Mission San Miguel Archangel
Before I returned to Rhode Island I had been in California for another two weeks past what I’ve already posted. After leaving Morro Bay, the next thing I came upon was the Mission San Miguel Archangel. I loved this mission and, if pressed, would choose it as my favorite among those I saw. The interior walls of the nave, finished in 1821, have never been repainted and the original frescoes are truly beautiful. Standing in the church almost transports you back in time with the murals, tiled floor, wooden balcony and pulpit, and the exposed wooden ceiling. The brick-paved courtyard has a similar atmosphere, walled in by adobe plaster and featuring a carved stone fountain. The twelve-arch arcade facing the courtyard is also original and is charming in its deliberate non-uniform construction, hand-painted doors, and slightly askew arches. In general, I felt this mission gave you a real sense of what it was like a hundred or two hundred years ago.
Brick companario with cement cast bells, dated from 1950s, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
Interior of nave looking to altar, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
Nave looking to wooden balcony, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
Murals painted over an original door, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
Courtyard with fountain facing arcade, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
Original arcade, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
Hand-painted askew door in arcade, Mission San Miguel Archangel, California
