When was santa clara de asis built

The university still occupies the site of Mission Santa Clara de Asis. No original buildings are left. Mission Santa Clara has had five church buildings in its history. The first two were temporary structures, abandoned because of floods. The first permanent church, designed by Father Martuia, was started in and completed in He requested that the bells be rung every evening at PM in memory of the dead, a tradition that continued even when the church was destroyed by fire. In , an earthquake damaged the church beyond repair.

It was used until Construction of the new mission started in , at a new site. The mission was laid out in a traditional rectangular style. The church was completed in , and it stood until The church was an adobe structure feet long, 22 feet wide and 20 feet high. Its walls were four feet thick at the bottom, tapering to two feet thick at the top, and they were whitewashed with a decorative border painted inside.

A Mexican artist, Augustin Davila, painted a scene of heaven above the altar. In the s, the church was remodeled. A wooden facade was built over the old adobe one, and a second bell tower was built.

The fifth church was destroyed by fire in The university rebuilt the church, trying to restore it to the way it looked in The restored church was completed in Three of the bells date from the mission period. They were cast in , and The roof of the church has the original tiles from the church, which were removed and stored when the roof started sagging and leaking. In October , a fire destroyed the church. Some of the statues and paintings were rescued, as was one of the bells.

When the university rebuilt the church, they made it wider than the original so that it could be used as the university's chapel. The front was restored to the original design with one tower. Facilities Weddings. Please call for information. California Missions. The Mission Story. Mission Santa Clara. Quick Facts. Many Native Americans fled to the Central Valley of California, others stayed locally and worked for the new ranchos.

There were a few small and short-lived Native American villages established around the Bay Area by ; many of these villages could not support themselves, so they began raiding the nearby ranchos. In , California became a state. Father John Nobili, S. He began a college on the mission site in , which grew into Santa Clara University; it is the only mission to become part of a university, and it is also the oldest university in California.

Throughout the history of the mission, the bells have rung faithfully every evening, a promise made to King Charles III of Spain when he sent the original bells to the mission in He asked that the bells be rung each evening at in memory of those who had died, although the actual bells have since been replaced by a recording.

The bell tower has three bells; one was donated by King Carlos IV but subsequently destroyed in a fire. The interior was widened in to increase the seating capacity by removing the original adobe nave walls. A fire in destroyed the structure, including the surrounding wall. The two assigned missionaries, Father de la Pena and Father Murgia, worked to improve the location and convert the local Ohlone Indians.

However, the Guadalupe River flooded and a second temporary mission was established, blessed by Father Junipero Serra. In , a permanent mission cornerstone was placed. This church was constructed from adobe, unlike the two wooden ones prior, and, in , was again dedicated by Father Serra.

The third church lasted until It was known for the most baptisms and having the best wheat crop of all the missions.