Mission Revival

Mission Revival in the SGV.

Earliest of the Spanish-influenced architectural styles in California, predating the Spanish Colonial Revival by roughly twenty years. The style draws from the architecture of the California missions themselves. California-originated and one of the only American architectural styles that diffused from west to east, used heavily for early train depots, schools, and civic buildings, and applied to residential work in early Pasadena, South Pasadena, and surrounding cities throughout its era. The SGV residential inventory is small but architecturally significant.

Identifying Mission Revival.

• Smooth or hand-troweled stucco walls in white or pale earth tones
• Curved parapet gables in the mission profile
• Red clay tile roofs (Mission tile)
• Arched window and door openings
• Bell tower or campanile elements at the entry in higher-end examples
• Simple exterior detail
• Restrained interior detail drawn from California mission craft traditions