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Making America's Best Idea Even Better
San Antonio Missions National Historical ParkMission San Juan
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The legacy and history of San Antonio and this region began with a simple ceremony when...

in 1718 Franciscans and Spanish representatives established the first mission. Within 13 years, five were located along the San Antonio River. The missions’ purpose? To acculturate and Christianize the native population and make them Spanish citizens. Today, visitors can retrace the footsteps of the mission Indians and friars. And, possibly, meet descendants of those first inhabitants.


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Employees at Aztec National Monument, 1940s

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Writer and historian Wallace Stegner called national parks “the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”

The week of September 27, 2009, PBS (KLRN) ran Ken Burn's The National Parks: America's Best Idea. San Antonio Missions National Historical Park is featured in one of four vignettes produced in association with the film, and can be seen at www.klrn.org/parks/

 
Concepción Church is closed through 2009 for preservation work.

Fresco Preservation at Mission Concepción

The church at Mission Concepción will be closed to visitors through the end of the year for extensive preservation. Detailed work to preserve the historic 1750s frescos has already uncovered a new color - green. Similar frescos can be found in the convento (priest's residence), which remains open daily.

 
Spanish Colonial Art at San Antonio Museum of Art

The Art of the Missions of New Spain

Saturday, October 17, 2009 – Sunday, January 3, 2010
San Antonio Museum of Art

This is the first exhibition to explore the rich artistic legacy of the Franciscan and Jesuit mission churches in northern Mexico and the American Southwest. The National Park Service and Los Compadres are partnering with the San Antonio Museum of Art on joint programming to better interpret and understand the significance of these major artworks. Email for details on the programming that includes symposia, a concert, member tours and an educational workshop.
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Write to

San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
2202 Roosevelt Avenue
San Antonio, Texas 78210

E-mail Us

Phone

Visitor Center
(210) 932-1001

Headquarters
(210) 534-8833

Fax

(210) 534-1106

Climate

From April through October be prepared for hot, humid weather. Wear a hat, use sun screen liberally and often, and drink plenty of water.

In November through March, weather is more temperate, and sometimes chilly.
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The four churches within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are active Catholic churches.  

Did You Know?
that the four churches within San Antonio Missions National Historical Park are active Catholic parish churches? While they have not been in continuous operation since established in the early 1700s, many parishioners today are direct descendants of the mission Indians who built the churches.

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Last Updated: November 18, 2009 at 17:02 EST