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Architecture of the California missions

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Architecture

   Part of the
   Spanish missions in California
   series

                   Architecture of the California missions

   Mission Revival Style architecture

   California mission clash of cultures

   The Architecture of the California missions was influenced by several
   factors, those being the limitations in the construction materials that
   were on hand, an overall lack of skilled labor, and a desire on the
   part of the founding priests to emulate notable structures in their
   Spanish homeland. And while no two mission complexes are alike, they
   all employed the same basic building style.

Site selection and layout

   Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California. This mission
   is architecturally distinctive because of the strong combination of
   Spanish, Moorish, and Mexican lines exhibited.
   Enlarge
   Mission San Luis Rey de Francia in Oceanside, California. This mission
   is architecturally distinctive because of the strong combination of
   Spanish, Moorish, and Mexican lines exhibited.

   Although the missions were considered temporary ventures by the Spanish
   hierarchy, the development of an individual settlement was not simply a
   matter of "priestly whim." The founding of a mission followed
   longstanding rules and procedures; the paperwork involved required
   months, sometimes years of correspondence, and demanded the attention
   of virtually every level of the bureaucracy. Once empowered to erect a
   mission in a given area, the men assigned to it chose a specific site
   that featured a good water supply, plenty of wood for fires and
   building material, and ample fields for grazing herds and raising
   crops. The padres blessed the site, and with the aid of their military
   escort fashioned temporary shelters out of tree limbs or driven stakes,
   roofed with thatch or reeds. It was these simple huts that would
   ultimately give way to the stone and adobe buildings which exist to
   this day.

   The first priority when beginning a settlement was the location and
   construction of the church (iglesia). The majority of mission
   sanctuaries were oriented on a roughly east-west axis to take the best
   advantage of the sun's position for interior illumination; the exact
   alignment depended on the geographic features of the particular site.
   Once the spot for the church was selected, its position would be marked
   and the remainder of the mission complex would be laid out. The
   priests' quarters, refectory, convento, workshops, kitchens, soldiers'
   and servants' living quarters, storerooms, and other ancillary chambers
   were usually grouped around a walled, open court or patio (often in the
   form of quadrangle) inside which religious celebrations and other
   festive events often took place. The cuadrángulo was rarely a perfect
   square because the Fathers had no surveying instruments at their
   disposal and simply measured off all dimensions by foot. In the event
   of an attack by hostile forces the mission's inhabitants could take
   refuge within the quadrangle.

   The basic, common elements found in all of the Alta California missions
   can be summarized as follows :
     * Patio plan with garden or fountain;
     * Solid and massive walls, piers, and buttresses;
     * Arched corridors;
     * Curved, pedimented gables;
     * Terraced bell towers (with domes and lanterns) or bell walls
       (pierced bellfries);
     * Wide, projecting eaves;
     * Broad, undecorated wall surfaces; and
     * Low, sloping tile roofs.

   The Alta California missions as a whole do not incorporate the same
   variety or elaborateness of detail in their design exhibited in the
   structures erected by Spanish settlers in Arizona, Texas, and Mexico
   during the same period; neverthless, they "...stand as concrete
   reminders of Spanish occupation and admirable examples of buildings
   conceived in the style and manner appropriate to the country in which
   they were built."

Building materials

   The three-bell campanario ("bell wall") at Mission San Juan Bautista.
   Two of the bells were salvaged from the original chime, which was
   destoyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
   Enlarge
   The three-bell campanario ("bell wall") at Mission San Juan Bautista.
   Two of the bells were salvaged from the original chime, which was
   destoyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

   The scarcity of imported materials, together with a lack of skilled
   laborers, compelled the Fathers to employ simple building materials and
   methods in the construction of mission structures. Since importing the
   quantity of materials necessary for a large mission complex was
   impossible, the padres had to gather the materials they needed from the
   land around them. Five (5) basic materials were used in constructing
   the permanent mission structures: adobe, timber, stone, brick, and
   tile. Adobes (mud bricks) were made from a combination of earth and
   water, with chaff, straw, or manure added to bind the mixture together.
   Occasionally pieces of bricks or shells were placed in the mix to
   improve the cohesiveness. The soil used may have been clay, loam, or
   sandy or gravelly earth. The making of the bricks was a simple process,
   derived from methods originally developed in Spain and Mexico. A
   convenient, level spot was chosen near the intended building site and
   close to a suitable water supply (usually a spring or creek). The
   ground was dug up and soaked with water, whereupon bare-legged workers
   would stomp the wet earth and binders into a homogeneous consistency
   fit for carrying to, and placing in, the brick molds.

   The mixture was compressed into the wooden formas, which were arranged
   in rows, and leveled by hand to the top of the frame. From time to
   time, a worker would leave an imprint of his hand or foot on the
   surface of a wet brick, or perhaps a literate workman would inscribe
   his name and the date on the face. When the forms were filled, the
   bricks were left in the sun to dry. Great care was taken to expose the
   bricks on all sides, in order to ensure uniform drying and prevent
   cracking. Once dry, the bricks were stacked in rows to await their use.
   California adobes measured 22 by 11 inches, were two to five inches
   thick, and weighed 20 to 40 pounds (9 to 18 kg), making them convenient
   to carry and easy to handle during the construction process.
   Actual skulls and crossbones were often used to mark the entrances to
   Spanish cemeteries (campo santos). Here, at Mission Santa Barbara,
   stone carvings were substituted.
   Enlarge
   Actual skulls and crossbones were often used to mark the entrances to
   Spanish cemeteries (campo santos). Here, at Mission Santa Barbara,
   stone carvings were substituted.

   Facilities for milling lumber were almost non-existent: workers used
   stone axes and crude saws to shape the wood, and often used logs which
   only had their bark stripped from them. These methods gave mission
   structures their distinctive appearance. Timber was used to reinforce
   walls, as vigas (beams) to support roofs, and as forms for door and
   window openings and arches. Since most of the settlements were located
   in valleys or coastal plains almost totally devoid of suitably large
   trees, the padres were in most cases limited to pine, alder, poplar,
   cypress and juniper trees for use in their construction efforts.
   Indians used wooden carrettas, drawn by oxen, to haul timber from as
   much as forty miles away (as was the case at Mission San Miguel
   Arcángel). At Mission San Luis Rey, however, the ingenious Father
   Lasuén instructed his neophyte workers to float logs downriver from
   Palomar Mountain to the mission site. The lack of good-sized timber
   forced the men to design mission buildings that were long and narrow.
   For example, the widest inside dimensions of any of the mission
   buildings (at San Carlos, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz) is 29 feet: the
   narrowest, at Mission Soledad, spans 16.2 feet. The longest structure,
   at Mission Santa Barbara, stretches 162.5 feet. Stone (piedra) was used
   as a construction material whenever possible. In the absence of skilled
   stonemasons, the inexperienced builders resorted to the use of
   sandstone; though easier to cut, it was as not weather-resistant as
   that which would have been used by skilled artisans. To bind the stones
   together, the priests and Indians followed the (Mexican) Pre-Columbian
   technique of using mud mortar, since mortar made from lime was
   unavailable to them. Colored stones and pebbles were added to the mud
   mixture, giving it "a beautiful and interesting texture."
   The chapel at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was designed by Father
   Antonio Cruzado who hailed from Córdoba, Spain which accounts for the
   Mission's strong Moorish influence.
   Enlarge
   The chapel at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel was designed by Father
   Antonio Cruzado who hailed from Córdoba, Spain which accounts for the
   Mission's strong Moorish influence.

   Ladrillos (conventional bricks) were manufactured in much the same
   manner as adobes, with one important difference: after forming and
   initial drying, the bricks were fired in outdoor kilns to ensure a much
   greater endurance than could be achieved through merely sun-drying
   them. Common bricks typically measured ten inches square and were two
   to three inches thick. Square paving bricks were equal in thickness to
   the common variety, but ranged from eleven to fifteen inches across.
   Many of the structures erected with this type of brick remained
   standing long after their adobe counterparts had been reduced to
   rubble.

   The earliest structures had roofs of thatch or earth supported by flat
   poles. Tejas ( roof tiles) were utilized in later construction
   (beginning around 1880) to replace the flammable thatch. The
   semicircular tiles consisted of clay molded over a section of a log was
   which well-sanded to prevent the clay from sticking. According to the
   accounts of Father Estévan Tapís of Mission Santa Barbara, some
   thirty-two Native American males were required to make 500 tiles each
   day, while the women carried sand and straw to the pits. The mixture
   was first worked in pits under the hoofs of animals, then placed on a
   flat board and fashioned to the correct thickness. Sheets of clay were
   then placed over the logs and cut the desired to size: they ranged in
   length from twenty to twenty-four inches, and tapered from five to ten
   inches in width. After trimming, the tiles were dried in the sun, then
   placed in ovens and burned until they took on a reddish-brown coloring.
   The quality of the tiles varied greatly among the missions due to
   differences in soil types from one site to another. Legend has it that
   the first tiles were made at Mission San Luis Obispo, but Father
   Maynard Geiger (the Franciscan historian and biographer of Junípero
   Serra) claims that Mission San Antonio de Padua was actually the first
   to use them. Aside from their obvious advantage over straw roofs in
   terms of fire retardance, the impermeable surface also protected the
   adobe walls below from the damaging effects of rain. The original tiles
   were secured with a dab of adobe and were held in place because of
   their shape, being tapered at the upper end so they could not slide off
   one another.

Construction methods

   An original exterior wall buttress at Mission San Miguel Arcángel,
   which suffered extensive earthquake damage on December 22, 2003.
   Sections of the plaster finish coat have sloughed off, exposing the
   adobes beneath to the elements.
   Enlarge
   An original exterior wall buttress at Mission San Miguel Arcángel,
   which suffered extensive earthquake damage on December 22, 2003.
   Sections of the plaster finish coat have sloughed off, exposing the
   adobes beneath to the elements.

   The earliest projects had a layer of streambed stones arranged as a
   foundation, upon which the adobes were placed. Later, stone and masonry
   were used for foundation courses, which greatly added to the bearing
   capacity of the brickwork. Aside from superficial leveling, no other
   ground preparation was done before construction started. There is some
   evidence to indicate that the initial structures at some of the
   outposts were produced by setting wooden posts close together and
   filling the interstitial spaces with clay. At completion, the building
   would be covered with a thatched roof and wall surfaces would be coated
   with whitewash to keep the clay exterior from eroding. This type of
   construction is known as " wattle and daub" and eventually gave way to
   adobe, stone, or ladrillos. Even though many of the adobe structures
   were ultimately replaced with ones of piedra or brick, adobe was still
   employed extensively and was the principal material used in building
   the missions as there was an almost universal lack of readily-available
   stone. The adobes were laid in courses and cemented together with wet
   clay. Due to the low bearing strength of adobe and the lack of skilled
   brick masons (albañils), walls made of mud bricks had to be fairly
   thick. The width of a wall depended mostly on its height: low walls
   were commonly two feet thick, while the highest (up to thirty-five
   feet) required as much as six feet of material to support them.

   Timbers were set into the upper courses of most walls to stiffen them.
   Massive exterior buttresses were also employed to fortify wall sections
   (see the photo at right), but this method of reinforcement required the
   inclusion of pilasters on the inside of the building to resist the
   lateral thrust of the buttresses and prevent the collapse of the wall.
   Pilasters and buttresses were often composed of more durable baked
   brick, even when the walls they supported were adobe. When the walls
   got too high for workers on the ground to reach the top, simple wood
   scaffolding was erected from whatever lumber was available. Many times
   posts were temporarily cemented into the walls to support catwalks.
   When the wall was completed, the posts were removed and the voids
   filled with adobe, or were sometimes sawed off flush with the surface
   of the wall.
   A look inside the reconstructed (half-size) chapel at Mission Santa
   Cruz in December 2004. Note the exposed wood beams that comprise the
   roof structure.
   Enlarge
   A look inside the reconstructed (half-size) chapel at Mission Santa
   Cruz in December 2004. Note the exposed wood beams that comprise the
   roof structure.

   The Spaniards had various types of rudimentary hoists and cranes at
   their disposal for lifting materials to the men working on top of a
   structure. These machines were fashioned out of wood and rope, and were
   usually similar in configuration to a ship's rigging. In fact, sailors
   were often employed in mission construction to apply their knowledge of
   maritime rigging to the handling of loads. It is not apparent as to
   whether or not the padres used pulleys in their lifting devices, but
   these instruments nevertheless got the job done.Unless adobes were
   protected from the elements they would eventually dissolve into nothing
   more than heaps of mud. Most adobe walls, therefore, were either
   whitewashed or stuccoed inside and out. Whitewash was a mixture of lime
   and water which was brushed on the interior surfaces of partition
   walls; stucco was a longer-lasting, viscous blend of aggregate (in this
   case, sand) and whitewash, applied to the faces of load-bearing walls
   with a paleta ( trowel). Usually the face of a wall that was to receive
   stucco would be scored so that the mixture would adhere better, or
   laborers would press bits of broken tile or small stones into the wet
   mortar to provide a varied surface for the stucco to cling to.

   Once erection of the walls was completed, assembly of the roof could
   commence. The flat or gabled roofs were held up by square,
   evenly-spaced wood beams, which carried the weight of the roof and
   ceiling (if one was present). In the sanctuaries it was common for
   beams to be decorated with painted designs. Vigas rested on wood
   corbels, which were built into the walls and often projected on the
   outside of the building. When the rafters were in place a thatch of
   tules (brush) was woven over them for insulation, and were in turn
   covered with clay tiles. The tiles were cemented to the roof with
   mortar, clay, or brea ( tar or bitumen). At some of the missions the
   padres were able to hire professional stonemasons to assist them in
   their endeavors; in 1797, for example, master mason Isidoro Aguílar was
   brought in from Culiacán, Mexico to supervise the building of a stone
   church at San Juan Capistrano. The church, constructed mostly of
   sandstone, featured a vaulted ceiling and seven domes. Indians had to
   gather thousands of stones from miles around for this venture,
   transporting them in carrettas or carrying them by hand. This
   structure, nicknamed "Serra's Church" once had a l20-foot-tall bell
   tower that was almost totally destroyed by earthquake in 1812.
   Architectural historian Rexford Newcomb sketched this pair of doors,
   which display the Spanish "River of Life" pattern, at Mission San
   Fernando Rey de España in 1916.
   Enlarge
   Architectural historian Rexford Newcomb sketched this pair of doors,
   which display the Spanish "River of Life" pattern, at Mission San
   Fernando Rey de España in 1916.

   Arched door and window openings required the use of wood centering
   during erection, as did corridor arches and any type of vault or domed
   construction. Windows were kept small and to a minimum, and placed high
   on walls as a protective measure in case of Indian attack. A few of the
   missions had imported glass window panes, but most made do with oiled
   skins stretched tightly across the openings. Windows were the only
   source of interior illumination at the missions, other than the tallow
   candles made in the outposts' workshops. Doors were made of wood cut
   into planks at the carpintería, and most often bore the Spanish "River
   of Life" pattern or other carved or painted designs. Carpenters used a
   ripsaw (or "pitsaw") to saw logs into thin boards, which were held
   together by ornate nails forged in the mission's blacksmith shop.
   Nails, especially long ones, were scarce throughout California, so
   large members (such as rafters or beams) which had to be fastened
   together were tied with rawhide strips. Connections of this type were
   common in post and lintel construction, such as that found over
   corridors. Aside from nails, blacksmiths fashioned iron gates, crosses,
   tools, kitchen utensils, cannons for mission defense, and other objects
   needed by the mission community. Settlements had to rely on cargo ships
   and trade for their iron supplies as they did not have the capability
   to mine and process iron ore.

Architectural elements

   A close-up view of the pediment situated above the chapel entrance at
   Mission Santa Barbara and its unique ornamental frieze.
   Enlarge
   A close-up view of the pediment situated above the chapel entrance at
   Mission Santa Barbara and its unique ornamental frieze.

   Since they were not trained in building design, the padres could only
   try to emulate the architectural aspects of structures they remembered
   from their homeland. The missions exhibit a strong Roman influence in
   much of their design and construction techniques (as do many buildings
   in España), particularly in arch and dome construction. At Mission
   Santa Barbara, founding Father Ripali even went so far as to consult
   the works of 1st century B.C. Roman architect Vitruvius during the
   design phase of the project.

   In addition to the domes, vaults, and arches, and the Roman building
   methods used to create them, the missions inherited several
   architectural features from mother Spain. One of the most important
   design elements of a mission was its church belfry, of which there were
   four distinct types: the basic belfry, the espadaña, the campanile, and
   the campanario. The basic belfry was merely a bell hanging from a beam
   which was supported by two upright posts. The belfry usually stood just
   to one side of the main entrance to the church. The second type, the
   espadaña, was a raised gable at the end of a church building, usually
   curved and decorated; it did not always contain bells, however, but was
   sometimes added to the building simply to give it a more impressive
   facade. The campanile, probably the most well-known bell support, was a
   large tower which held one or more bells; these were usually domed
   structures, and some even had lanterns atop them. The final method for
   hanging bells is the campanario, which consists of a wall with openings
   for the bells. Most walls were attached to the sanctuary building, save
   for the one at the Pala Asistencia which is a standalone structure. The
   campanario is unique in that it is native to Alta California.
   A view looking down a typical exterior corridor at Mission San Fernando
   Rey de España.
   Enlarge
   A view looking down a typical exterior corridor at Mission San Fernando
   Rey de España.

   Other notable aspects of the missions were the long arcades (corredors)
   which flanked all interior and many exterior walls. The arches were
   Roman (half-round), while the pillars were usually square and made of
   baked brick, rather than adobe. The overhang created by the arcade had
   a dual function: it provided a comfortable, shady place to sit after a
   hard-day's work, and (more importantly) it kept rainfall away from the
   adobe walls. The mainstay of any mission complex was its capilla (
   chapel}. The design of chapels overall followed that of Christian
   churches in Europe, but tended to be comparatively long and narrow due
   to the size of lumber available along the California coast. Each church
   had a main section (the nave), a baptistry near the front entrance, a
   sanctuary (also called a reredos, where the altar was located), and a
   sacristy at the back of the church where the host and other materials
   were stored and where the priests readied themselves for mass. In some
   chapels, a stairway near the main entrance led up to a choir loft.

   Decorations were usually copied from books and applied by native
   artists. The religious designs and paintings are said to "show the
   flavor of the Spanish Era, mixed with the primitive touch of the Indian
   artists."  The impact that mission architecture has had on the modern
   buildings of California is readily apparent in the many civic,
   commercial, and residential structures which exhibit the tile roofs,
   arched door and window openings, and stuccoed walls that typify the
   "mission look." These elements are frequently included in the exterior
   finish of modern buildings in California and the Southwest, and are
   commonly referred to as Mission Revival Style architecture. The
   inclusion of these features in whole or part into otherwise ordinary
   commercial buildings has been met with varying levels of acceptance,
   and is regarded among some critics as "mission impossible," a
   phenomenon that is seen most brashly in the fast food emporiums of Taco
   Bell. When well-done, a mission style building will convey an
   impression of simplicity, permanence, and comfort, with coolness in the
   heat of the day and warmth in the cold of night (due to a phenomenon
   known as the thermal flywheel effect).

Infrastructure

   A replica of an olive press at Mission San Buenaventura.
   Enlarge
   A replica of an olive press at Mission San Buenaventura.

   No study of the missions would be complete without some discussion of
   their extensive water supply systems. Stone aqueducts, sometimes
   spanning miles, brought fresh water from a river or spring to the
   mission site. Baked clay pipes, joined together with lime mortar or
   bitumen, carried the water into reservoirs and gravity-fed fountains,
   and emptied into waterways where the force of the water would be used
   to turn grinding wheels, presses, and other simple machinery. Water
   brought to the mission proper would be used for cooking, cleaning,
   irrigation of crops, and drinking. Drinking water was allowed to
   trickle through alternate layers of sand and charcoal to remove the
   impurities.

Furniture

   Influenced by early mission furnishings, "mission oak" furniture bears
   some similarity to the related Arts and Crafts style furniture, using
   similar materials but without Arts and Crafts' emphasis on refinement
   of line and decoration. Oak is the typical material, finished with its
   natural golden appearance that will age to a rich medium brown colour.
   Components such as legs will often be straight, not tapered, and
   surfaces will be flat, rather than curved. Generous use of materials
   leads to heavy and solid furnishings, giving an impression of
   "groundedness", through simplicity, functionality and stability.
   Straightforward lines predominate, with little or no decoration, other
   than that which is incidental to function, such as forged iron hinges
   and latches. The leading designer of furnishings in this style during
   the Arts and Crafts movement was Gustav Stickley.
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