Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Few contemporary writers nail California culture as well as Joan Didion. She's best
known for her collections of nonfiction essays,
Slouching Towards Bethlehem
and
The
White Album
, which take a caustic look at 1960s California flower power with a personal
slant. Tom Wolfe also put '60s San Francisco in perspective with
The Electric Kool-Aid
Acid Test
, which follows Ken Kesey's band of Merry Pranksters, who began their acid-
laced 'magic bus' journey near Santa Cruz.
For a memorable trip through California, join contemporary authors including Pico Iyer
and Michael Chabon in
My California: Journeys by Great Writers
. Proceeds from pur-
chases via Angel City Press (
www.angelcitypress.com
) support the California Arts Coun-
cil.
Architecture
California's architecture was postmodern before the word existed, having long adapted in-
ternational styles to fit the climate and available materials. Today, unexpected elements are
almost everywhere you look: Mayan art-deco facades in LA, chinoiserie streetlamps in
San Francisco, English country cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Japanese hipped roofs
on bungalows in Pasadena and Oakland.
Spanish Missions & Victorian Queens
In the late 18th century, the first Spanish missions were built around courtyards, using ma-
terials that Native Californians and colonists found on hand: adobe, limestone and grass.
Many missions crumbled into disrepair under Mexican rule in the early 19th century, but
the style remained practical for the climate and many Californian settlers later adapted it
into the rancho adobe style.
Once the Gold Rush got rolling, California's nouveau riche imported materials to con-
struct grand mansions matching European fashions, and raised the stakes with ornamental
excess. Many millionaires favored the gilded Queen Anne style. Outrageous examples of
Victorian architecture, including 'painted ladies' and 'gingerbread' houses, are seen in San
Francisco, Ferndale and Eureka.
Many turn-of-the-20th-century architects rejected frilly Victorian styles in favor of sim-
pler, classical lines. Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, also known as Mission Revival
style, hearkened back to early California missions with restrained and functional details:
