California's Architectural Frontier

Download or read book California's Architectural Frontier written by Harold Kirker and published by Peregrine Smith Books. This book was released on 1986 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Harold Kirker's thoughtful interpretation of California architecture, first published in 1960 by the Huntington Library, has now been reprinted in a high quality paperback edition with new prefatory remarks by the author. Kirker examined California's architecture from 1769-1900. He concluded that during that period "California was an architectural frontier" characterized by "architectural colonialism." Each group of Europeans or Americans who came to California implanted its own architectural styles, rather than adapt to local conditions and produce a style with regional distinctiveness. Kirker termed his work a "social history of architecture" which "is not the direct study of an art, but the indirect study of a civilization." Sixty-six plates enhance this volume, and are neatly keyed to the text. Almost all these illustrations depict buildings located in northern California.