520-526 Ramona St (Commercial Building), 520-526 Ramona St Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA
This commercial structure, built in 1925 by Pedro de Lemos, was the first building to integrate the natural surroundings into the contemporary architectural styles in the Bay Area. De Lemos, a graphic artist, Director of the Stanford Art Museum and the editor of the School Arts Magazine, incorporated architectural fragments, stonework tiles, grillwork and niches into a Spanish Colonial Revival building to form an eclectic Spanish Colonial Revival commercial structure. The artistic and natural atmosphere of the structure is enhanced with a courtyard containing trees and shrubs. This open space became the focal point for the entire structure. It also became a main attraction and aided the small enterprises located in the building. The design of the Ramona Street Commercial Building and early structures like it, set a trend which is still being followed today. The Ramona Street Building, erected in 1925, was designed by Palo Alto architect Pedro de Lemos, then also director of the Stanford Art Museum and Gallery. Designed in the California vernacular of the Spanish-Colonial Revival mode, the structure is characterized by beige stuccoed walls, red-tiled roofs, round-arched openings and decorative carvings. At the time of its construction the plan for this commercial complex was distinctive in the Bay Area. The one-story streetfront shop is built around a live oak tree and flanked at one side by an open courtyard, and is set against three stories of office space at the rear. The pristine severity of stuccoed interior surfaces is softened by the use of glazed tiles, grilled ironwork, detailed wooden moldings and carved stuccoed panels. The building has been well-maintained.
520-526 Ramona St (Commercial Building), 520-526 Ramona St Palo Alto, Santa Clara County, CA
This commercial structure, built in 1925 by Pedro de Lemos, was the first building to integrate the natural surroundings into the contemporary architectural styles in the Bay Area. De Lemos, a graphic artist, Director of the Stanford Art Museum and the editor of the School Arts Magazine, incorporated architectural fragments, stonework tiles, grillwork and niches into a Spanish Colonial Revival building to form an eclectic Spanish Colonial Revival commercial structure. The artistic and natural atmosphere of the structure is enhanced with a courtyard containing trees and shrubs. This open space became the focal point for the entire structure. It also became a main attraction and aided the small enterprises located in the building. The design of the Ramona Street Commercial Building and early structures like it, set a trend which is still being followed today. The Ramona Street Building, erected in 1925, was designed by Palo Alto architect Pedro de Lemos, then also director of the Stanford Art Museum and Gallery. Designed in the California vernacular of the Spanish-Colonial Revival mode, the structure is characterized by beige stuccoed walls, red-tiled roofs, round-arched openings and decorative carvings. At the time of its construction the plan for this commercial complex was distinctive in the Bay Area. The one-story streetfront shop is built around a live oak tree and flanked at one side by an open courtyard, and is set against three stories of office space at the rear. The pristine severity of stuccoed interior surfaces is softened by the use of glazed tiles, grilled ironwork, detailed wooden moldings and carved stuccoed panels. The building has been well-maintained.
Posted Date
Sep 27, 2021
Source Name
Library of Congress
