railings, inner courtyards, arched doorways, canvas awnings and customarily dark interiors. These houses are predominantly one-story and often have asymmetrical shapes and wings.
A good example of this style in San Diego is the California Tower in Balboa Park designed by Bertram Goodhue for the aforementioned exposition. Another example is the Naval Training Center (now Liberty Station) completed in 1923.
More modest in size and scale, but another charming architectural style utilized in California in the early 1900s is what is known as the American Craftsman or Craftsman Bungalow style. Following the Victorian era, this style embodied the goal of creating relatively modest homes for a growing middle class.
As the middle class housewife of this era no longer required housing for domestic servants and was doing the housework and child care herself, it was necessary to integrate the kitchen with the rest of the house, add built-in cabinets due to lack of storage and add a breakfast nook in the kitchen where the family could gather while food was prepared. These requirements became part of this new style.
You can spot these Craftsman style homes, popular between about 1910 and 1939 by their low-pitched roofs, overhanging eaves and customarily large front porches lying under the extension of the main roof. Other details include hand crafted stone or woodwork, beamed ceilings and a mixture of materials and treatment, often quite decorative, in the interiors. Frank Lloyd Wright, who originated the Prairie School style, an outgrowth of the Craftsman, was active during this period, and many Wrightian motifs can be found in Craftsman homes.
Craftsman and California Bungalow homes are found in many areas of Southern California, predominantly in Pasadena, Long Beach and San Diego, where David Owen Dryden designed and built bungalows in the North Park district. Why not take a drive one Sunday afternoon in any one of these areas, on a hunt for these charming historic homes!
Another interesting San Diego architect to check out is Irving John Gill, known as Jack. Though lacking any formal training in architecture and in fact, never attending college, he is now recognized as a pioneer of modern architecture and a designer of what are considered to be San Diego’s best buildings, 12 of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Jack Gill worked in San Diego during the same period as Spanish Colonial and Craftsman homes were being built but he was a modernist and a minimalist, rejecting styles that drew from other periods and locales. He built boxes, was even referred to as a “cubist” and decried moldings and decorative elements. His walls were plastered and painted white; his floors cement and roofs flat, without eaves.
His work can be seen all around San Diego and include the Ellen Browning Scripps residence (now the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego), the Bishop’s School, La Jolla Woman’s Club and the Marston House; the latter two on the National Register.
Clark Manus, the president of the American Institute of Architects, is quoted as saying that “architecture is public art.” Enjoying the styles of the past and present, and recognizing them, is a great pastime for all of us.
Del Phillips is a California Licensed Real Estate agent. He is a member of the National, California and San Diego Association of Realtors. You can reach Del at Ascent Real Estate at 619-298-6666 or at Del@DelPhillips.com DRE LIC #01267333.
