On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Good morning everyone,
Month 2 begins. Looks like this will be a tough one. Grid yourself.
In previous dispatches On The Road, we’ve visited all the missions in Los Angeles to the Mexican border, now we head north(or actually west for a bit). I grew up in Ventura County and have seen the exterior of Mission San Buenaventura many times as we past it on the freeway or surface streets, I’d never been inside. This visit was made on a return from a meetup of the local photography group’s visit to Mission Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Courthouse. Mission San Buenaventura is one of the smallest missions that I’ve visited, it takes up about 3-4 storefronts in downtown Ventura. It was founded in 1782 as the ninth and last mission personally dedicated by Father(now Saint) Serra. It was once much larger but shrunk to the chapel, a small garden and the gift shop.
Front of the chapel at Mission San Buenaventura.
Infrared shot of Mission San Buenaventura from a park across the street from the mission.
This is a shot of the Mission’s bell tower from the garden, what’s interesting is that the lawn doesn’t glow white. I didn’t notice at the time, but it’s fake grass.
This fountain is midway between the gift shop and the mission chapel.
The is the view of the mission chapel from the rear door.
Fisheye view of the alter at Mission San Buenaventura.
The alter inside the chapel at Mission San Benoventura.
Baud
Cute.
Mary G
I like the fisheye view of the altar, but the alarm sign is a bit queasy making. It is cool to see a SoCal building that’s more than 300 years old.
JPL
Thanks.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Thanks, it’s a tiny one.
@Mary G: It’s old, but only about 200 years old. The oldest building in the state is Serra Chapel in Mission San Juan Capistrano built in the 1770’s.
@JPL: Glad you enjoyed the pics.
Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!)
Nice pics as usual BiG.
Alain, I think you should put out the on the road in the afternoon, like you did the other day. It is a good respite to look forward to then.
MomSense
These are great!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@Mike S (Now with a Democratic Congressperson!): Thanks. I’m not sure about the afternoon, since we usually get a respite thread or two around that time anyway, but sandwiched between two COVID threads doesn’t seem optimal.
@MomSense: Thanks, there are three more missions on tap(I’ve sent in one more with a mission respite to break them up).
opiejeanne
@?BillinGlendaleCA: Have you visited the mission San Miguel Arcangel? The interior decorations are the original Salinal paintings, not repainted during the Victorian period like most of the others. It’s not as old as the others, but it is interesting just for the artwork alone.
stinger
I’m not religious, but religion has certainly inspired some beautiful architecture. Thanks for sharing images of a place I’ll likely never see in person, Bill!
Elizabelle
I love the missions. Thank you, Bill.
Those architects and builders centuries ago would be amazed at your infrared photos (at any photos!) In which the missions look just as superb.
?BillinGlendaleCA
@opiejeanne: I’ve not been to San Miguel, but I’m planning on visiting that one and SLO(maybe San Antonio, that’s pretty far from here). I started out with the local missions(San Fernando, San Gabriel, and San Juan Capistrano). I’d only been to San Juan Capistrano, but I was 8 then. Last year, I visited San Diego and San Luis Rey(so far my favorite). I visited Santa Barbara, Santa Ines, and La Purismia last month.
@stinger: Thanks, the exterior architecture is generally pretty similar with some differences(Santa Barbara has two bell towers*, San Luis Rey has a dome…), but the interiors are all different.
*Almost all the missions had a bell tower, but San Gabriel’s fell victim to the 1812 earthquake and the entire Great Stone church in San Juan Capistrano with it’s bell tower fell victim to the same quake.
@Elizabelle: We had to learn about the missions as part of California history in grade school, so it’s special to see them in real life. I wasn’t sure they were still teaching about the missions until I visited Mission Santa Ines early last month and there was a couple and grade school kid in front of me and the mom told me he was working on a report for his 4th grade class.
JustRuss
I grew up in Ventura. Across from the Mission there’s a park with a very tall tree in it, during one 4th of July celebration I got bored and climbed it. Created quite the scene when people started noticing me up there, cops showed up to coax me down. Good times!
Visited a couple months ago. Main Street, where the mission is, used to be pretty dead and run down, it’s really gone upmarket.
mrmoshpotato
Great pictures. Thanks Bill.
J R in WV
Late to the On the Road thread today, but still want to say how much I admire these mission visits. The really old Spanish buildings are in Santa Fe, back into the 1600s. But very similar to these missions.
Spain didn’t allow change, much, at all. Mostly why they’re no longer competing with the rest of the major powers of that day.