Spanish Colonial Revival

Just as the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition spurred interest in classical design, the Panama-California Exposition staged in San Diego in 1915 made Spanish-influenced architecture popular in the United States. Intricate designs rooted in the broad spectrum of Spanish architectural influences (Moorish, Byzantine, Gothic and Renaissance) provided inspiration. Designs mimicking the elaborate Spanish prototypes soon appeared around the country. The style enjoyed a limited popularity, peaking during the 1920s and 1930s. The survey included two notable buildings with Spanish Colonial Revival architecture – the Nomar Theater, 2141 North Market Street, designed by the noted Kansas City theater architects the Boller Brothers, and the L.T. Hill Company Building, 2157 North Market Street, a design by the Wichita architectural firm of Schmidt, Boucher and Overend. The stucco and light brown brick walls, tile roofs, terracotta ornament and shaped parapets are among the character-defining features of these buildings.

Moderne Movement

In the area, examples of Moderne Movement commercial design generally first appeared in the 1930s. At the start of this period, architects began applying the streamlined forms popular in industrial design to commercial buildings. In the 1930s, the Moderne style featured cubic and cylindrical forms with a horizontal emphasis, smooth surfaces, curving shapes and a minimum of ornamentation.

The former Farha Brothers Grocery Store at 2130 North Market Street is another example of the Moderne style applied to a free-standing store vernacular building form. The buff brick walls and curved corner, and aluminum canopy define its architectural style.

Classical Revival

Like the building at 2144 North Broadway mentioned above, the building at 2227 North Broadway exhibits elements of Classical Revival design. These features include a symmetrical façade punctuated by articulated pilasters that separate the individual storefronts and stringcourses of brickwork between the above and below the second story.

Two-Part Commercial Block

The buildings at 2144 North Broadway and 2107-2109 North Broadway illustrate the Two-Part Commercial Block form, including the distinct separation between the first-story storefront and the more decorative treatment of the upper wall face. The Flat Iron Building at 2144 North Broadway, designed by architect E.R. Meier, is also notable for its elements of Classical Revival architecture, including an articulated stone entrance, articulated brick piers, patterned brickwork and brackets at the cornice, and paired double-hung windows at the second story.

Craftsman

Craftsman houses date from circa 1905 through 1930. Most evolved from the early designs of Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene who practiced architecture in California from 1893 to 1914. The Greene’s designed both elaborate and simple bungalow houses that incorporated designs inspired from the English Arts and Crafts movement and Oriental architecture. Popularized by architectural magazines and builder pattern books, the one-story Craftsman house became popular nationwide during the early decades of the twentieth century as the most fashionable style for a smaller house. Identifying features include low-pitched roofs; wide eve overhangs, often with exposed roof rafters; decorative beams or braces under gables; and full- or partial-width porches supported by square piers.

Typical Craftsman features on the duplex at 2121-2123 North Market Street include square porch posts; multi-light double-hung windows with vertical muntins; and knee braces and rafter tails below the wide overhanging eaves.