Mission Basilica San Diego de Alcalá was the second Franciscan founded mission in The Californias, a province of New Spain. Located in present-day San Diego, California, it was founded on July 16, 1769, by Spanish friar Junípero Serra, in an area long inhabited by the Kumeyaay people. The mission and the surrounding area were named for the Catholic saint Didacus of Alcalá, a Spaniard more commonly known as San Diego. The mission was the site of the first Christian burial in Alta California. The original mission burned in 1775 during an uprising by local natives. San Diego is also generally regarded as the site of the region's first public execution, in 1778. Father Luis Jayme, California's first Christian martyr who was among those killed during the 1775 uprising against the mission, lies entombed beneath the chancel floor. The current church, built in the early 19th century, is the fifth to stand on this location. The mission site is a National Historic Landmark.
Mission San Carlos Borromeo del Río Carmelo, or Misión de San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, first built in 1797, is one of the most authentically restored Catholic mission churches in California. Located at the mouth of Carmel Valley, California, it is on the National Register of Historic Places and is a National Historic Landmark.
Mission San Antonio de Padua is a Spanish mission established by the Franciscan order in present-day Monterey County, California, near the present-day town of Jolon. Founded on July 14, 1771, it was the third mission founded in Alta California by Father Presidente Junípero Serra. The mission was the first use of fired tile roofing in Upper California. Today the mission is a parish church of the Diocese of Monterey and is no longer active in the mission work which it was set up to provide.
The Mission San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, is a historic Catholic church complex in San Francisco, California. Operated by the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the complex was founded in the 18th century by Spanish Catholic missionaries. The mission contains two historic buildings:
Mission San Buenaventura, formally known as the Mission Basilica of San Buenaventura, is a Catholic parish and basilica in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. The parish church in the city of Ventura, California, United States, is a Spanish mission founded by the Order of Friars Minor. Founded on March 31, 1782, it was the ninth Spanish mission established in Alta California and the last to be established by the head of the Franciscan missions in California, Junípero Serra. Designated a California Historical Landmark, the mission is one of many locally designated landmarks in downtown Ventura.
El Camino Real is a 600-mile (965-kilometer) commemorative route connecting the 21 Spanish missions in California, along with a number of sub-missions, four presidios, and three pueblos. Historically associated with the Calle Real which terminates in Mexico City, as the former capital of New Spain and the seat of royal power for Las Californias, its southern end in the modern U.S. state of California is at Mission San Diego de Alcalá and its northern terminus is at Mission San Francisco Solano in Sonoma.
The Presidio of Monterey (POM), located in Monterey, California, is an active US Army installation with historic ties to the Spanish colonial era. Currently, it is the home of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center (DLI-FLC). It is the last and only presidio in California to have an active military installation.
Old Town San Diego State Historic Park is a state protected historical park in the Old Town neighborhood of San Diego, California. The park commemorates the early days of San Diego; it includes many historic buildings from the period 1820 to 1870. The park was established in 1968. In 2005 and 2006, California State Parks listed Old Town San Diego as the most visited state park in California.
El Presidio Real de Santa Bárbara, also known as the Royal Presidio of Santa Barbara, is a former military installation in Santa Barbara, California, United States. The presidio was built by Spain in 1782, with the mission of defending the Second Military District in California. In modern times, the Presidio serves as a significant tourist attraction, museum and an active archaeological site as part of El Presidio de Santa Barbara State Historic Park.
El Presidio Real de San Diego is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Gaspar de Portolá, leader of the first European land exploration of Alta California—at that time an unexplored northwestern frontier area of New Spain. The presidio was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the present-day United States. As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of operations for the Spanish colonization of California. The associated Mission San Diego de Alcalá later moved a few miles away.
George White Marston was an American politician, department store owner, and philanthropist. Marston was involved with establishing Balboa Park, the San Diego Public Library System, and San Diego Presidio Park. His contributions to San Diego earned him the affectionate title of "San Diego's First Citizen."
The Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo, also known as the Royal Presidio Chapel, is a Catholic cathedral located in Monterey, California, United States. The cathedral is the oldest continuously operating parish and the oldest stone building in California. It was built in 1791-94 making it the oldest serving cathedral in the United States, along with St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only existing presidio chapel in California and the only existing building in the original Monterey Presidio.
Mission Hills is a neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States. It is located on hills just south of the San Diego River valley and north of downtown San Diego and San Diego International Airport, overlooking Old Town, Downtown San Diego, and San Diego Bay.
Old Town is a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It contains 230 acres (93 ha) and is bounded by Interstate 8 on the north, Interstate 5 on the west, Mission Hills on the east and south. It is the oldest settled area in San Diego and is the site of the first European settlement in present-day California. It contains Old Town San Diego State Historic Park and Presidio Park, both of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Old Mission Dam is a historic water impoundment structure in Mission Trails Regional Park in San Diego, California. It was built in 1803 to impound the San Diego River to provide water for irrigation of the fields associated with the Mission San Diego de Alcalá, the first Spanish mission in what is now the US state of California. It was the first major colonial-era irrigation project on the Pacific coast of the United States. The surviving remnant of the dam was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1963.
The San Diego History Center is a museum showcasing the history of San Diego, located in Balboa Park.
The Serra Cross, sometimes also known as the Cross on the Hill or the Grant Park Cross, is a Christian cross on a hill known as "La Loma de la Cruz" in Ventura, California. The site is in Serra Cross Park, a one-acre parcel within the larger Grant Park that overlooks downtown Ventura, the Santa Barbara Channel, and Anacapa and Santa Cruz Islands.
El Desembarcadero, or The Landing, is a historical site in San Diego, California in San Diego Bay. The El Desembarcadero site is a California Historical Landmark No. 64 listed on December 6, 1932. It is the site of the landing by Spaniards coming to New Spain, Pueblo de San Diego, now Old Town, San Diego. Small ship's boats brought cargo and passengers to the San Diego Mission, Presidio of San Diego and Pueblo San Diego. It most likely that ships San Antonio and San Carlos landed at the site in 1769, loooking fresh water on the San Diego River, on their San Diego expedition. San Antonio arrived in San Diego Bay on April 11, 1769, and the San Carlos on April 29. They landed on May 1, 1769, Some of the ships grew died in San Diego and Father Serra and Father Vila, remain in San Diego. T
San Diego Viejo Plaza, also called Plaza de Las Armas, Old Town Plaza, and Washington Square, is a historical site in San Diego, California. The San Diego Viejo Plaza site is California Historical Landmark No. 63, listed on December 5, 1932. The plaza was the center of Pueblo de San Diego, founded in 1835 in Alta California.
Spanish Landing is a historical site at Spanish Landing Park in San Diego, California at San Diego Bay. The Spanish Landing site is a California Historical Landmark No. 891 listed on February 20, 1976. It is the site of the landing by Spanish Portolá expedition with leaders Gaspar de Portolá and Junípero Serra. The Spanish ships San Antonio and San Carlos (ship) landed ship's boats at the site in 1769, looking fresh water on the San Diego River, on their San Diego expedition. San Antonio arrived in San Diego Bay on April 11, 1769, and the San Carlos on April 29. They came ashore on May 1, 1769, and set up a base camp on May 14. On July 1, the ships' party met up with the party that had marched inland from Baja California. The Spanish landing started the founding of Alta California for the Spanish Empire. Some of the ships' crew were sick from the trip to San Diego; Father Serra and Father Vila remained in San Diego.
