The Missions of California

by Melba Levick (Photographer), Young Woodbridge Levick, Stanley Young (Text)

Featuring 32 new photographs and freshly updated with travelers' information, this full-color guide covers all 21 historic missions of California, destinations that attract a steady stream of admirers throughout the year. Established by Spanish friars, built by native Indians, and preserved by historians, the missions are enduring testimony to the faith and craftsmanship of the Golden State's inhabitants over the years. The Missions of California pairs Melba Levick's excellent photography with back story by Stanley Young for a complete tour of each mission, from sun-kissed Mission San Gabriel to stately Mission Dolores. Visitors will want to remember every detail of the lofty bell towers, carved saints, ambitious altarpieces, and more. With this artful tribute, they can.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

144 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1988

Reviews

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Missions of California is a large spread layout book, excellent for displaying the variety of quality mission photos and that incidentally attracted me to it (at the San Luis Obispo Mission shop). Being a California resident for most of my life, I ran across a mission here and there among its cities, but like many I've been ignorant of their determined origination. From reading, it turns out even the majority of new American Californians and rest of the nation of the latter 1800's, only 50 years after mission abandonment, were even more in the dark.

An informative forward provides a nice summary of how Californian American explorers, writers and residents first viewed the broken down ruins of the missions with disgust and disregard, that later evolved to attraction to their mysterious past, and then excited imagining of past Spanish glory. Finally a dedicated restoration movement of the mission structures and lots utilizing the remaining buildings and paraphalia was undertaken while stamping their real history in the public eye, completed by the early 1900's.

21 missions, from the most southerly in San Diego to the most northerly Solano (west of Napa)are represented. The Spanish Empire extended its reach into California, using Franciscan padres and soldier parties during the 1770's and on, to establish the religious outposts and transform the local Indian populaces into converted Spanish subjects, aka neophytes. The program was led by cleric Junipero Serra and afterwards Fermin Lasuen. Typically a celebratory mass was held at the founding of each mission church. Many Mediterranean plants that surround us today were initially imported and established by the monks, including citrus, fig, palm and pepper trees, grapevines and flowers.

It's tragically described how at the missions Indians were exposed to the European diseases of smallpox, measles and others, with majorities of populations fatally succumbing. This was exacerbated from close contact in the agricultural work and church services environments. It's further saddening to read how they and their families were abandoned and ejected when the Mexican government seized the missions and forced out the padres.

Each mission has excellent photos of the simple but beautiful adobe/brick and spanish tile roof exteriors and church gardens. The history of each mission's founding along the Franciscan enterprise is described, including interesting stories on the padres and the Spanish politics of the time. The descriptions typically end in the 1830's, due to the new Mexican government seizing all the missions as secular property and often time abandoning and/or selling off the land.

It's quite a travesty to imagine the past fate of the original missions and attached societies to utter ruin, but yet thanks to their contemporary state springs a powerful hope and confidence in people's respect of the past and drive to recreate it.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

An elementary school version of the history of the California missions, with drawings and photographs of each one. I love the missions...their architecture, history and religious significance. Each is unique and has a particular feeling all its own.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book gives an introduction involving: California and the Spanish Empire, how the missions were built, and secularization and reconstruction.

Each mission has pictures and the history behind the mission and how/when it was built.

List of the California missions are given in the table of contents:

San Diego, San Luis Rey, San Juan Capistrano, San Gabriel, San Fernando, San Buenventura, Santa Barbra, Santa Ines, La Purisima, San Luis Obispo, San Miguel, San Antonio, Soledad, Carmel, San Juan Bautista, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Jose, Delores (San Francisco), San Rafael, Solano,

[Judy Walgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a good index for what the 21 California missions look like and it gives a very brief bio on each site. Written for children producing book reports and from a privileged white perspective.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

I must do a vacation and visit the old Spanish missions!