Evening star., 1903-09-18
SAVING OLD MISSIONS
WORK OF CLUB IN PRESERVING
CALIFORNIA LANDMARKS.
Caring for Relics of Spanish Times
on the Pacific
Coast

From the New York Tribune.
To the east the west is young and hard
ly the place in which to seek Tor an
tiauities in the way of old buildings which
should be preserved. Yet the west has It's
landmarks It's bundred-year old houses and
its century-lasting churches and every one
of them shrouded in history fully as ro-
mantle as that which hangs about Ply
mouth Rock or St. Pauls Church.
In the east there has long been a cry for
the preservation of historic places. The
easterner does not look for such spirit
in the land to the westward of the great
river. Yet 1t is planted there and growing
and each year sees the marking of more
rocks. another mission preserved.
No New England society ever undertook
a task like that of saving the chain or
Spanish missions along the Pacific that
were crumbling away under the neglect of
the studious. vision-seeing friars. Cali
fornia is more than a thousand miles long.
and the twenty-one ancient missions form
a line for fully half that distance Sadly
did they need conservation for tumbling
walls missing tiled roofs, rotting corri-
dors. Indeed. If the work had not been
undertaken when 1T was, the missions
would have been hopelessly lost By this
time.
Arresting Decay.
1t is to the Landmarks Club of Los An
geles that the old missions owe their re-
newed lease of life. The work was begun
as far back as 1896 when Charles F. Lum-
mis-. who is still its president, brought
the subject to the attention of few in
terested persons. who were willing to un-
dertake the struggle. An earlier attempt
to do something to arrest the spoliation
and decay of the missions had been made
under the leadership of Miss Tessa L. Kel-
So then city librarian of Los Angeles
fund which she had raised
was turned to the new club. Since
then something has been done each year,
ard over a stretch of three hundred miles
the principal buildings of each mission
have been put in near their original
condition as possible.
At first the old monks were not so sure
whether they wanted the repairs. Some of
them were suspicious that 1t might be
some scheme to get hold of the mis-
sion lands.
I'VE belong to a dead age" said one old
seems to be His will that the missions
crumble. No longer Is there the need. The
Indian is gone almost Our work Is done.
Let the ruins die with u.s."
But the members of the Landmarks Club
would not be dissuaded by the arguments
OF the fathers. They persuaded the church.
men to give them long leases of the mis-
sions where the most work was to be done.
especially San Juan Capistrano. San Fer
nsndo Rey de Espana and Pala. At these
and at the mother mission at San Diego the
club made protective repairs costing more
than 5000. In all, about three acres of
roofs have been put on. The building of
the coast line of the Southern Pacific rail-
way from Los Angeles to San Francisco
has brought the chain of missions very
much In touch with the world, and they
are rapidly becoming popular places Of call
fo- tourists
Capistrano Mission.
The first work of the club was done at
Cfpistrano which Is considered the most
beautiful of all the missions. and one CT
the noblest ruins in the United States. It
in a most critical condition Of decay
and in a few years more nothing would
have been left of 1t but tumble of walls
ruined beyond possibility of repair. All
of the important buildings have been re-
paired in such substantial fashion that
they will stand for another hundred years.
All the tile roofs were falling in and the
storms were making short work of the
adobe walls thus left unprotected.
These rotted frames have been replaced
with substantial structures of Oregon pine
and the original tiles put back in place.
Thus repaired are the monas ,ery end the
original church (founded in 1776 by the
great apostle of California, Fray Junipero
Strra). The breaking dome OF the great
stone church. which was injured in the
earthquake of 1912. and blown up with gun
powder in the Cos. has been buttressed and
some four hundred and fifty feet of twelve
foot cloisters have been reroofed with tim
her and asphalt (as originality. Hundreds
OF tons or debris have been removed, and
the walls that were about to fall were
bIaced with steel rods and turnbuckleS.