Spanish Colonial Revival Style 1915 - 1940

Common Building Types: Houses, mansions, apartment buildings, institutional buildings, churches

Identifiable Features

1.  Low-pitched, clay tile roof
2.  Round arches at entryway, porch or windows
3.  Porch arcade with columns
4.  Low-relief carving at doorways, windows and cornices
5.  Stucco exterior walls
6.  Elaborately carved doors
7.  Decorative window grills of wood or iron
8.  Spiral columns
9.  Multi-paned windows
10.  Balconies or terraces
11.  Curvilinear gable

Click on a photo below to enlarge

Fenstermaker Property, Lehigh County Navarre Hall, Clarion County US Post Office at Sayre, Bradford County
Sheffield Apartments, Dauphin County Whitehall Apartments, Montgomery County
The Spanish Colonial Revival Style, also known as the Spanish Eclectic style, is a remnant of the traditional Spanish architectural themes seen in
Spain’s early American colonial settlements. The traditional elements like clay tile roofs, round arch openings, and carved wooden doors follow the form of the early Spanish missions and are very distinctive.  Other ornate decorative features draw from later periods of Spanish architecture and show the influence of Moorish, Byzantine, Gothic, or Renaissance design. This revival style became popular in the early 20th century after the Panama-California Exposition was held in San Diego in 1915. Exotic-themed architectural revivals (Egyptian, Moorish, Dutch Colonial, Swiss Chalet) were popular throughout the country in the period from 1920 to 1940. Many good examples of the Spanish Colonial Revival style remain in Pennsylvania.