Mission Style Architecture
One of many Mission style homes in San Diego
photo uploaded by Allan Ferguson
Remnants of California’s colonial history still remain today in the Mediterranean flourishes and adobe stucco houses, buildings, and churches that speckle San Diego. Mission style architecture not only offers a glimpse into San Diego’s past, but combined with the palm trees and warm breeze, can make you feel as if you are a world away from a modern city.
Personally, I conjured up my dream home when I visited San Diego for the first time and took in the spacious architecture that seamlessly blends the outside with the inside, the paint jobs that age with increasing beauty, and the mosaic tile adorned rooms that make it easy to imagine you are in a Spanish villa. For all the architecture buffs or those of you wanting to see history through buildings that are more like art, check out these prime locations for glimpsing brilliant architecture.
A stroll through Old Town alone will transport you to another time with its Cal-Mex culture. The outside markets, mariachi bands, countless restaurants with authentic Spanish and Mexican food feel at home among a back drop of artfully aged arch ways, individually placed red curved brick, and sun-kissed stucco flanked by luscious bougainvillea.
Father Junipero Serra can be partially credited for bringing this beautiful architecture to the states when he established his first California mission. The Junipero Serra Museum, built in in the mission style, commemorates Native America, Spanish, Mexican, and American time periods through 1929 with artifacts, featuring housewares, tools and furniture.
Uptown and La Jolla are still home to the work of prolific architect, Irving Gill, who, around the turn of the century, integrated the desert-like landscape into his designs. Some of his homes are on the National Historic Landmark list. Soon local architects followed in his footsteps, modeling city buildings, such as the County Administration Center, the Bazaar del Mundo, and the Torrey Pines Visitors Center, after Spanish/Mexican influences, according to Frommer’s.
A wonderful aspect of the San Diego experience is that an adobe church can be found next to a modern office building which could neighbor a Victorian home, showcasing San Diego’s diverse history and influences. If the mission style architecture has drawn out the designer in you, perhaps take the Gaslamp Quarter Walking Tour that showcases preserved Victorian homes and office buildings, another famed style of architecture in California.
Planning a trip to San Diego? Read about attractions, tours, discounts, and more with the Go San Diego Card.