378 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 1906 





The House of Mr. J. Parkinson, Los Angeles, California 



to the Missions, and still farther back, to the Moorish build- 

 ings before them. 



Sentiment for the traditions of the state and a love of 

 beauty have probably been at the bottom of this " 'dobe" 

 uprising. However, for those who want a practical explana- 

 tion, the architect submits the theory that no style of building 

 is so well adapted to the semi-tropical climate. The Padres 

 realized that brick withstands the summer's heat. It is quite 

 as true that it shuts out the winter's cold, so there seems to 

 be no reason why it should not be as comfortable in any part 

 of the United States as on the coast where it arose. 



The original buildings were of adobe, which was a brick 

 baked in the sun. As the new buildings are made of ordinary 

 brick, there is no legitimate reason for their name. Up-to- 

 date cement laid upon the bricks takes the place of the prim- 

 itive plaster which the Spanish used. The finish is of cal- 

 cimine just as it used to be, so the modern wall appears an 

 excellent copy. The light color of the calcimine reflects the 

 light and adds to that glaring whiteness for which California 

 is noted — a boon to sun-lovers and 

 to oculists. 



The Fathers were accustomed to 

 choose an open spot for their site, 

 probably for the sake of giving a 

 broad, sunny exposure to the olive 

 orchards with which they surround- 

 ed their Missions. The modern 

 Californian copies in this point, for 

 it is the fashion to let nothing hinder 

 sun and air from reaching a house 

 in that land where neither cold nor 

 heat are severe. Instead of a mass 

 of shade, it is customary to sur- 

 round the houses with flower beds, 

 and with lawns that are both ex- 

 pansive and expensive, for grass 

 does not flourish voluntarily in that 

 state. 



The characteristic Mission was 

 a series of buildings arranged in 

 quadrangular form surrounding an 

 inner court or patio. Most of the 



present-day houses are not exten- 

 sive enough to carry out this form, 

 but occasionally the patio is found. 

 Casa de Rosas (House of Roses), 

 the home of Miss Alice Parsons, in 

 Los Angeles, is one of these. Its 

 patio is surrounded by a two-story 

 house ; a balcony faces the patio and 

 over this wind the rose-vines that 

 give the house its name. Its 

 arcade is charmingly picturesque 

 but incorrect, by fault of the frail 

 pillars that defy the law of massive- 

 ness. The pillars of all the old 

 missions were very heavy. Many 

 of the modern structures fail as 

 imitations through their lack of 

 solidity. The monks aimed at 

 massiveness. The Spaniards, their 

 followers, taught by them, achieved 

 a heaviness of proportion even in 

 the smallest and most modest of 

 their adobe houses. 



Another prominent feature of 

 the Mission building was the outer 

 corridor which ran the full length 

 of at least one side of the four. 

 Here the monks paced in the sun- 

 shine which streamed in between the simple, massive pillars. 

 Crumbling San Fernando, snuggled in its valley, shows this 

 design. Stately Santa Barbara, the best preserved and most 

 prosperous of all, shows it. Santa Inez, San Miguel, La 

 Purisima Concepcion, San Antonio de Padua, all have the 

 outer corridor. The best example of this in a modern house 

 is in the Burrage residence at Redlands. The corridor of 

 this runs around four sides of the house and serves as ver- 

 anda, being broad enough for hammocks, easy chairs and 

 couches. The slope of the ground causes it to be somewhat 

 elevated on one side; from it the terraced lawn slopes away 

 down a miniature hillside set out with flourishing little orange 

 trees that make the air sweet with their blossoms' perfume 

 during part of the year and the landscape gay during the 

 later months when they hang out their bright yellow lanterns 

 among the branches. 



The house of the artist Paul de Longpre offers a sugges- 

 tion of the outer corridor. It is a scant one, however, as the 

 arched walk extends down only a part of one side of the 



House of Brigadier-General H. G. Otis, Los Angeles, California 



