SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : Mission Receives Engineering Honor
Already known as the “Crown Jewel of the Missions,” Mission San Juan Capistrano was honored Thursday as a feat of engineering.
The mission was officially designated as a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in ceremonies attended by state and local officials.
The 217-year-old mission was chosen because it holds some of the earliest examples of industrial and residential construction in the state, said mission representatives.
Built largely of adobe, the mission contains the oldest known buildings in California not reinforced and is also the earliest example of a planned industrial center. Facilities for tallow-making and winemaking, as well as weaving mills and a granary still exist on the mission grounds.
The civil engineering society also recognized the existence of a rudimentary water system that brought fresh water to the mission from a nearby creek.
The Historic Civil Engineering program recognizes historic civil structures and sites in an effort to increase awareness of how the engineering field contributed to the development of the United States.
To recognize the mission’s status, a plaque and monument from the engineering group have been placed near the main entrance.
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