Old Mission San Rafael Arcangel doesn't exist anymore. Mission San Rafael does, a small chapel that sits alongside the striking 1919 Church of Saint Raphael. The replica mission church was built in 1949. Replica, though, is a misnomer. Mission San Rafael's reconstruction is not historically correct; it's not based on any original design.
Old Mission San Rafael, founded in 1817, was the only mission (of 21) built along the Camino Real that did not contain a quadrangle. It was originally built to serve as a hospital, a sub-mission of Mission San Francisco. The Catholic Fathers determined that the weather in San Francisco was not conducive to healing. Eventually, it was given full Mission status.
After the Mexican Secularization Act of 1833, this Mission was abandoned by 1844. In ruins, a new church was built nearby in 1885. The old mission ruins were completely torn down by 1870. The only remaining remnent was reportedly a single pear tree from its once large orchards.
No one today knows what the original Old Mission San Rafael looked like. There were no drawings left behind for architects to use in its 1949 reconstruction. What was used as a basis for its current design was an old romanticized postcard, a fictional image drawn by Felix Raynaud.
The only remaining original artifacts that survived Mission San Rafael are its four bells, three of which hang outside the rebuilt chapel doors. It is, in fact, all that remains of Old Mission San Rafael Arcangel.
If visiting the mission or its museum/gift shop, Mission San Rafael is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
All USA
Old Mission San Rafael Arcangel doesn't exist anymore. Mission San Rafael does, a small chapel that sits alongside the striking 1919 Church of Saint Raphael. The replica mission church was built in 1949. Replica, though, is a misnomer. Mission San Rafael's reconstruction is not historically correct; it's not based on any original design. Old Mission San Rafael, founded in 1817, was the only mission (of 21) built along the Camino Real that did not contain a quadrangle. It was originally built to serve as a hospital, a sub-mission of Mission San Francisco. The Catholic Fathers determined that the weather in San Francisco was not conducive to healing. Eventually, it was given full Mission status. After the Mexican Secularization Act of 1833, this Mission was abandoned by 1844. In ruins, a new church was built nearby in 1885. The old mission ruins were completely torn down by 1870. The only remaining remnent was reportedly a single pear tree from its once large orchards. No one today knows what the original Old Mission San Rafael looked like. There were no drawings left behind for architects to use in its 1949 reconstruction. What was used as a basis for its current design was an old romanticized postcard, a fictional image drawn by Felix Raynaud. The only remaining original artifacts that survived Mission San Rafael are its four bells, three of which hang outside the rebuilt chapel doors. It is, in fact, all that remains of Old Mission San Rafael Arcangel. If visiting the mission or its museum/gift shop, Mission San Rafael is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.