Spanish Mission Revival

Mission Revival, Mission style

An architectural style popular in the southwestern United States and in Florida from about 1890 to 1930 and beyond; suggestive or imitative of the earlier Mission architecture, although usually much simpler because of the absence of sculptured ornamentation; compare with Spanish Colonial Revival. Buildings in this style are usually characterized by: stucco-finished exterior walls, occasionally with terracotta ornamentation; balconies or balconets; semicircular arches; a roof supported by massive piers with broad arches between them, forming arcaded walkways; multicurved gables; a low-pitched red mission-tile roof; often a hipped roof; open eaves having exposed rafters and a significant overhang; roof ridges topped with a red-tiled protective cap; commonly, dormers; tile-faced bell towers; roof drainage provided by waterspouts that pierce the parapets; typically, double-hung rectangular windows; a main entry door often located within a recessed porch.