1912 - Present: Pueblo Revival Style

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Inspired by the simple adobe structures built by ancient tribes, comfortable, eco-friendly pueblo style homes are especially practical in dry climates.

Pueblo Revival homes borrow ideas from the ancient earthen homes of Native Americans.

Pueblo homes have many of these features:

• Massive, round-edged walls made with adobe
• Flat roof with no overhang
• Stepped levels
• Rounded parapet
• Spouts in the parapet to direct rainwater
• Vigas (heavy timbers) extending through walls to support the roof
• Latillas (poles) placed above vigas in angled pattern
• Deep window and door openings
• Simple windows
• Beehive corner fireplace
• Bancos (benches) that protrude from walls
• Nichos (niches) carved out of wall for display of religious icons
• Brick, wood, or flagstone floors

Due to Spanish influence, Pueblo Revival homes may also have these features:

• Porches held up with zapatas (posts)
• Enclosed patios
• Heavy wooden doors
• Elaborate corbels

Variations of the Pueblo Revival style:

• Pueblo Deco. Combining Pueblo Revival with Art Deco architecture, these homes are decorated with geometric patterns and Native American designs.
• Santa Fe Style. This type of Pueblo became the standard in New Mexico after it was defined by the Santa Fe Historic Zoning Ordinance of 1957.
• Contemporary Pueblo. Stripped down, unornamented Pueblos without posts, beams, or vigas.
• Territorial Pueblo. Corners are square instead of rounded. Windows are framed with straight wooden moldings.

These builders are known for their Pueblo Revival buildings:

• John Gaw Meem
• Mary Louise Colter
• Glenn Curtiss

About Pueblo Houses:

Since ancient times, Pueblo Indians built large, multi-family houses, which the Spanish called pueblos (villages). In the 17th and 18th centuries, the Spanish made their own Pueblo homes, but they adapted the style. They formed the adobe into sun-dried building blocks. After stacking the blocks, the Spaniards covered them with protective layers of mud.

Pueblo Revival houses became popular in the early 1900s, mainly in California and the southwestern United States. During the 1920s, aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and his partner James Bright introduced their own version of Pueblo Revival architecture to Florida. In the region that is now Miami Springs, Curtiss and Bright built an entire development of thick-walled buildings made of wood frame or concrete block.

Modern day Pueblo homes are often made with concrete blocks or other materials covered with adobe, stucco, plaster, or mortar.