CHL # 128 Landing Place of Sebastian Vizcaino and Fray Junípero Serra Monterey

Guidebook

NO. 128 LANDING PLACE OF SEBASTIAN VIZCAINO AND FRAY JUNÍPERO SERRA - Having entered the harbor the previous evening with his three small vessels, Sebastian Vizcaino landed here on December 17, 1602. Mass was sung by three Carmelite friars and the country taken in the name of the King of Spain. On the same spot, Fray Junípero Serra landed from the San Antonio on June 3, 1770 to join Captain Gaspar de Portolá and Fray Juan Crespí, who had arrived from San Diego overland a week before, in founding the Mission San Carlos de Borroméo de Monterey and the Presidio of Monterey.

Location

Monterey State Historic Park, SW corner of Artillery and Pacific Sts, Monterey
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Notes

To see the statue of Fr. Serra, drive up the hill on Artillery. Turn right on the first street. Park in the lot. The statue is on the bluff.

Afterthoughts

Both Sebastian Vizcaino (1602) and Saint Junípero Serra (1770) celebrated mass underneath a giant oak tree at Monterey Bay. "A small monument to Father Serra marks the approximate place where the oak stood. Due to changes in the landscape (largely human-made), the location is much further from the water than it was in the days of the early explorers." A portion of the giant oak is on display at Mission San Carlos.