Enthusiasts of the Spanish revival style of architecture continue to be inspired by the Mission San Gabriel in California as another example of one of their amazing missions. It is believed that the Paleo-Indians crossed into America by means of Asia on the land bridge called Beringia. This is estimated to have taken place about 15,000 to 35,000 years ago.

Enthusiasts of the Spanish revival style of architecture continue to be inspired by the Mission San Gabriel in California as another example of one of their amazing missions. It is believed that the Paleo-Indians crossed into America by means of Asia on the land bridge called Beringia. This is estimated to have taken place about 15,000 to 35,000 years ago.

Signs of habitation in California date back to the Ice Age where traces of these early Indians are found on Santa Rosa Island such as the Arlington Springs Man. It is speculated that the earliest humans made their homes on the southern valley of California. However, everything was about to change in the 1700's, when the Europeans came to the west coast of America.

Montebello, California was the planned site for the San Gabriel Mission which was founded in September 1771. It was located on a parcel of fertile plain along the Rio Hondo, which is present day Montebello. Unfortunately, the Mission was damaged by a flood in 1776. It was rebuilt 5 miles away in what is present day San Gabriel. It is from Mission San Gabriel, that the pueblo was sent and in time founded Los Angeles. During the 1812 earthquakes that shook the entire foundation of California, harm came upon the exterior architecture of the mission. This historical building suffered damage to its famous bell. The mission housed a three-bell campanario that was located near the chapel's east faade, which fully collapsed and was destroyed.

The Mission's also had a larger 6-bell structure that was then moved to replace the broken campanario. Although no photographic documentation exists to portray what the authentic bell looked like, there is an assumered design was made known in the 1916 work The Franciscan Mission Architecture of Alta California by architectural historian Rexford Newcomb.

Why do we discuss all this, and how does it apply to our understanding of the Spanish Revival style of architecture? Well, the history of Mission San Gabriel makes it clear that the missions of California have weathered a lot of storms, and some are only mere copies of what they once were.

This makes an captivating proposition because it reveals how the Revival style is merely a copy of a copy, as the missions are also in this state. Although we recognize that we are only seeing a sliver of its old stature, it doesn't reduce our lure to this style. People in California and over the entire nation, are using the architectural appearances of this style to build not only their homes but also their civic establishments. These buildings are some of the same historic real estate you may see for sale today.

For instance there is a lovely Spanish Revival building in St. Louis by architect T.P. Barnett, son of George I. Barnett who was also a famous architect in St. Louis. The T.P. Barnett building is principally appealing because it also contains Art Deco influences. This makes it one of the most unique buildings in the Grand Center region of St. Louis. With no doubt is this a historic building that you certainly must see the next time you're in St. Louis. This wonderful structure of the Spanish Revival buildings is located on Washington Avenue.