Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
782 Monterey, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Tel: 805-543-6850
Visit Website
Mission San Luis Obispo was the fifth of twenty-one missions established by Franciscans in California. The site, known as Talhini, was first visited by the Portola Expedition in 1769 and was used for the next three years as a source of grizzly bear meat to supply other settlements. The mission was founded on September 1, 1772 by Junipero Serra. Its first priest, Fr. Jose Cavaller, was left with five soldiers, two Indian servants, fifty pounds of flour, three pecks of wheat seed, and a box of brown sugar. Thanks to the friendship of the local Chumash and their regional chief, El Buchon, construction and conversion began early, though the mission was always small in total population.
Following three destructive fires, the thatched roofs of the early mission were replaced with fired tiles. By 1801, the mission quadrangle was complete, followed in the next seven years with rows of houses for married neophyte families. The mission maintained a walled orchard nearby to the north and a very large vineyard south of the mission complex. It operated two more distant ranches at San Miguelito, near Avila Beach, and Santa Margarita de Cortona, north of Cuesta Grande.
One of the most notable friar missionaries at San Luis Obispo was Fr. Luis Martinez (1798-1830), who was famed for his Spanish patriotism, his organization of a Chumash militia to repel the privateer Bouchard in 1818, and his later conflicts with political authorities in the Mexican period. He was considered one of the most able administrators, and spent his entire career at this mission, until his deportation in 1829.
The mission declined due to deferred maintainance. It was secularized in 1834 and became a parish church in 1842, two years before the creation of the Pueblo of San Luis Obispo. Following American occupation in 1846, President Buchanan issued a patent returning mission lands to the church in 1859. The deteriorating wooden buildings were covered with wooden clapboard in 1881 and the collapsed bell tower was replaced with a wooden New England-syle tower in 1887. In 1893, an additional annex was added to the east side of the church to give it an L-shaped configuration. Finally, in 1936, the pastor removed the wooden siding and tower, and restored the mission to its original appearance. It now represents one of the largest parishes in the Diocese of Monterey.
Landmark Status
California Historical Landmark #325
Directions to the Mission
Northbound: From US-101, exit onto Broad Street. Turn left on Palm. The mission is on the corner of Palm and Chorro.
Southbound: From US-101, exit Monterey Street, which ends at the mission. Map
Hours of Operation
Parish Office hours: weekdays 9a - 5p. Please call 805-543-6850 for further information on visiting the mission.
Facilities
Gift shop and online store
