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.
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
