shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileUnited States

in Mission Valley, six miles inland from San Diego Bay

Mission San Diego de Alcalá

Name: Mission San Diego de Alcalá — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— — the first bell in a chain of twenty-one.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand

— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines

— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall

— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround

— a note from the studio

“The first of the twenty-one California missions, founded on Presidio Hill on 16 July 1769 by Junípero Serra and moved up the San Diego River to its present site in 1774. The current adobe church was rebuilt in 1813 after earlier earthquake damage. A campanario of five bells rises from a white stucco wall, and the grounds hold a small garden of olive and pepper trees. — from the studio

from the studio

— bring it home

Mission San Diego de Alcalá, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Mission San Diego de Alcalá

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Mission San Diego de Alcalá stands in San Diego's Mission Valley, on a low rise above the San Diego River about six miles inland from the bay. The Franciscan friar Junípero Serra founded the mission on Presidio Hill on 16 July 1769, the first of the twenty-one Spanish missions strung along Alta California. In 1774 the friars relocated the mission to its present site for better water and farmland. The Roman Catholic Diocese of San Diego still uses the church as an active parish.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the stone

The present church, the fifth on the site, was completed in 1813 in plain adobe, after earlier structures were damaged by fire and earthquakes — most severely in 1803. The campanario, a free-standing wall of five bells, frames the south end of the façade and is the mission's most photographed feature. The walls were restored between 1931 and 1941 under the direction of architect Carleton Winslow, who matched the 1813 footprint as closely as the surviving records allowed.

— informed by Mission San Diego — history

— the year

Pope Paul VI designated the church a minor basilica in 1976 in recognition of its status as the first of the California missions. An annual Founder's Day Mass is held each July near the 16 July anniversary. The mission grounds also host an archaeological site where excavations beginning in 1966 have recovered fragments of earlier mission walls, ceramics, and the burial grounds of friars and the local Kumeyaay community.

— informed by Basilica San Diego de Alcalá

— where

United States · San Diego, California

— position

32.7842° N · 117.1064° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

5 km W

Old Town San Diego

historic district

5 km W

Presidio Park

historic park

7 km SW

Balboa Park

urban park

8 km W

Mission Bay

bay

Mission San Diego de Alcalá

Old Town San Diego

Presidio Park

Balboa Park

Mission Bay

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Mission San Diego de Alcalá — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

Junípero Serra founded the mission on 16 July 1769 on Presidio Hill, overlooking San Diego Bay. It was the first of the twenty-one Spanish Franciscan missions established along Alta California.

In 1774 the friars relocated the mission six miles up the San Diego River to its present site in Mission Valley, in search of better water and farmland for the resident Kumeyaay community and the friars' agricultural work.

No. The present adobe church is the fifth on the site, completed in 1813 after earlier structures were damaged by fire and by the 1803 earthquake. Carleton Winslow restored it between 1931 and 1941.

Yes. Mission San Diego de Alcalá remains an active Roman Catholic parish under the Diocese of San Diego. Pope Paul VI designated it a minor basilica in 1976.

The campanario is the free-standing wall of five bells at the south end of the church façade. It is the mission's signature feature and one of the oldest bell walls of the California chain still in active use.

Yes. The basilica, museum, and gardens are open daily to visitors, with a small admission fee for the museum. Mass schedules are kept current on the parish website.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The mission carries deep meaning for San Diego natives, for Californians who walked the mission chain in school, and for Catholic families. A Medium or Large with a handwritten note from the studio travels well.

The piece reads as Spanish-Colonial, Mission-Revival, and warm Southwestern — earth-toned adobe, terracotta tile, dark wood, and white stucco. It sits well above a fireplace mantel or a long wooden console.

Yes. The Spanish-Colonial and Santa-Fe Modern palettes both rely on warm whites, terracotta, and dark beams, all of which the mission piece carries. It anchors an entry wall or a dining-room sideboard.

Above a standard sofa, a single Large reads from across the room. Over a long console or sideboard, a 4-tile Mural fills the wall without crowding. A 9-tile Mural suits a high entry wall.

Yes, in Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and stand up to humidity, which makes them safe for a bathroom or a kitchen splashback. Glossy is best in drier rooms.

A microfibre cloth and water. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and cannot fade with cleaning. No solvents and no abrasive pads.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is original to the studio, hand-finished in Knoxville, Tennessee. There is no licensing and no third-party printing.

— if this one stayed with you