This postcard view of San Fernando Mission was printed by the Van Ornum Colorprint Company (1908-1921) and the M. Kashower Company (1914-1934) in Los Angeles, Calif. using photomechanical processes. The companies are examples of the many picture postcard publishing companies producing California landmark scenes during this period.
The San Fernando Rey de EspaƱa mission was founded on September 8, 1797, near the site of the first gold discovery in Alta, or Upper, California. It was the seventeenth of twenty-one Spanish Franciscan missions built in California between 1769 and 1823, and was established to convert American Indians of the Tataviam and Tongva tribes to Catholicism.
Today it serves as a working parish church and a museum.
Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.
If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.