This style is based on Spanis colonial and Mexican buildings that were built in California, Texas and the American Southwest between the early 1600s and the 1840s. The style regained popularity as a revival style during the 1920s. Chicagoans used it for houses and religious buildings in several community areas, including Beverly, Edison Park, and South Shore.

Common characteristics are:

• brick or stucco walls
• twisting columns and decorative shields made of terra cotta
• round arched windows
• elaborately rounded roof parapets based on Spanish colonial missions
• clay tile roofs