Misión La Purísima Concepción De María Santísima , Lompoc Now a state historic park, this mission is the most completely restored of the chain. Golden grasses and oak-covered hills frame the view from the chapel entrance.ĩ. Old Mission Santa Inés, Solvang Manicured gardens and well-preserved paintings and wall frescoes make this one of the most charming and colourful missions. The museum houses a large collection of 1800s silk vestments. Part of the original aqueduct is still used by the city of Santa Barbara.Ĩ. Old Mission Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara The only California mission to have twin bell towers, the “Queen of the Missions” features a magnificent Moorish fountain, spectacular rose gardens, and an abalone-encrusted Chumash altar from the 1790s. Don’t miss the ornate tiled fountain, asymmetric bell tower with five bells, and palm-tree-framed garden.ħ. Old Mission San Buenaventura, Ventura A hand-built masonry aqueduct brought water seven miles from the Ventura River to “The Mission by the Sea.” At its most prosperous, this small mission had a herd of more than 41,000 livestock. Carefully tended buildings and grounds include a convent, winery, gardens, and colonnade with 20 arches. Mission San Fernando Rey de España, Mission Hills, San Fernando Valley In the 1850s, gold-hungry prospectors dug up the church floor several times, certain that treasure was buried underneath. Highlights: the altar framed by a large round skylight and the hand-hammered copper baptismal font from King Carlos III of Spain.ĥ. Its campanario holds six bells, the oldest cast in 1795. San Gabriel Arcángel, San Gabriel Valley This fortress-like mission boasted a 170-acre vineyard, the largest in the mission chain. Mission San Juan Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano Every March, the town of San Juan Capistrano welcomes the return of migrating swallows that spend most of the year in the mission before flying 6,000 miles to Argentina for the winter. California’s first pepper tree, planted in 1830, grows in the mission’s plaza.ģ. Check out the tiled stairs, stone pools, and carved gargoyles that once spouted water from their mouths. A massive lavandería, or open-air laundry, is now an ornate sunken garden. Old Mission San Luis Rey de Francia, Oceanside Known as “King of the Missions,” San Luis Rey is set within a six-acre central square and marked by an octagonal dome atop the building. Mass is held daily guided tours are available by advance request.Ģ. Information signs guide visitors through the bougainvillea-covered buildings and immaculate gardens. Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá, San Diego Built in 1769 and fully restored in 1931, this mission has a striking 46-foot-tall tower (campanario) holding five bells, the largest weighing 1,200 pounds. Read on to learn the unique features to see at each mission, listed here from south to north.ġ. All 21 missions are open to visitors and feature a gift shop and museum, and most of them hold mass on Sundays (or even daily). The missions were built approximately 30 miles apart-about a day’s journey by horseback-covering 650 miles total. Starting in 1769, Spain built a chain of 21 missions across the length of Alta California-from San Diego to Sonoma-as a way of gaining a foothold in the new frontier. California’s mission era ended in 1834, but you can still see the architectural legacy that endures in the state’s red tile roofs, whitewashed walls, arched colonnades, and bell towers.
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