Materializing Spanish-Colonial Revival Architecture: History and Cultural Production in Southern California By Albert S. Fu afu@kutztown.edu Kutztown University of Pennsylvania Please cite as: Fu, A. S. (2012). Materializing Spanish-Colonial Revival Architecture: History and Cultural Production in Southern California. Home Cultures, 9(2), 149-171. ABSTRACT In the early twentieth century, Spanish-Colonial Revival became embedded in the local culture of Southern California. However, this architectural style did not simply appear, rather it was materialized by architects, builders, realtors, and manufacturers of construction materials who built for and sold to hoŵeoǁŶeƌs. This pƌoĐess, hoǁeǀeƌ, ǁas Ŷot siŵplLJ aďout usiŶg histoƌLJ aŶd heƌitage. ‘atheƌ, these soĐial aĐtoƌs had to legitiŵize the uďiƋuitous use of ƌed-tile roofing and cement stucco to establish new aesthetic norms and conventions for the vernacular landscape. As such, this article will look at the relationship between the political economy of building and aesthetics in the shaping of the vernacular landscape. Introduction All artistic work, like all human activity, involves the joint activity of a number, often a large number, of people. Through their cooperation, the art work we eventually see or hear Đoŵes to ďe aŶd ĐoŶtiŶues to ďe Becker (1982: 1) In 1906, a traveling journalist writing for The New York Times noted that Southern California was ƌedeeŵed fƌoŵ ǀulgaƌitLJ ďLJ the geŶius of plaĐe ;“ĐhulLJeƌ ϭϵ06). This statement has a trans- historical resonance. The regions vernacular is one that is steeped in the wonders of simulacrum, hyperreality, and spectacle (see Baudrillard 1988; Eco 1983; Jameson 1991; Scott and Soja 1998). Thanks to architects, writers, and city boosters, Southern Californias identity became firmly grounded in an obsession with geography. As architectural historian Reyner Banham argued, the regions four ecologies of beaches, freeways, flatlands, and foothills have long played a dominant