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Mission San Juan Capistrano, is one in a chain of 21 settlements founded by the Spanish missionaries during the middle 1700s. On November 1, 1776, Father Junipero Serra founded the San Juan Capistrano Mission, in what is now Orange County.
San Juan Capistrano is best known for where the swallows once migrated each March after wintering 7,000 miles away in Goya, Argentina.
However, before the swallows' annual return was first recorded at the San Juan Capistrano Mission, the grounds had fallen to opportunists, government turnovers, and to violent Pacific storms.
Serra built a self-contained adobe fort in the 1770s in what had been a valley of several hundred Juaneno Indians. They used local materials to construct the San Juan Capistrano Mission on a knoll, north of where two salmon-plump rivers merged. In 1794, forty adobe homes were built, housing Mission workers and ranch hands, along Los Rios Street --the oldest residential street in California.
In 1797 construction began on a stone church designed to hold hundreds of parishioners. The massive structure took nine years to complete and towered above the valley floor. On 8 December 1812, during Sunday service, an earthquake jammed the church doors closed, trapping the congregation, as the Mission church's stone walls and adobe plaster fell to crush dozens. The hollowed altar is what remains today, and has been the focus of preservation programs for three decades.
After Mexico gained independence from Spain, the San Juan Capistrano Mission was vacated; however, the pueblo of San Juan Capistrano grew. In 1845 the Mission was sold at auction to rancher John Forster who turned the settlement into his family's home. After California became a state, President Abraham Lincoln returned the Mission to the Roman Catholic Church in 1865, but the Mission remained empty and fell further into disrepair.
"When The Swallows Come Back to Capistrano,"
'...When the swallows come back to Capistrano
All the mission bells will ring
All the mission bells will ring |
The Capistrano Valley continued to prosper as a ranching and farming region -- producing walnut groves, citrus fruit, and cattle. The Mission's adobe walls crumbled from winter storms, and due to local residents stealing bricks, tiles, and support beams to build their own homes.
The earliest restoration began with the help of the Landmark Club of Los Angeles and continues today, more than a century later. Recent earthquake stabilizing involved footing the remains of the stone church with iron braces.
But one man, Father Saint John O'Sullivan, settled in the San Juan Capistrano Mission in 1910 and discovered a natural migration that would put his town on the map.
Not only did O'Sullivan front the greatest effort to revitalized the Mission grounds, during his 20 year stay, he observed a large number of long-tailed swallows nesting under the Mission's archways and eaves, beginning in March. While the swallows' return was well-known with local bird watchers, O'Sullivan found that the swallows returned exactly on the same day each year.
The birds possess an architectural ability that impressed many as well, as the strength of each nest --which was often huddled side-by-side under building eaves-- would last for years and house many generations of swallows.
Going out on a limb, O'Sullivan convinced radio stations in Los Angeles to broadcast the swallow's return on 19 March live. Radio producers were skeptical and thought the migration was nothing more than public relations hoax. But the birds did not let O'Sullivan down as they flocked to the Mission in groves one 19 March...and the rest, as they say, was history.
During the early 1940s a popular song, "When The Swallows Come Back to Capistrano," enchanted radio fans worldwide to migrate to San Juan Capistrano for the annual return of the swallows -- in hopes of finding their true love. The song created a legend for the small town, to which each 19 March became known as the day the birds arrived...as did a number of Hollywood film stars from Los Angeles.
In 2006, celebrations continue minus notable Hollywood icons Lucille Ball, Barbara Stanwyck, and Clark Gable.
The City of San Juan Capistrano, founded in 1961, celebrates the annual return of the swallows during the third week in March with a festival known as "Fiesta de Las Golondrinas."
Swallows' week begins the Friday before March 19, and ends the following Saturday, with a pet parade, hairiest man contest, and the annual Swallow's Day Parade (the largest nonmotorized parade in the Western United States.) The city also sponsors a hoosegow day, a slang term for jail or juzgado, where anyone could be jailed (for fun) at the public square.
Most likely, from the early years of the Mission, migrating swallows simply enjoyed building nests in what was at that time the only large man-made structure within a radius of 60 miles. As southern California developed into a mecca for commerce and the film industry, the swallows continued to migrate, but their nesting habits eventually spread-out hundreds of miles across the heavily developed region.
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Touring San Juan Capistrano on foot is easy for all ages. The steep surrounding hills, landscaped with modern residential castles, accent the valley floor. From either two major southern California locations, Los Angeles (60 miles north) or San Diego (60 miles south) the Amtrak train makes daily stops from either direction at the historical Train Depot on Los Rios Street, one block from the Mission.
The San Juan Capistrano Mission grounds offer a display of both historical Church documents, and local artifacts found from centuries of indigenous settlements. Volunteers, many of whom grew up in the area, cater to visitors as strolling historians. Life two centuries ago was successful in its own right as evidence of brick ovens, vats, and mill stones unearthed as evidence of mass-food production.
Built in 1777, Serra Chapel, located in the East wing, is the oldest standing church in California. Its cherrywood altar is a carpenter's masterpiece. Imported from Barcelona, Spain, the stunning display is layered in gold-leaf. The statues were originally displayed in the old stone church but relocated after 1812. Serra Chapel is now undergoing restoration.
The San Juan Capistrano Mission's regular activities include, lecture series, a living history day and a children's art classes. Mission visitors have the opportunity to talk with strolling historians dressed in period clothes.
Serra Chapel |
The Mission plans to host 'family day' on 18 March 2006 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and again on swallow's day, 19 March from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The city of San Juan Capistrano will host La Presidentia Ball on 18 March at 6 p.m., admission is $50; Fiesta Grande on 22 March, HooseGow Day on 24 March, and the swallow's day parade is scheduled 25 March beginning at 11 a.m.
One block south from the Mission, along Los Rios Street, some adobes from 1794 remain. The two oldest are the Montanez and Rios adobes. The Rios adobe has been continuously occupied by the same family from the day of completion. The Combs house is a favorite for local artisans to draw or paint.
The San Juan Capistrano Historical Society offers city walking tours on Sundays at 1 p.m. The one-time domed train Depot, on Verdugo Street and Los Rios, is the oldest Spanish colonial revival station in Southern California. Built by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1894, it functions as the city's train stop and to many local residents as their means to and from work, and serves as a dining and entertainment center.
One block North of the Mission, the San Juan Capistrano Library won accolades for its architecture and also serves as a local history outpost. It was completed in 1983, and resembles a Spanish fortress.
If you are in southern California and traveling by car, exit Interstate 5 at Ortega Highway about 10 miles south of the I-5/I-405 split in Irvine. The Mission is visible two blocks West of the Interstate. Parking is available in a multilevel garage at Franciscan Plaza along Verdugo Street at Los Rios and the train tracks.
Regional climate for San Juan Capistrano is moderate overall, although extreme temperatures have been recorded; highest 119 degrees, lowest 12 degrees. Average daily maximum temperatures January-March range from the upper 50s, to upper 60s, with occasionally warmer days in the 70s. Nighttime winter temperatures fall from the mid-30s to low 40s.
July-September is the valley's warmest period with average daily maximums ranging from the upper 70s to the upper-80s. Short-lived heat spells in excess of 100 degrees can occur anytime between May-October. Nighttime temperatures average in the 60s. Rainfall is higher than the Los Angeles basin with a 30-year average of 18 inches. Rainfall occurs mostly between December-April. Trends are difficult to predict, since the area has received as much as 40 inches, and as little at 6 inches during winter months since 1970. Sprinkles can occur at anytime during the year. Violent winds and Pacific storms occur between October-March and visitors should prepare accordingly.