188 
Moor, the Spaniard or Cuban takes his lawn into the house 
and builds his mansion around it. 
The patio is of several kinds as seen in America. One is 
completely surrounded by the house, as the splendid patio of 
the Hotel Coronado, at Coronado Beach, California, prob- 
ably one of the largest in the world, where a great variety 
of palms and tropical plants are seen. Then there is the half 
patio, represented in the accompanying photograph of a Pas- 
adena home, where the house is built around a court on three 
sides, the rear side being left open. Again the patio may be 
a court open on two sides, several of which can be seen in 
Pasadena. In one the patio was an after consideration, and 
has been extended to the south, the north and east walls of 
the house forming the closed portion, while the others were 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
March, 1906 
has two stories; the roof tiled, and in part the Moorish idea 
being carried out, the court being essentially Moorish. The 
patio or court is very large and deep and opens to the west 
or rear, and is not closed in on that side. The plan of the 
house is a U, the court or patio representing the hollow in- 
terior. A beautiful lawn surrounds the house, and the gar- 
den abounds in tropical plants and shrubs of all kinds, 
reached from the patio by steps. The center of this patio 
contains a large fern bed, while from each end arch depend 
rare and graceful ferns. Such a patio is eminently adapted 
to the requirements of a country like Southern California, 
where the life should be to a certain extent in the open air, 
as nature intended. 
The patio is at its best when surrounded by a high build- 
View of a California Patio 
constructed of Moorish arches. The pavement of this patio 
is tiling; a low rail runs around it, and there is a small foun- 
tain in the center and a garden all around it in which are 
placed plants noted for their beauty and climbing habits; one 
a bougainvillea that covers the east wall with a blaze of color, 
so that in looking through the mooresque corridor from with- 
out they are outlined against this color scheme. Splendid 
roses trail over the top of the patio or its sides, the top being 
left open. In this snug harbor the owner sits every day in 
winter embowered literally among choice flowers, a fine lawn 
reaching away on every side from the mission house, forming 
the frame of the picture. 
In one of the houses, herewith pictured, a Moorish struc- 
ture is shown adapted to American requirements. The house 
ing. [hese are common in Cuba where it is essential to keep 
out the sun and where the patio is used as the living room of 
the house; but where the house is one storied the tropical sun 
beats in and renders the court very hot and disagreeable, 
though often artistic. 
There is something romantic and beautiful about the well- 
appointed patio, and romantic factors in architecture are not 
always practical. ‘The patio is an exception; it is essentially 
practical in Southern California, where one should spend part 
of the time in the open air. In England one sees the senti- 
ment of privacy carried out very happily. 
The patio need not be an expensive feature. A house need 
only be built in the form of a U, a front and two wings and 
the intermediate portion becomes a patio. 
* 
