There are a number of famous architects that shared in the building of the United States\’ rich architectural history. People are continually fascinated by the diversity of US architecture for its great variety, history, and richness. There are plenty of architects that have contributed to the multiplicity of styles and materials, and each different style and material seems to tell a different tale of where the US has been and where it\’s going.
The buildings of the US tell the tale of past eras. With every brick and stone of the US, tales of its trials and ordeals, ups and downs are revealed. When you take a trip down famous city streets, like St. Louis, you can also experience this history first-hand.
It\’s important to never lose sight of the men and woman that created this history, and their own personal stories of prosperity and growth. George Washington Smith provides a great example of a US architect with an interesting life story that all at once merges with the history of an extraordinary style of architecture.
George Washington Smith was born in Pennsylvania in 1876 on George Washington\’s birthday. He was the son of a famous Pennsylvania engineer, and studied painting at the Pennsylvania academy of Fine Arts. He later made his way to Harvard University where he studied in architecture, but was unable to graduate due to his family\’s financial difficulties. He was then employed as a draftsman in a Philly architectural firm, and soon became unhappy with the lifestyle. Smith then went into bond trading and experienced an increased financial success.
Due to his newfound financial success, Smith quit his work in 1911 and fully devoted himself to painting and art. He moved to Europe with his new wife Mary Catherine Greenough and studied his favorite artists Paul Cezanne and Paul Gauguin. Smith traveled all throughout Europe, painting landscapes and studying in Rome at the Julian Academy and also in Paris. After three fruitful years in Europe, Smith returned to the US at the beginning of World War I.
After his paintings received much recognition in New York, Smith moved to California and designed and built his own home in Montecito, modeled after the Spanish farmhouses he so admired in Andalusia. The house he built, known as Casa Dracaena was beautifully successful, and images of the property were used as adds to sell certain kinds of tile and cement for other building projects. His neighbors started to want to live in similar buildings, and Smith became a full time architect to fulfill the demand. He became one of the most famous architects in the United States.
Smith is acclaimed as the father of the Spanish Colonial Revival Style. His original Montecito home, as well as his second self-designed residences next door, \”Casa Del Greco\” which was built in 1920, are still in existence today as family residences.
The Spanish style is always a popular request in the United States. It can be seen all over the nation. It sometimes takes on other forms of Spanish style, such as the Spanish mission style. One nice example is the Spanish Mission Deco style considered to be a style-fusion of the 1920\’s. T.P. Barnett\’s Spanish Deco building in St. Louis is located on the famous Washington Ave.
Art Deco and Spanish Mission Style Architecture is part of some of the classic buildings of Missouri. To download the original plans of the Thomas P Barnett Historic Building or go here to find out more about St Louis Commercial Real Estate For Sale
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