Adventure 49/101, Mission 19 - Mission Carmel

Capture California, the Game-2012

Adventure: 101 - 19: Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo, 2nd mission

Team: Thing One, Thing Two

Date:  August 31, 2012

Location: Carmel

Description:

In part because of needing to go to this mission, we decided to go down the coast from the Bay Area. So the first thing we did on this trip was to visit this mission. It just off of Highway 1, about ¾ of a mile from the highway. When we got there, the parking lot was pretty full, even though it was a Friday afternoon. You can tell it is a popular mission-what in Carmel is not popular?

Well, there is a price to be paid with popularity, and Thing One is inherently cheap. So we decided that we would just look around the place and admire the garden and exterior. So that is what we did. After 18 other missions, isn't one mission the same as another (the answer is no—each mission is different, Such as this mission is unique in that it has a covered bell tower.) So, on we went down the road.

From Wikipedia site:

It remains a parish church today. It is the only one of the California Missions to have its original bell tower dome. It was the site of the first Christian confirmation in Alta California In May, 1771, the viceroy approved Serra's petition to relocate the mission to its current location near the present-day town of Carmel-by-the-Sea.Serra's goal was to put some distance between the mission's neophytes and the Presidio of Monterey, (the headquarters of Pedro Fages, who served as military governor of Alta California between 1770 and 1774, with whom Serra was engaged in a heated power struggle). The original site continued to operate as the "Royal Presidio Chapel" and later became the Cathedral of San Carlos Borromeo. "Mission Carmel" (as it came to be known) was Serra's favorite and, being close to Monterey (the capital of Alta California), served as his headquarters. When he died on August 28, 1784, he was interred beneath the chapel floor.



As a result of Sir Harry Downie's dedicated efforts to restore the buildings, the Carmel mission church is one of the most authentically restored of all the mission churches in California. In 1987, Pope John Paul II visited the mission as part of his U.S. tour.

Several notable people are buried in the church and churchyard.

• Juan Crespí (1721–1782), Spanish missionary and explorer
• Fermín Lasuén (1736–1803), Spanish missionary
• José Antonio Roméu, Spanish governor of California
• Junípero Serra (1713–1784), founder of the mission
  

From California Missions Resource Center site:

Layout: An irregular shaped quadrangle. Only the ruins of the church remained standing when restoration began in 1921, so extensive excavation of the old foundation was required to determine the precise layout of the mission.
Mission Art: Mission Carmel is filled with significant art and original artifacts. One of the most notable attractions is a large wooden cross in the quadrangle, recreated on the site where fragments of the Cross erected by Fr. Serra were discovered during the mission restoration.
Special Attraction: One of the most popular attractions is the elaborate Serra Memorial Cenotaph (a monument not a tomb) sculpted in 1924 by Jo Mora. This is made of travertine marble and bronze and shows life-sized figures of Fr. Serra and three other pioneer missionaries, all of whom are buried under the church sanctuary.
Significant Event(s): In 1818 Hipolyte de Bouchard, an Argentine privateer, attacked and burned Monterey. The Carmel mission was evacuated but it was not harmed.

Interesting Facts: 

Carmel was headquarters of the mission chain from 1770-1803
The noted mission restorer, Sir Harry Downie (1903-1980), appointed the Carmel curator in 1932, guided the mission restoration for almost five decades, personally carving the reredos and pulpit of the church in 1956-57. Downie is buried in the mission cemetery.
Fr. Junipero Serra was selected to represent the state of California in Statuary Hall in Washington D.C. Sculptor Ettoro Cadorin's magnificent 7' fall statue of Fr. Serra, unveiled in 1939, pictures him holding a model of the Mission Carmel church.
The Carmel mission Orchard House of circa 1774 is the oldest residential dwelling in California.

From California State Parks site:

Founded by Father Serra in 1770 on Pentecost Sunday, this m ission was considered to be his favorite, and both he and Father Lasuen are buried here. It served as the ecclesiastical capital of California and also as Father Serra's headquarters for administrative duties as presidente of the missions. Set against the sea and mountains 115 miles south of San Francisco, this beautiful mission presents the complete quadrangle courtyard typical of mission architecture. The architecture is Moorish in design and the facade holds a star-shaped window directly above the main entrance. The gardens include culinary and medicinal herbs, citrus and olive trees, roses, Mexican sage and bougainvillea.
 3080 Rio Rd., Carmel, 93923, (831) 624-3600