Photographs by the architect Richard S. Requa (1881-1941), primarily from his travels in Spain, the Mediterranean, and North Africa in the 1920s, and also documenting a small number of residential projects in Southern California. Requa was known for developing the Spanish Revival architectural style and his photographs were used as inspiration and references for his design work.
Richard Requa Photograph Collection, circa 1910-1939 (MSS 785)
Extent: 2 Linear feet (5 archives boxes)
This biographical statement is adapted from the Cultural Landscape Foundation (https://www.tclf.org/pioneer/richard-requa):
Born in Rock Island, Illinois (1881), Requa moved to San Diego with his parents in 1900, where he attended Norfolk College and studied electrical engineering. He received his architectural training by working as an on-site project supervisor for the famed San Diego architecture firm of Irving J. Gill. Requa went on to establish his own firm, dominating the San Diego scene during the booming 1920s. In 1934 Requa was appointed Master Architect for the 1935 California Pacific International Exposition, held in Balboa Park, drawing on his studies of the historical heritage of the Spanish Colonial style, the Pueblos of the Southwest, and the Moorish features from Spain and North Africa. Throughout his career, Requa made extended trips to the Mediterranean to study architectural details and garden design. His studies resulted in the development of a regionally distinct style of architecture based heavily on Mediterranean design influence. Requa died of a heart attack at the age of 60 while at work in his office.
Additional brief biographies of Requa are available on the House of Pacific Relations website (https://www.sdhpr.org/RichardRequa.html), and Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Requa).
Photographs by the architect Richard S. Requa (1881-1941), who travelled extensively in the 1920s to gather design concepts utilized in his work. Requa photographed buildings, gardens, architectural details, street scenes, landscapes, and people. The collection contains prints primarily from his travels in Spain, the Mediterranean, North Africa, and the Pueblos of the American Southwest. The collection also includes one folder of prints of the California Missions (unlike the European and Pueblo prints, Requa did not take these photographs himself), documentation of Balboa Park, a small number of residential projects in Southern California, and street scenes in downtown San Diego. Requa was known for developing and popularizing the Southern California Spanish Revival architectural style, and his photographs were used as inspiration and references for his design work.
Requa published many of his travel images in two architectural guidebooks; these are referenced in the Related Materials note, and are organized at the beginning of the collection.
Arranged in three series: 1) PHOTOGRAPHS - TRAVEL, 2) PHOTOGRAPHS - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ARCHITECTURE, and 3) OTHER.
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