Mission San Juan Bautista, A Photo Essay

Photo Essay contest.   On Wednesday August 8th, my friend and her nephew and I decided to visit Historic Mission San Juan Bautista.   I hadn't been there in several years and neither had my friend so we decided it would be a great learning experience for her 8 year old nephew.

The Old Mission San Juan Bautista was founded on June 24th, 1797.

Welcome to Mission San Juan Bautista. In June, 1803, the cornerstone was laid for the present church.

Old San Juan Bautista Mission, established 1797 

The Interior completion of the church continued through 1817. 

Interior of the San Juan Bautista Mission Church

This is the Guadalupe Chapel, it is the original chapel

There is a "cat door" carved into one of the doors in the Guadalupe Chapel. This allowed cats to come and go as they pleased to catch mice.  The mice ate much of the harvest.

The present museum is were the padre's lived and the Native Americans had their work rooms.  For many years the rooms were  used for storage and Mass after the 1906 eqrthquake.

The gardens were the center of activity. Here were learned the skills of carpentry, tanning, weaving, and candlemaking.

Red Roses in the garden

An Angel in the Garden

My Friend's nephew sitting under the original El Camino Real Bell in the Mission Garden, cactus garden.  These bells used to be up and down The original El Camino Real, which is now Highway 101.  They recently replaced most of the bells with new ones that are replicas of the originals.  There are a few of the original bells still out on highway 101. 

El Camino Real Bell Plack placed by the Native Daughters of the Golden West in 1910.

The present Gift Shop was a storeroom. In 1847, it was a temporary home for the Breen family who survived the Donner Party tragedy. Their family Bible is in the Museum.

The Old El Camino Real or Kings Highway

The El Camino Real is Spanish for The Royal Road, also known as The King's Highway. It is also refered to as the 600-mile California Mission Trail, connecting California's 21 missions stretching from San Diego in the south to Sonoma in the north.

These are  old Vestments used by some of the priests during mass.  They were still used up until the 1930's.

The only original Spanish Plaza remaining in California is located in San Juan Bautista . The Mission San Juan Bautista has had a pastor since it was founded on June 24,1797.

The Movie VERTIGO'S 50th Anniversary of filming at the San Juan Bautista Mission will be held October 5-7, 2007.   I plan on being there I love the movie VERTIGO!

Bell Tower Mission San Juan Bautista

Photos by TrudyP  Panasonic FZ7 Digital Camera

Some of the information used in this photo Essay was gotten from the Old Mission San Juan Bautista website

http://www.oldmissionsjb.org/