The San Antonio Missions National Historic Park

The San-Antonio Missions National-Historic Park was officially opened in 1983 and comprises of 4 ancient Spanish Colonial missions. The Missions include; Espada, Concepción, San José, and San Juan which have been collectively named as a World and historic Heritage-site by the UNESCO. They play a critical role in narrating a story of the Spanish colonialists and the Native Americans of the Southwest.

San Antonio Historic Park preserves some of the largest and intact concentration of the Spanish colonial buildings in the United States. The Park is seating on a land donated by various authorities; i.e. City, Catholic Church, and the State’s Conservation Society. The Missions are expansive walled compounds enclosing churches & buildings used by the local Native Americans and Priests way back in the 17th century.

Mission San Jose is the largest of the four missions. During the colonial periods, the building provided shelter and refuge for hundreds of Native Americans and Indians. The Spanish designers of the time built the structure using pure Texas limestone and a selection of colored stucco. This mission had a vast granary and grist mill that’s been well-preserved to date. San Jose has a Visitor’s center where tourists/visitors can view the Gente de Razon, a film that gives a story of the mission from its conception. It also has a bookstore and a museum with a wide collection of the Spanish and American narratives, poems and other creative writings.

In 2011, Mission San Jose underwent a $2.2 million renovation that saw its walls and interior domes restructured to its ancient architecture without losing the original hues and colors. The renovation was also targeted to restore the altar’s back-drop which houses some sacred statues such as St. Francis, the Virgin Mary, etc. All the 4 missions have active Catholic Churches/Parishes that hold regular church services.

Mission Espada is the southernmost of all the four missions and has an interesting history. The mission contains the best-preserved segments of the irrigation plan used to supply water to the farming fields. In 1826, a fire destroyed most parts of the mission leaving only the granary and the chapel standing. The unusual stone archways serve as an illustration of what happened nearly 200 years ago.

Mission concepcion is one of the earliest, unimproved stone building standing in the park. The mission’s exterior was initially enhanced with geometric patterns & designs but the paintings have faded, though one can still see some frescos in parts of the rooms. For a more extensive tour, one can explore the San-Antonio Missions along the Mission Reach. The latter is an eight-mile stretch with picnic sites, recreational trails, pedestrian bridges and classical pavilions.

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