City With a Past Is One of Kind

The charm and Old West ways of San Juan Capistrano might not seem extreme at first glance. But the city, with claims to the Mission San Juan Capistrano and the state’s oldest neighborhood, is one of a kind.

The famous mission is the focal point of town activities. Founded Nov. 1, 1776, by Father Junipero Serra, the mission was built with the help of the Juaneno Mission Indians.

The historic site, considered the “Jewel of the Missions,” is home to the legendary swallows, as well as the Great Stone Church, Moorish fountains, soldiers barracks, Mission cemetery and Serra Chapel, the oldest building still being used in the state.

San Juan Capistrano is also home of Los Rios Street, the oldest neighborhood in California. The district, which runs along Los Rios between Del Obispo and Mission streets, includes 31 historic structures, including three adobe homes built in 1794 as housing for mission families.

“It’s a significant historical attraction,” Don Tryon, archivist for the San Juan Capistrano Historical Society, said.

Most of the buildings on the street are small, wallboard and batten single homes, built from 1887 to 1910.

The Rios Adobe is the oldest single residence in California continuously occupied by one family. The adobe was built for Feliciano Rios, a Spanish soldier who served with the mission garrison. The adobe is occupied by the 11th generation of the Rios family and is believed to be one of 40 original homes built for mission housing.

Other highlights on the historic street include the O’Neill Museum and Little Hollywood, a small neighborhood inside Los Rios that dates back to the 1870s.