TheJama Masjid was the inspiration for Blore's design.[2]
The "Moorish" garden structures built atSheringham Park in Norfolk, ca. 1812, were an unusual touch at the time, a parallel tochinoiserie, as a dream vision of fanciful whimsy, not meant to be taken seriously; however, as early as 1826,Edward Blore usedIslamic arches, domes of various size and shapes and other details of Near Eastern Islamic architecture to great effect in his design forAlupka Palace inCrimea, a cultural setting that had already been penetrated byOttoman architecture.
By the mid-19th century, the style was adopted by theJews ofCentral Europe, who associatedMoorish andMudéjar architectural forms with theGolden age of Jewish culture in Spain.[3] It has also been argued[by whom?] that Jewish communities adopted this architecture (which inWestern eyes was seen as stereotypical of "Islamic" or "Oriental" culture more broadly) for more complex reasons; mainly, as an affirmation or reclamation of the Middle Eastern roots of their history and thus as a way of setting themselves apart from the surrounding Western or Christian society.[3][4] This came at time when Jews were gaining more freedoms in some European societies and the construction of ostentatious synagogues was possible for the first time, thus provoking a search for a new distinct style of architecture. Historian John M. Efron of the University of California at Berkeley regards the popularity of Moorish revival architecture among builders of synagogues as a counterpoint toEdward Said'sOrientalism, which criticizes Europeanorientalism as inherently imperialist and racist, since the builders chose the style as an expression of admiration for the culture of the Muslim world.[5] As a consequence, Moorish Revival spread around the globe as a preferred style ofsynagogue architecture for a long period until the early 20th century.[4][3]
In Spain, the country was conceived as the place of origin of Moorish ornamentation, and the interest in this sort of architecture fluctuated from province to province[6]. The mainstream was calledNeo-Mudéjar. InCatalonia,Antoni Gaudí's profound interest inMudéjar heritage governed the design of his early works, such asCasa Vicens orAstorga Palace. In Andalusia, the Neo-Mudéjar style gained belated popularity in connection with theIbero-American Exposition of 1929. It was epitomized byPlaza de España of Seville and theGran Teatro Falla inCádiz. InMadrid, the Neo-Mudéjar was a characteristic style of housing and public buildings at the turn of the century. In contrast, the 1920s return of interest to the style resulted in such buildings as thebullring ofLas Ventas andDiario ABC office. A Spanish nobleman built theSammezzano, one of Europe's largest and most elaborate Moorish Revival structures, inTuscany between 1853 and 1889.
Lithography of theMoorish Castle, a theater built in Moorish Architecture. Location wasFrederiksberg, Denmark
AlthoughCarlo Bugatti employed Moorish arcading among the exotic features of his furniture, shown at the 1902 exhibition atTurin, by that time the Moorish Revival was very much on the wane almost everywhere. A notable exception wasImperial Russia, where the shell-encrustedMorozov House in Moscow (a stylisation of thePena Palace inSintra), the Neo-MamlukDulber palace inKoreiz, and the palace inLikani exemplified the continuing development of the style.
Another exception wasBosnia, where, after itsoccupation by Austria-Hungary, the new authorities commissioned a range of Neo-Moorish structures. The aim was to promote Bosnian national identity while avoiding its association with either theOttoman Empire or the growingpan-Slavic movement by creating an "Islamic architecture of European fantasy".[7] This included application of ornamentations and other Moorish design strategies neither of which had much to do with prior architectural direction of indigenousBosnian architecture. The central post office inSarajevo, for example, follows distinct formal characteristics of design like clarity of form, symmetry, and proportion while the interior followed the same doctrine. TheNational and University Library of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo is an example of Pseudo Moorish architectural language using decorations and pointed arches while still integrating other formal elements into the design.
Other notable example in the region is the building of the Regional historical museum inKardzhali, Bulgaria build in the 1920s, combining also Central Asian styles.
Regional historical museum in Kardzhali in Bulgaria
In the United States,Washington Irving's fanciful travel sketch,Tales of the Alhambra (1832), first brought Moorish Andalusia into readers' imaginations; one of the first neo-Moorish structures wasIranistan, a mansion ofP. T. Barnum inBridgeport, Connecticut. Constructed in 1848 and destroyed by fire ten years later, this architectural extravaganza "sprouted bulbous domes and horseshoe arches".[8] In the 1860s, the style spread across America, withOlana, the painterFrederic Edwin Church's house overlooking the Hudson River, Castle Garden inJacksonville andLongwood inNatchez, Mississippi usually cited among the more prominent examples. After the American Civil War, Moorish or Turkish smoking rooms achieved some popularity. There were Moorish details in the interiors created for theHenry Osborne Havemeyer residence on Fifth Avenue byLouis Comfort Tiffany. The most thorough example of Moorish Revival architecture wasVilla Zorayda inSt. Augustine, Florida, built in 1883 byFranklin W. Smith as a winter home and showplace for the Boston businessman and architectural enthusiast. Today it is a museum, open for tourists. In 1893,The Great Saltair was built on the southern shores ofThe Great Salt Lake, adjacent toSalt Lake City. Under dozens of Moorish domes and lambrequin, polylobed, and keyhole arches,Saltair housed popular clubs, restaurants, bowling alleys, a hippodrome, rollercoaster, observation deck for the surrounding desert, and what was marketed as the largest dance hall in the world.[9] LikeIranistan before it,Saltair was destroyed by fire in 1925 and again in 1970; the first of which, less than 30 years after opening.
The trend continued into the early 1900s, for example in the 1909Murat Shrine Temple inIndianapolis, Indiana. The 1914Pittock Mansion inPortland, Oregon incorporates Turkish design features, as well as French, English, and Italian ones; the smoking room in particular has notable Moorish revival elements. In 1937, theCorn Palace inMitchell, South Dakota added unusual minarets and Moorish domes, unusual because the polychrome decorations are made out of corn cobs of various colors assembled like mosaic tiles to create patterns. The 1891Tampa Bay Hotel, whose minarets and Moorish domes are now the pride of theUniversity of Tampa, was a particularly extravagant example of the style. Other schools with Moorish Revival buildings include David H. Zysman Hall atYeshiva University in New York City.George Washington Smith used the style in his design for the 1920s Isham Beach Estate inSanta Barbara, California.[10]
An example of the Andalusi architecture in the Center, a fountain designed after theAlhambra'sCourt of the Lions
Immaculate Conception Church (New Orleans), (a.k.a. Jesuit Church) is a striking example of Moorish Revival Architecture. Across the street was the College of the Immaculate Conception, housing a chapel with two stained glass domes. The chapel was disassembled and about half of it (one of the stained glass domes, eleven of the windows) was installed in the present Jesuit High School.
^Brett, C.E.B. (2005).Towers of Crim Tartary : English and Scottish architects and craftsmen in the Crimea, 1762–1853.Donington, Lincolnshire: Shaun Tyas. p. 65.ISBN978-1-900289-73-3.
^Biale, David (June 2017). "German Jewry and the Allure of the Sephardic (book review)".The American Historical Review.122 (3): 942.doi:10.1093/ahr/122.3.942.
^Parkes, Lorna (2017).Lonely Planet Morocco. Lonely Planet. p. 111.ISBN9781787010093.Nuestra Señora de las Victorias Church: This Roman Catholic church was built in 1926 and is still active. We can't think of another place in Morocco where church bells sound the hour.
![Tétouan Catholic Church, built during the Spanish protectorate in Morocco, and still active today[15][16][17][18]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aChurch_of_Our_Lady_of_Victory_of_T%25C3%25A9touan.jpg)
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