We spent the day looking at the history of San Antonio and Texas. One of the interesting things that came up a few times was the artistic license of the CCC as they helped preserve national landmarks during the depression.
We joined a few hundred of our closest friends to experience the mission.
 |
| Ready to get in line |
We decided to get a couple of hand held audio guides since there wasn't a lot of labeling around the park. They included a lot of history; from the original mission to how it was used for different military purposes over time until it was final owned by the state and turned into a park.
 |
| Pretty walkway - designed by the CCC not original |
Not the pretty sunset photo that's on all the postcards but passable.
After lunch we headed a little bit south in San Antonio to take in the Mission National Park and check off another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ranger talk was quite informative. It's hard to believe that the church put so many missions so close together but rather than a distance issue it was a warring tribe issue. In order to get the most converts they had to disperse the tribes to different missions. Mission San Jose was the "Mother" mission where the highest priest in the area lived. By the time the mission was turned into a National Park much of it was in ruin so the CCC came in and rebuilt the walls, ovens and wells of the native sections. The architect on the job took some liberties with what he had seen in western Pueblos and missions and added the porches/drying racks to the doors as well as over-sized ovens.
The carvings on the front of the chapel of all the saints were amazing! It is hard to believe all the detail that was included. Some of the parts have had to be replaced over the years but most is original.
Overall a really neat visit. We didn't make it to the other three missions on the list but that gives us something to look forward to next time.
After lunch we headed a little bit south in San Antonio to take in the Mission National Park and check off another UNESCO World Heritage Site. The ranger talk was quite informative. It's hard to believe that the church put so many missions so close together but rather than a distance issue it was a warring tribe issue. In order to get the most converts they had to disperse the tribes to different missions. Mission San Jose was the "Mother" mission where the highest priest in the area lived. By the time the mission was turned into a National Park much of it was in ruin so the CCC came in and rebuilt the walls, ovens and wells of the native sections. The architect on the job took some liberties with what he had seen in western Pueblos and missions and added the porches/drying racks to the doors as well as over-sized ovens.
Overall a really neat visit. We didn't make it to the other three missions on the list but that gives us something to look forward to next time.
Comments