Took my mom down to Old Town this morning to visit the old Adobe Chapel on Conde St. It was the first parochial church in California’s first parish.
We had to first stop by the Whaley House Museum Shop to ask a docent to escort us down and unlock the gate and door for us. Unfortunately, they didn’t have an available docent right then and asked us to come back a little later. So, we walked ourselves down to the chapel to have a look around the exterior. Came across a mean looking guard dog that turned out to be very friendly. Unfortunately it wasn’t kept in a very clean pen. We also found some displays just across the street that gave a bit more history of the area with photographs. It was a nice touch for anyone who might walk by but the exhibited displays didn’t seem to be kept up very well. After that it was time to walk back to the Whaley House to meet our escort. Our docent, Pat, was very friendly and knowledgeable about not only the Adobe Chapel, but about a lot of Old Town’s history. The chapel was originally built as a home in 1850 and then bought and converted into a chapel in 1858 by Don José Antonio Aguirre, a wealthy and charitable local rancher.
Pat, who was dressed in Victorian period garb, unlocked the chained outside gate and then led us inside. She talked to us the entire time about the chapel’s history while I got busy taking pictures and asking questions. Luckily I studied up on the chapel before heading down there so I didn’t miss anything new she might have said. She even let me go up to the choir loft to get better overall views of the interior of the chapel.
The chapel fell into terrible disrepair during the late 1880s and was for a time covered with wooden slats to hide the deteriorating outside plaster walls. When the streets of Old Town were realigned in the 1930s the chapel was regretfully bulldozed. It was rebuilt in 1937 to its original state, retaining the original tabernacle, pews, doors, windows and other woodwork. José Aguirre’s tombstone can be found laid into the floor in one of the side vestibules where the confessionals are now located.
After we finished at the chapel, my mom and I spent a short time in the Casa de Aguirre Store and Museum to learn a bit more about José Aguirre’s family life. From there we stopped to have a fantastic lunch at Casa de Reyes in the middle of the Fiesta de Reyes. I had my usual, amazingly good two beef taco plate with beans and rice. Washed those down with a relaxing Negra Modelo.
It was a great visit to Old Town spent seeing and learning something new with my mom and enjoying a terrific meal.
( c h a p e l p i c s )
