Mayan Revival architecture

Although there were mutual influences between these original and otherwise distinct and richly varied pre-Columbian artistic traditions, the syncretism of these modern reproductions is often an ahistorical one.

Historian Marjorie Ingle traces the history of this style to the Pan American Union Building by Paul Philippe Cret which incorporates numerous motifs drawn from the indigenous traditions of the Americas.

Commissioned in 1953, the massive pyramid of the Beth Sholom Synagogue with its geometric roof detailing is perhaps the most direct Wright evocation of Maya form.

Its façade, interiors and furniture incorporated abstract patterns inspired by the Maya script with Art Deco influences, and it was built on the original U.S. Route 66 in Monrovia, California.

"[5] Although the buildings use of reinforced concrete to create the intricate designs on the exterior one opinionated observer wrote: "The bizarre Aztec forms may create the atmosphere desired, and will serve the legitimate publicity interests of the establishment, but it would be deplorable if an 'Aztec Movement' set in and the style copyists were diverted from noble examples to the forms of a semi-barbaric people.