Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa

Father Junípero Serra celebrated the first Mass here on September 1, 1772, erecting a cross near San Luis Obispo Creek and then departing the next day, leaving the actual building to others. That pattern — founding, then enduring — defines the place. Native Americans set the original palisade structures ablaze in resistance; the mission rebuilt in adobe and tile. Today it remains an active parish church at the center of downtown San Luis Obispo, the only L-shaped mission church in California.