This is one of the earlier missions (#8) and the first to honor a woman saint. And no other mission is located smack dab in the middle of a university! Santa Clara University was founded in 1851 and is the oldest college in California.
Like so many others, this mission has had its share of woes: earthquakes, fires and floods – oh my! It last burned to the ground in 1926, and the church has been destroyed and rebuilt 6 times. The existing church has lasted almost 100 years. Fingers crossed!
If you like mission revival architecture, this is the place to come. It is a harmonious campus with nearly all the buildings having tiled roofs and cream colored tones. Manicured lawns, roses and palms stand out along the sidewalks.
The spacious church is beautifully painted in soft pinks, yellows, greens and blues. The painting on the ceiling above the altar, “Heavenly Court”, is fantastic. Click the images below to enlarge.
There is not much left of the mission’s quadrangle since most everything was destroyed by the 1926 fire. This adobe wall and the adobe lodge are the sole survivors from the 1822 Mission. And these are “the oldest structures on any college campus in the west”.
Mission Santa Clara is unlike any other given its collegiate setting. I tend to like the more authentic missions the most. But the Mission church and the mission style buildings that surround it make this a great place to visit. And then there’s the roses.
There are rose bushes everywhere and they are spectacular. A great time to visit the campus is in the spring when roses are in full bloom.
Click the images below to enlarge.
Alta California Missions 