Edwin Lewis Snyder

Who was Edwin Lewis Snyder?

Edwin Lewis Snyder was an architect and pioneer in the use of Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture, building homes in Northern California for decades from the early to mid-twentieth century. The Snyder-designed Berkeley Community YWCA, built in 1930, is on the city's historical register; the Roy O. Long Co. Building, built in 1927, is on the California Historical Resources Inventory.

Along with Frederick L. Confer, Snyder designed several “western colonial” homes during the depression. Snyder designed the 7,700-square-foot Alpha Delta Pi sorority house in Berkeley, excluding architect’s fees, the English cottage style structure was made for $27,500.

Snyder was strongly influenced by a six-week visit to Majorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean, where he visited Palma, Deià, Estellencs, and Formentor. He found homes he described as “architecturally perfect” featuring pergolas, Dado, tile roofs, windows that ran to the floor, with white-washed finishes. These features were included in his later California works.

Snyder’s designs placed first and second in the 1932 Small House Exhibition in Oakland, CA.