Mission Revival vs Spanish Colonial
Mission Revival evolved from Spanish Colonial — revives the California Spanish mission churches, abstracting them into a regional style rather than reproducing them.
Mission Revival
A turn-of-the-century American style inspired by California's Spanish colonial missions — smooth stucco walls, curvilinear shaped gables, arcaded porches, and red-tiled roofs.
- Curvilinear, scalloped 'mission-shaped' gables and roof parapets
- Smooth, plain stucco wall surfaces with minimal ornament
- Arcaded porches and loggias with wide round arches
- Low-pitched roofs of red clay (mission) tile with wide eaves
- Mission accents: bell towers/espadañas and quatrefoil windows
Spanish Colonial
Church and civic architecture spread across Spain's American and Pacific colonies, fusing European Baroque and Renaissance models with local materials, labor, and indigenous decorative sensibilities.
- Carved retablo-style façade concentrating ornament at the portal
- Bell towers (single or paired) and low domes over the crossing
- Thick whitewashed adobe or stuccoed masonry walls
- Arcaded courtyards, cloisters, and clay-tile roofs
- Fusion of European Baroque motifs with indigenous craft
At a glance
| Mission Revival | Spanish Colonial | |
|---|---|---|
| Era | 1890–1930 | 16th–early 19th century |
| Discipline | Architecture | Architecture |
| Region | United States (California & Southwest), Florida, Mexico | Mexico, Latin America, American Southwest, Philippines |
| Family | Revival | Baroque, Colonial |
| Formal traits | shaped-gable, stucco, arcaded, tile-roof | retablo, towered, stucco, carved-portal |
More comparisons
Advertisement