MI CASA ES SU CASA

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The Panama-California Exposition had a lasting impact on San Diego. The Spanish Revival buildings created for the fair recalled the city’s historic ties to Spain and Mexico. The tremendous appeal for this architectural style contributed to the growing popularity of Spanish and Mediterranean architecture in the 1920s and 1930s. Neighborhoods across the city sprouted an almost endless variety of “Spanish style” homes. Some communities like Kensington were characterized by subdivisions almost exclusively devoted to this style. Many other areas such as Mission Hills, Coronado, Loma Portal and La Jolla Hermosa bore Spanish names or associations. Hundreds of street names also reflected this trend. When translated into highly romanticized images reinforced an idealized vision of the city’s historic past. Enhanced by a temperate climate and landscape reminiscent of the sun-drenched, semi-tropical countries of the Mediterranean, San Diego seemed ideally suited to the adoption of a regional style indicative of its early history.

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