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66 2 0 1 7 T R A V E L G U I D E T O C A L I F O R N I A Harmonious by Design Californians have always built in tune with their environment BY DAVID ARMSTRONG MISSION SAN CARLOS BORROMÉO DEL RÍO CARMELO Also known as Carmel Mission, this historic church, above, was the second mission built in California, first established in Monterey in 1770 and moved to its current location in Carmel-by-the-Sea in 1771. It was the headquarters of the California missions and home of Saint Junípero Serra until his death in 1784. His remains are buried here. It is one of the most authentically restored churches of all of the California missions, a National Historic Landmark, and on the National Register of Historic Places. Today it serves as parish church, museum and community center. Architecture in California and the lush public gardens that add grace notes to the Golden State began to take shape in the late 18 th century, when the Spanish advanced north from Mexico City to the rustic, remote province of Alta California. The California missions, 21 Roman Catholic churches built from 1769 to 1823, set the tone. The adobe-walled, orange-tile- roofed churches erected by the Franciscan friars eventually formed the heart of major cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco. The missions' gardens were strictly utilitarian, intended to produce food. Eye-pleasing garden design blos- somed later. Missions to Victorians The missions influenced California architec- ture and design for years to come. The abundant open spaces, arches, tile-roofed buildings and breezy arcades of Stanford University's main quad are legacies of the colonial era (stanford.edu). The ornately and eclectically elaborated Casa de Balboa, in San Diego's Balboa Park, incorporates elements of the Mission Revival style (balboapark.org). The 1927 San Gabriel Mission Playhouse is a direct architectural descendant of the mis- sions (missionplayhouse.org). Long, deep, narrow, high-ceilinged wooden row houses populated boomtowns like San Francisco. The Victorians were built from the 1860s to the 1910s. In the 1970s, the modest houses were reborn as gentrified, vibrantly hued Painted Ladies. Surviving California Victorians are espe- cially numerous in San Francisco, clustered on Alamo Square and in the Haight-Ash- bury, Western Addition and Mission districts. Urban eye candy, they are featured on City Guides San Francisco Walking Tours (sfcityguides.org). ARCHITECTURE & GARDENS