Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (Panorama)
Fifth of the 21 Spanish mission created by the Franciscan monks in California, Mission San Luis Obispo was established by Junipero Serra in 1772. The Mission of St. Louis of Toulouse was located in la Cañada de los Osos (the Valley of the Bears) after the area was found to be abundant in game (i.e. the bears), and the friendly Chumash were nearby. However, other tribes periodically attacked the mission (starting in 1774), causing extensive damage with fire arrows before 1790, when the thatch roofs were replaced with tile, the first in California. The present church, with its distinctive L-shaped chapel (the only chapel with such a shape), was completed in 1794. At its height, there were some 2600 conversions of the Chumash (and 2800 burials). The church fell into hard times with secularization, with most of the building being sold off and the church building itself being leased out, becoming both the first courthouse and the first jail of the new city of San Luis Obispo. "The Prince of the Missions" was improved upon in the 1870s and restored to its original state in the 1930s.
Best in Large
San Luis Obispo, California
Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa (Panorama)
Fifth of the 21 Spanish mission created by the Franciscan monks in California, Mission San Luis Obispo was established by Junipero Serra in 1772. The Mission of St. Louis of Toulouse was located in la Cañada de los Osos (the Valley of the Bears) after the area was found to be abundant in game (i.e. the bears), and the friendly Chumash were nearby. However, other tribes periodically attacked the mission (starting in 1774), causing extensive damage with fire arrows before 1790, when the thatch roofs were replaced with tile, the first in California. The present church, with its distinctive L-shaped chapel (the only chapel with such a shape), was completed in 1794. At its height, there were some 2600 conversions of the Chumash (and 2800 burials). The church fell into hard times with secularization, with most of the building being sold off and the church building itself being leased out, becoming both the first courthouse and the first jail of the new city of San Luis Obispo. "The Prince of the Missions" was improved upon in the 1870s and restored to its original state in the 1930s.
Best in Large
San Luis Obispo, California