Out and about in Midtown: The Villa Marquise

I was walking to Michelangelo's Italian Restaurant the other day with K enjoying the night time Summer air when I spotted this little joint on 17th between H and I. In all my years living in midtown I had never noticed the Villa Marquise before!




















It appears to be a two story enclosed apartment complex with some of the telltale Spanish Colonial Revival details I love... including a cute little shuttered balcony, built in flower pot holders, wrought iron railings and an archway with carved column's. Although the columns are narrower and faux...more of an afterthought as compared to other properties.

























There are also a few iron-style lantern pieces...though these are sparse and not with the same amount of filigree typical of authentic period pieces. I almost get the feeling the original pieces have been removed and replaced with shoddy down market pieces..maybe an unfortunate choice of a new landlord.*


























In fact the whole complex feels a bit more like a Mediterranean Italian or French** revival style rather than Mediterranean Spanish.. particularly because of the High-Style elaboration around the edges as seen above.


























The one bit that sways me more towards Spanish Colonial Revival architecture is the brilliantly colored Catalina type tiles. Beginning at the locked alcove to the building is a lovely continuous inlay of small art tile pieces and larger adobe red tiles.




















These also repeat once inside on the entrance steps.




















But best of all are the few narrow repeating tiles along the outer edge of the entrance steps. Look at the bright oranges and gold's and how they contrast with the aqua blues and navy's. Gorgeous!





















I love finding these little gems! I can only imagine (and hope) that there are as equally delightful tiles inside these little apartments!







* For those of you looking for a new pad...a review of the apartment complex from 2004.

** Apparently (according to Wiki) a Marquise is a French noblewoman ranked higher than a countess but lower than a Duchess...the wife of a Marquis.

Tile Spotting in Pescadero

I was in Pescadero last weekend and spotted these lovely hand painted tiles mounted on a patio wall outside a retreat center I visited.

























Though terrible mounted in cement (ugh) I think they could be Catalina tiles. Or are at least representative of the California Art Tile movement.



























The above tile might just be my favorite of the two geometric one's. I am a real sucker for the sea foam color.


























Standing alone these tiles make less of an impact...clustered together (as typically mounted) they are far more striking!

I have tile envy.

We're lucky to own a house at all in these tough times, let alone a pretty little Spanish Colonial Casita like ours. However, I will admit that I drool for the Catalina style tile work that is far more common in the fancier Casa Grandes found up the street and in other parts of Sacramento..as our home was not built with much except for what's left in the kitchen and bathroom. Though, I do wonder if our fireplace used to have such tiles as well....



















These pictures are from the front of the Espresso Metro complex on 11th avenue and Freeport and are typical of the California Art Tiles around Sacramento. I particularly love the narrow rectangular bordering tiles on the top and bottom.



















For me it's not just the Moorish style pattern's referenced in the design that I love so much...it's also the often bright and rare color combinations used in the ceramics. The tiles also follow a general geometric theme throughout that reverses in shapes and colors or repeats. The tiles above are the only one's in the Espresso Metro complex that are reproductions. According to Ms. Joan, owner of Metro she hand picked the tile and border pattern by request from the owner. Apparently the previous tiles were damaged beyond repair. Ugh! I wish I had an original picture of these...someone somewhere must!



















I am pretty sure my predilection for tile work likely grew out of my childhood exploration of Sierra 2 (a.k.a running through the halls and torturing Dan the Janitor with the other neighborhood brats) which has one of the most beautiful displays of California Art Tile in Sac.

But even before that was the cool red tile floor in my parents Heilbron Oaks dining room. I used to lay on that floor and color in the heat of the Summer as a child and then as a teenager, chat on the cordless phone late into the Summer night air.


In researching this blog post I came across an awesome chunk of research done by Erik Fay and Dan Murphy on Curtis Park art tiles. Read this brief history and check out the lovely slide show they put together.