Pueblo Revival Style architecture
Encyclopedia
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
of the Southwestern United States
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
which draws its inspiration from the Pueblos and the Spanish missions in New Mexico
Spanish missions in New Mexico
The Spanish Missions in New Mexico were a series of religious outposts established by Franciscan friars under charter from the governments of Spain and New Spain to convert the local Pueblo, Navajo and Apache Indians to Christianity. The missions also aimed to pacify and Hispanicize the natives...
. The style developed at the turn of the 20th century and reached its greatest popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, though it is still commonly used for new buildings. Pueblo style architecture is most prevalent in the state of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
.
Features
Pueblo style architecture seeks to imitate the appearance of traditional adobeAdobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
construction, though more modern materials such as brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
or concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
are often substituted. If adobe is not used, rounded corners, irregular parapet
Parapet
A parapet is a wall-like barrier at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony or other structure. Where extending above a roof, it may simply be the portion of an exterior wall that continues above the line of the roof surface, or may be a continuation of a vertical feature beneath the roof such as a...
s, and thick, battered walls are used to simulate it. Walls are usually stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
ed and painted in earth tones. Multistory buildings usually employ stepped massing similar to that seen at Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo
Taos Pueblo is an ancient pueblo belonging to a Taos speaking Native American tribe of Pueblo people. It is approximately 1000 years old and lies about north of the modern city of Taos, New Mexico, USA...
. Roofs are always flat. A common feature is the use of projecting wooden roof beams
Beam (structure)
A beam is a horizontal structural element that is capable of withstanding load primarily by resisting bending. The bending force induced into the material of the beam as a result of the external loads, own weight, span and external reactions to these loads is called a bending moment.- Overview...
(vigas
Viga (architecture)
Vigas are wooden beams characteristic of older adobe construction in the southwestern United States of America, and commonly encountered for ornamental rather than functional purposes in Pueblo Revival Style architecture...
), which often serve no structural purpose.
History
Although the regional architecture from which the Pueblo style draws its inspiration is confined to New Mexico and parts of ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, the style first appeared in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Boston architect A. C. Schweinfurth
A. C. Schweinfurth
A.C. Schweinfurth American architect born Albert Cicero Schweinfurth.The son of a German engineer who had immigrated to the United States a decade before his son Albert was born...
used it for a number of his buildings in California, beginning with a hotel in Ventura
Ventura, California
Ventura is the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States, incorporated in 1866. The population was 106,433 at the 2010 census, up from 100,916 at the 2000 census. Ventura is accessible via U.S...
which was completed in 1894.
The Pueblo Revival style made its first appearance in New Mexico at the University of New Mexico
University of New Mexico
The University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
in Albuquerque
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, where it was adopted by president William G. Tight
William G. Tight
William G. Tight was an American geomorphologist who became president of the University of New Mexico .Tight was one of the first to decipher the glacial drainage histories of the Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia area, specifically the long gone Teays River system and...
for a number of projects completed during his tenure. The best-known of these was his 1908 remodeling of Hodgin Hall, though a new heating plant and the Estufa
Estufa
The Estufa is a historic structure on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built between 1906 and 1908 as a meeting room for the local social fraternity Alpha Alpha Alpha, which in 1915 became the Beta Delta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. The project received support...
were completed earlier. Nearly all subsequent university buildings have also employed the Pueblo style, albeit in increasingly loose interpretations.
The other stronghold of Pueblo style architecture is Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
, where it was popularized in the 1920s and 1930s by a group of artists and architects seeking to establish a unique regional identity. In 1957 a committee led by John Gaw Meem
John Gaw Meem
John Gaw Meem IV was an American architect based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is best known for his instrumental role in the development and popularization of the Pueblo Revival style...
drafted the Historical Zoning Ordinance, which mandated the use of the Pueblo style or Territorial Revival style on all new buildings in central Santa Fe. This ordinance remains in effect, meaning the Pueblo style continues to predominate.
Pueblo style houses are still frequently constructed in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and elsewhere. Updated versions of the style have also been used for newer commercial and public buildings such as the Albuquerque International Sunport
Albuquerque International Sunport
Albuquerque International Sunport is a public airport located 3 miles southeast of the central business district of Albuquerque, a city in Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United States. It is the largest commercial airport in the state, handling 5,888,811 passengers in 2009...
terminal (1966) and the newer UNM buildings.
Notable buildings
- EstufaEstufaThe Estufa is a historic structure on the University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was built between 1906 and 1908 as a meeting room for the local social fraternity Alpha Alpha Alpha, which in 1915 became the Beta Delta chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha. The project received support...
, University of New MexicoUniversity of New MexicoThe University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1906) - Hodgin Hall, University of New MexicoUniversity of New MexicoThe University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1908) - New Mexico Museum of ArtNew Mexico Museum of ArtThe New Mexico Museum of Art , the oldest art museum in the state of New Mexico, is one of four state-run museums in Santa Fe...
, Santa FeSanta Fe, New MexicoSanta Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
(1917) - Franciscan Hotel, Albuquerque (1922, demolished)
- La Fonda Hotel, Santa Fe (1922, remodeled 1929)
- Laboratory of Anthropology, Santa Fe (1930)
- Bandelier CCC Historic District http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=2023&ResourceType=District, Bandelier National MonumentBandelier National MonumentBandelier National Monument is a National Monument preserving the homes of the Ancestral Pueblo People. It is named after Swiss anthropologist Adolph Bandelier, who researched the cultures of the area. Bandelier was designated a National Monument on February 11, 1916, and most of its backcountry...
(1930's) - Scholes Hall, University of New MexicoUniversity of New MexicoThe University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1934) - Zimmerman Library, University of New MexicoUniversity of New MexicoThe University of New Mexico at Albuquerque is a public research university located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the United States. It is the state's flagship research institution...
, Albuquerque, New Mexico (1938) - Old Airport Terminal, Albuquerque (1939)
- Painted Desert InnPainted Desert InnPainted Desert Inn is a lodge in Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. It was built in 1937–1940, on the site of an earlier lodge, the Stone Tree House. It was designed in 1937 by National Park Service architect Lyle E. Bennett and others from the Park Service Branch of Plans and Design....
, Petrified Forest National ParkPetrified Forest National ParkPetrified Forest National Park is a United States national park in Navajo and Apache counties in northeastern Arizona. The park's headquarters are about east of Holbrook along Interstate 40 , which parallels a railroad line, the Puerco River, and historic U.S. Route 66, all crossing the park...
(1940) - Cabot's Pueblo MuseumCabot's Pueblo MuseumCabot's Pueblo Museum is historic house museum located in Desert Hot Springs, California, United States...
, Desert Hot Springs, CaliforniaDesert Hot Springs, CaliforniaDesert Hot Springs, also known as DHS, is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The city is located within the Coachella Valley geographic region, sometimes referred to as the Desert Empire. The population was 25,938 at the 2010 census, up from 16,582 at the 2000 United States...
(1921-1945)
See also
- Mission Revival Style architectureMission Revival Style architectureThe Mission Revival Style was an architectural movement that began in the late 19th century for a colonial style's revivalism and reinterpretation, which drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century Spanish missions in California....
- Territorial Revival architectureTerritorial Revival architectureTerritorial Revival architecture describes the style of architecture developed in the U.S. state of New Mexico in the 1930s that incorporated elements of traditional regional building techniques with higher style elements...