• Introduction
• Victorian Era
• Shingle Style
• Colonial Revival
• Gothic Revival
• Beaux Arts
• Neoclassical Revival
• Early 20th Century Revival
• Sullivanesque
• California & Craftsman Bungalows (Arts & Crafts)
• Bungalow Courts
• Mail Order/Kit Homes
• Mission Revival

• Monterey Revival
• Pueblo Revival
• Spanish Colonial Revival
• Mediterranean Revival
• Tudor Revival
• Cottage Storybook
• Art Deco: Zigzag Moderne & Streamline Moderne
• PWA/WPA Moderne
• International Style
• Minimal Traditional
• Post WWII Tract Homes
• Ranch Houses

Mission Revival

When white settlers moved to Southern California, they transferred European and eastern American architectural ideas to both civic and residential buildings. After a few decades, residents sensed the incongruity of constructing Cape Cod and Colonial Revival buildings in a Mediterranean and semi-desert landscape and turned to what was viewed as a more authentic design: The Mission Revival style that drew inspiration from the early Spanish missions in California.

The Mission Revival style replicated the materials and details of California mission churches of the 18th century, such as tiled roofs, curved parquets and gables, bracketed eaves, and arched arcades. The Mission Revival style originated in Southern California and was the first architectural style to diffuse eastward from the west coast. The style was popular from 1885 to 1915, and numerous residential, commercial, and institutional structures were constructed, displaying this instantly-recognizable architectural style. The style was also adapted by the Santa Fe and Southern Pacific Railroads for their train stations, resort hotels, and other rail corridor buildings.

The best known architects for Mission Revival style residences are Lester S. Moore and Sumner Hunt. The first great Mission Revival building was the California Building at the 1893 World's Columbia Exhibition in Chicago. The best-know Mission Revival building in California is the Riverside Mission Inn, which is also the largest Mission Revival building in the United States.

Mission Revival buildings often have the following features:

• White, plain stucco walls
• Arched openings, especially on ground level
• Long arcaded corridors
• Low pitched tile roofs
• Scalloped, parapeted gable ends
• Small balconies
• Deeply shaded porches
• Dark interiors, suited for warmer climates
• Symmetrical architectural elements

Fullerton residents quickly adopted the style and continued its usage into the 1920s. Although many Mission Revival buildings were demolished over the years, the buildings that remain show the decorative ways that the Mission Revival style was used in the city. Impressive applications of the style can be seen in the Hale House (1908) at 2025 E. Chapman Avenue, now called the Ivycrest Montessori Private School; the former Fullerton General Hospital (1913) at 201 E. Amerige Avenue, now used as a social service agency; the John Hetebrink House (1914) at 515 E. Chapman Avenue; the Shepardson House (1921) at 155 Hillcrest Drive; and the Elephant Packing House (1924) at 201 W. Truslow Avenue, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Two of Fullerton's train depots, now used as restaurants – the Pacific Electric Depot (1918) at 136 E. Commonwealth Avenue and the Union Pacific Depot (1923) at 110 E. Santa Fe Avenue (moved from 105 E. Truslow Avenue) – were also constructed using the Mission Revival style.

After World War I, architects and builders abandoned the Mission Revival style in favor of the more sophisticated Spanish Colonial Revival style and European architectural revivals.

Read More about the Mission Revival Style:

• Early, James. Presidio, Mission, and Pueblo: Spanish Architecture and Urbanism in the United States. Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 2004.
• McMillan, Elizabeth. California Colonial: The Spanish and Rancho Revival Styles. Atlgen, PA: Schiffer, 2002.
• Sagarena, Roberto. "Building California's Past: Mission Revival Architecture and Regional Identity." Journal of Urban History28 (2002): 429-444.
• Weitz, Karen J. California's Mission Revival.Los Angeles: Hennessey & Ingalls, 1984.