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Filename :

sp053.jpg

Description :

The breathtakingly ornate facade of San Francisco’s Mission High School provides a stark contrast to Southwestern minimalism; it is all but overrun by Churrigueresque decoration. Designed by architect John Reid Jr. and completed in 1926, the school is a typically exuberant manifestation of the era’s optimism, as well as a showcase of its craftsmanship. The base of the frontispiece features a pair of elaborate entrance arches executed in cast stone; the rhythm of the bays on the next three floors is doubled by the cast stone window surrounds and then tripled by a blind gallery at the cornice line. The soaring tower with its crown of writhing ornament is surmounted by a dazzling dome inlaid with ceramic tile. During the booming 1920s, many of California’s cities embarked on school construction programs that yielded a generation of Revivalist structures, whether Tudor, Norman, or Spanish, that rivaled the quality of this example. Unfortunately, the state’s misguided earthquake-strengthening policies during the 1980s resulted in the wanton demolition of large numbers of these exceptional buildings. Mission High School, whose value was recognized early on and whose restoration had already been completed by 1978, remains among the fortunate survivors.

Keywords :

4X5's,sp053.jpg,4X5,Spanish Style,Spanish,Style,Exterior,SpanishGallery