Prairie Style From Midwest to Mission Hills

| January 6, 2015 | 0 Comments
More than one hundred years old, this Prairie Style home still graces the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego.

More than one hundred years old, this Prairie Style home still graces the Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego.

“Prairie Style from Midwest to Mission Hills,”  is the topic of the Mission Hills Heritage (MHH) Annual Tenth Lecture Series Saturday, January 17 at the Francis Parker Lower School. Here, a panel of local architectural historians will explore the migration of the Prairie Style from the middle west to the west coast from 1908 to 1916.

The Prairie Style was created by Master Architect Frank Lloyd Wright and soon became popular with west coast developers and well-do-San Diego families.

“Prairie emerged as the one truly American design creation and the style became all the rage in the early years of Mission Hills,” said Ron May, event chair and president and principal investigator for Legacy 106 Inc.

Many of these local Prairie Style homes are currently recognized for their specific architectural elements both inside and out. Exterior features include an emphasis on the horizontal with low pitched roofs, rows of windows, massive square porch supports and the use of stone and wood materials.

Home interiors offer an open floor plan centered around a large fireplace with built-in seating and shelves.

The program will include outdoor table displays on Prairie Style and the Arts and Crafts styles of the 1908 and 1916 time period. Table displays illustrating techniques for restoring fireplaces and how to get old houses designed under the City of San Diego Municipal Code will also be featured.

During the lectures, a speaker will introduce the Prairie Style’s roots in Chicago and its connection to San Diego. Power point slides of various Prairie Style houses and those who built them in Mission Hills are discussed at another.

Presented from noon to 4 p.m. at the Francis Parker School, 4201 Randolph Street in Mission Hills, the meeting is $10 for individuals and $15 for two. Refreshments will be served. For additional information, visit www.MissionHillsHeritage.org.

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