Circa 1600- 1900
The colonists that came from Spain brought with them a style of building that was ideal for the southwestern parts of the United States in which they settled. These types of homes were simple in plan and execution, with either a flat roof or a simple low-pitched roof. Spanish Colonial style structures were of masonry construction, usually made with large adobe brick and stone covered in stucco. They often had multiple doors and the windows, but in the first of the Spanish Colonial homes had window openings that were without glass and were only covered with fixed shutters. The pitched roof variety was usually side-gabled with a tile covered roof and rarely was it any more than a single story tall. Another variation of the style was a flat roof type that used large wooden timbers that were embedded in the masonry walls to hold the load of the roof. This type of structure had a parapet at the roofline that was pierced with rainspouts to provide drainage. Towards the end of the Spanish Colonial style‘s popularity, there was a major influence from English architectural styles. What was originally built as a simple cottage was often expanded to a large, multiple roomed structure with a porch on the front façade that was supported by square columns. Traditionally, the porch on the Spanish Colonial home was located on the back of the house and was supported by large timbers and brackets.
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