Monterey Colonial is an

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

developed in Alta California (today's US state of California when under Mexican rule). Although usually categorized as a sub-style of Spanish Colonial style, the Monterey style is native to the post-colonial Mexican era of Alta California. Creators of the Monterey style were mostly recent immigrants from New England states of the US, who brought familiar vernacular building styles and methods with them to California. The style is characterized by two stories, continuous surrounding

porch A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...

es on both levels, and a

hip roof A hip roof, hip-roof or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope (although a tented roof by definition is a hipped roof with steeply pitched slopes rising to a peak). Thus, ...

, often created by adding a framed upper level over existing adobe walls on the lower level. The first known example of the style is the

Larkin House The Larkin House is a historic house at 464 Calle Principal in Monterey, California. Built in 1835 by Thomas O. Larkin, it is claimed to be the first two-story house in all of California, with a design combining Spanish Colonial building metho ...

in Monterey, California, built by

Thomas O. Larkin Thomas Oliver Larkin (September 16, 1802 – October 27, 1858), known in Spanish as Don Tomás Larkin, was an American diplomat and businessman. Larkin served as the only U.S. consul to Alta California during the Mexican era and was covertly in ...

in 1835. The largest example of the style is the

Rancho Petaluma Adobe Rancho Petaluma Adobe is a historic ranch house in Sonoma County, California. It was built from adobe bricks in 1836 by order of Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo. It was the largest privately owned adobe structure built in California and is the largest ...

, begun by

Mariano Vallejo Don Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 – 18 January 1890) was a Californio general, statesman, and public figure. He was born a subject of Spain, performed his military duties as an officer of the Republic of Mexico, and shaped the trans ...

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 according to the 2020 census. Petaluma's name comes from the Miwok village na ...

in 1836. Revivals of the style have been popular in the 20th century, substituting wood framing or brick for adobe. Other common variations use gable-end roofs and second-story-only covered porches. Monterey Colonial is one of the historical styles recognized (though not encouraged for new construction) by the architectural design guidelines of

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Co ...

Examples

, in Monterey, California, a U.S.

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

and * Mary C. W. Black Studio House, in Monterey, California, one of few residential examples of the style in Monterey *

Jose Maria Alviso Adobe The José María Alviso Adobe, located in Milpitas, California, United States, was the home of José María Alviso, an early '' alcalde'' (mayor) of neighboring Pueblo de San Jose. It was built in 1837 and enlarged in the early 1850s, and stand ...

, in

Milpitas, California Milpitas ( Spanish for "little milpas") is a city in Santa Clara County, California, in Silicon Valley. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 80,273. The city's origins lie in Rancho Milpitas, granted to Californio ranchero José Mar� ...

* Jose Eusebio Boronda Adobe in Salinas, California, built in 1846 *

Castro Adobe The Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe is a historically and architecturally significant house located in the Pájaro Valley, California. The two-story Rancho San Andrés Castro Adobe is a historic rancho hacienda that was built between 1848-49. Hi ...

, formerly Rancho San Andres near

Watsonville, California Watsonville is a city in Santa Cruz County, California, located in the Monterey Bay Area of the Central Coast of California. The population was 52,590 according to the 2020 census. Predominantly Latino and Democratic, Watsonville is a self ...

, built in 1848-49 * Vicente Martinez Adobe,

Martinez, California Martinez ( Spanish: ''Martínez'') is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Located on the southern shore of the Carquinez Strait, the city's popul ...

, built in 1849Vicente Martinez Adobe
/ref> *

José Castro House The José Castro House ( es, Casa José Castro), sometimes known as the Castro-Breen Adobe, is a historic adobe home in San Juan Bautista, California, facing the Plaza de San Juan. The Monterey Colonial architecture, Monterey Colonial style hou ...

in San Juan Bautista, built in 1840.

References

External links

* {{Spanish Empire Spanish Colonial architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in California History of Monterey County, California American architectural styles House styles Colonial architecture in California Spanish Colonial Revival architecture Architecture in California

Examples

See also

References

External links