George Washington Smith an Architect's Scrapbook

BOOKS PUBLISHED ABOUT THE JACKLING HOUSE ARCHITECT

The Jackling House has been found eligible for the California Register of Historic Places for its association with an historic figure, copper baron Daniel Jackling, and for its exemplary design and materials, the work of master architect George Washington Smith, known as the "Founding Father" of Spanish Revival architecture in this country.

George Washington Smith houses can fetch upwards of $17 million.
[see New York Times]

* George Washington Smith: Architect of the Spanish Colonial Revival. (Gibbs' Smith Publishers, December, 2005) Author and historian Patricia Gebhard is a member of UOH

* Santa Barbara Style (Rizzoli International Publications, 2001) Author Kathryn Masson is also a member of UOH. Masson's other books include Napa Valley Style (Rizzoli, 2003) Sonoma Valley Style (Rizzoli, 2005) and Great Houses of Virginia (Rizzoli, release fall, 2006.) Kathryn Masson was a member of Santa Barbara's Historic Landmarks Commission for six years.

* George Washington Smith: An Architect's Scrapbook, by Marc Appleton

* Spanish Revival Architecture (published by Schiffer Books) also contains splendid photos of the Jackling house

In her book on "The Santa Barbara Style" (Rizzoli, New York, 2001) author Kathryn Masson lauds:

"Smith's masterful interpretation of the architectural vocabulary of vernacular buildings in Andalusian Spain. His use of authentic materials and command of architectural forms convey a romantic Mediterranean atmosphere. Traditional Spanish design is authenticated by thick stuccoed walls that allow for deep window and door openings, heavy overhangs with carved wooden corbels that throw structured shadows back onto the gleaming wall surfaces, and design elements such as hidden gardens, colonnaded porches, and multi-leveled building units with varying rooflines." (p 78 )

George Washington Smith is one of only NINE great California estate designers acknowledged in "The Garden Book" (Phaidon, 2002). Smith gets a full page in the book, along with the world's most important designers of palaces, châteaux, country houses, including Thomas Jefferson, Frank Lloyd Wright, and the designers of the Alhambra, the Imperial Palace and Gardens in Tokyo, and Versailles!

The Jackling House offers distinguished provenance and history. Visitors have included Charles Lindbergh, Shirley Temple, Mr and Mrs Richard Nixon, and a main character in Tom Wolfe's "The Electric Koolaid Acid Test" ... not to mention Steve Jobs.

Shouldn't there be more visitors in the future?

There is only ONE 17,250 sq foot "grandfathered in"George Washington Smith mansion in Woodside.

Let a future owner take a page from George Johnson, happy owner today of La Pechina, a George Washington Smith gem built in 1921, featured in "Santa Barbara Style".
"After discussions with architectural historian David Gebhard, an authority on George Washington Smith, Johnson modified La Pechina with authenticity of the period in mind. A new front wall that provides privacy was added. A gate through this small fortress wall reveals a long tiled bench bisected by a fountain that creates a congenial intermediate space, both whimsical and traditionally Spanish. From there the first breathtaking view of the emerald lawn and the bold architecture of the gleaming white Spanish farmhouse is seen. The house's strongest architectural feature is a rustic medieval tower that evokes a mysterious and romantic past and has been redefined ..."
(p 99)

A future owner of the Jackling House might want to rename it La Manzana. ("Apple" in Spanish )

More on George Washington Smith: http://www.architect.com/Publish/GWS.html

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