The Art and Architecture of the Texas Missions

The Art and Architecture of the Texas Missions
Author: Jacinto Quirarte
Publisher: University of Texas Press
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2010-07-22
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 0292787820

Winner, Presidio La Bahia Award, Sons of the Republic of Texas Built to bring Christianity and European civilization to the northern frontier of New Spain in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries...secularized and left to decay in the nineteenth century...and restored in the twentieth century, the Spanish missions still standing in Texas are really only shadows of their original selves. The mission churches, once beautifully adorned with carvings and sculptures on their façades and furnished inside with elaborate altarpieces and paintings, today only hint at their colonial-era glory through the vestiges of art and architectural decoration that remain. To paint a more complete portrait of the missions as they once were, Jacinto Quirarte here draws on decades of on-site and archival research to offer the most comprehensive reconstruction and description of the original art and architecture of the six remaining Texas missions—San Antonio de Valero (the Alamo), San José y San Miguel de Aguayo, Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción, San Juan Capistrano, and San Francisco de la Espada in San Antonio and Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo in Goliad. Using church records and other historical accounts, as well as old photographs, drawings, and paintings, Quirarte describes the mission churches and related buildings, their decorated surfaces, and the (now missing) altarpieces, whose iconography he extensively analyzes. He sets his material within the context of the mission era in Texas and the Southwest, so that the book also serves as a general introduction to the Spanish missionary program and to Indian life in Texas.

The Influence of Local and Imported Factors on the Design and Construction of the Spanish Missions in San Antonio, Texas

The Influence of Local and Imported Factors on the Design and Construction of the Spanish Missions in San Antonio, Texas
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2006
Genre:
ISBN:

San Antonio, Texas, is home to several eighteenth-century Spanish Franciscan missions, which represent some of the best examples of Spanish colonial mission architecture in the United States and which together comprise the city's historic Chain of Missions. This study traces the history of four of these missions: Mission Nuestra Senora de la Purismima Concepcion de Acuna, Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, Mission San Juan Capistrano, and Mission San Francisco de la Espada. Founded by Franciscan friars, who traveled from Spain to Mexico and ultimately to Texas to christianize native populations of the Americas, and built by craftsmen transplanted from Mexico, the missions are an amalgam of diverse cultures and decades of evolving architectural styles. This study examines the cultural, religious, andenvironmental factors that influenced the design and construction of the original mission structures. Specifically, it analyzes the vernacular architecture of eighteenth-century Spain and Mexico, as well as the traditions of local Native American groups of the period, and studies the effect of these cultures and San Antonio's environmental conditions on the resulting vernacular construction of the San Antonio missions. Each of the four missions in this study is examined within the context of three main factors: (a) the unique combination of broad cultural factors - both local and imported - that influenced the architectural forms of the missions; (b) the religious prescriptions of three cultural groups and their effect on the structure of the missions; and (c) the impact of the specific environmental conditions of the San Antonio area. The goal of this study was to identify the multiple forces that contributed to the creation of a vernacular architectural form-Spanish mission architecture-in Texas. The findings suggest that the design and construction of the San Antonio Missions were most strongly influenced by Mexican religious factors, followed by Spanish cultural factors. Environmental conditions of the area were not highly influential.

Landmarks of Texas Architecture

Landmarks of Texas Architecture
Author: Lawrence W. Speck
Publisher:
Total Pages: 128
Release: 1986-06
Genre: Architecture
ISBN:

"This selection of twenty of Texas' proudest architectural achievements is a tiny sampling of the state's rich, but little-heralded, architectural heritage. The visual presentation of these buildings in Richard Payne's insightful photographs is evidence enough to any student of Texas culture that there are deep and meaningful tracks of our civilization in the state's built environment. . . . In the stones of the Alamo and the steel and glass of our downtown skyscrapers lie the silent embodiment of who we are and where we have been." —from the Introduction Texas architecture has never been, nor is it likely to be in the future, an easily digested whole. This collection, drawn from the 1983 Texas Society of Architects' exhibit "Creating Tomorrow's Heritage," provides a look at twenty of the most interesting responses to the challenges posed by Texas history and geography. It reveals that what Texas architecture lacks in cohesiveness, it more than compensates for in vitality. Variations in circumstance and background, coupled with the kind of freedom which heterogeneity breeds, have produced a lively climate for architectural development in Texas—a place where, in the absence of pat answers, intriguing questions have been raised. The same freedom which has produced a dearth of cohesion has encouraged exploration and invention. The same disparities which have made tidy categorization of historical movements or periods difficult have led to some evocative hybrids—new and telling syntheses which are genuinely of their place. Of interest to anyone who has strolled the Paseo del Rio in San Antonio or admired the dramatically lit State Capitol at night, Landmarks of Texas Architecture is a book to be looked at and enjoyed, a place to start in creating one's own list of architectural favorites. Part of the growing interest in Texas history and culture, Landmarks adds to our understanding of the forces which shaped the Texas of yesterday and will build the Texas of tomorrow.

A Field Guide to the Vernacular Buildings of the San Antonio Area

A Field Guide to the Vernacular Buildings of the San Antonio Area
Author: Brent Fortenberry
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2021-08-16
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 1623499127

The rich, multicultural heritage of San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country provide the backdrop for this first comprehensive guide to the culturally significant vernacular buildings of this diverse and historic region: structures designed and constructed by the people who used them rather than by professional architects or builders. A valuable, easy-to-use resource for heritage travelers, historic preservationists, and local historians, A Field Guide to the Vernacular Buildings of the San Antonio Area pairs incisive interpretive essays with detailed building descriptions, photographs, and architectural renderings. Featuring contributions from noted architectural historians and preservationists including Ken Hafertepe, Lewis Fisher, Maria Pfeiffer, and Sarah Z. Gould, this handy, generously illustrated guide will not only provide context and insight for understanding the importance of these buildings but will also engage readers with the challenges of preserving our cultural heritage as represented in the built environment. Professional and avocational preservationists, along with interested travelers and general readers, will appreciate the thorough discussion and analysis of such well-known sites as the San Antonio Riverwalk, the San Antonio missions, and the public buildings of the historic Westside district. Reaching beyond the immediate vicinity of San Antonio, the book also offers expert commentary on the German settlements in Central Texas and east of San Antonio, providing an inclusive and inviting survey of how settlers of various origins placed their unique imprints on Texas.

Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories, volume 2

Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories, volume 2
Author: Ine Wouters
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 717
Release: 2018-07-11
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 0429822537

Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories brings together the papers presented at the Sixth International Congress on Construction History (6ICCH, Brussels, Belgium, 9-13 July 2018). The contributions present the latest research in the field of construction history, covering themes such as: - Building actors - Building materials - The process of building - Structural theory and analysis - Building services and techniques - Socio-cultural aspects - Knowledge transfer - The discipline of Construction History The papers cover various types of buildings and structures, from ancient times to the 21st century, from all over the world. In addition, thematic papers address specific themes and highlight new directions in construction history research, fostering transnational and interdisciplinary collaboration. Building Knowledge, Constructing Histories is a must-have for academics, scientists, building conservators, architects, historians, engineers, designers, contractors and other professionals involved or interested in the field of construction history. This is volume 2 of the book set.

The WPA Guide to Texas

The WPA Guide to Texas
Author: Federal Writers' Project
Publisher: Trinity University Press
Total Pages: 615
Release: 2013-10-31
Genre: History
ISBN: 1595342419

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. Equaling the massive size of the state, the WPA Guide to Texas is just as expansive at 716 pages. From the Panhandle to the Rio Grande Valley, The Lone Star State’s landscape is as varied as its political and cultural past. Having been under the control of six different nations’ flags, the history section is particularly rich. The guide also includes a helpful list of books about the state.

A History of American Architecture

A History of American Architecture
Author: Mark Gelernter
Publisher: UPNE
Total Pages: 372
Release: 2001
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9781584651369

Presents a history of American architecture, from the first civilizations in America to the present.

History of Construction Cultures Volume 1

History of Construction Cultures Volume 1
Author: João Mascarenhas-Mateus
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 812
Release: 2021-08-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1000468755

History of Construction Cultures Volume 1 contains papers presented at the 7ICCH – Seventh International Congress on Construction History, held at the Lisbon School of Architecture, Portugal, from 12 to 16 July, 2021. The conference has been organized by the Lisbon School of Architecture (FAUL), NOVA School of Social Sciences and Humanities, the Portuguese Society for Construction History Studies and the University of the Azores. The contributions cover the wide interdisciplinary spectrum of Construction History and consist on the most recent advances in theory and practical case studies analysis, following themes such as: - epistemological issues; - building actors; - building materials; - building machines, tools and equipment; - construction processes; - building services and techniques ; -structural theory and analysis ; - political, social and economic aspects; - knowledge transfer and cultural translation of construction cultures. Furthermore, papers presented at thematic sessions aim at covering important problematics, historical periods and different regions of the globe, opening new directions for Construction History research. We are what we build and how we build; thus, the study of Construction History is now more than ever at the centre of current debates as to the shape of a sustainable future for humankind. Therefore, History of Construction Cultures is a critical and indispensable work to expand our understanding of the ways in which everyday building activities have been perceived and experienced in different cultures, from ancient times to our century and all over the world.