San Juan Capistrano (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

for "

St. John of Capistrano John of Capistrano (''Italian language, Italian'': San Giovanni da Capestrano, ''Hungarian language, Hungarian'': Kapisztrán János, ''Polish language, Polish'': Jan Kapistran, ''Croatian language, Croatian'': Ivan Kapistran) (24 June 1386 – ...

") is a city in

Orange County, California Orange County is located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area in Southern California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,186,989, making it the third-most-populous county in California, the sixth-most-populous in the United States, a ...

, located along the Orange Coast. The population was 34,593 at the 2010 census. San Juan Capistrano was founded by the Spanish in 1776, when St. Junípero Serra established

Mission San Juan Capistrano Mission San Juan Capistrano ( es, Misión San Juan Capistrano) is a Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, Orange County, California. Founded November 1, 1776 in colonial ''Las Californias'' by Spanish Catholic missionaries of the Franciscan O ...

. Extensive damage caused by the 1812 Capistrano earthquake caused the community to decline. Following the

Mexican secularization act of 1833 Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

, the mission village officially became a town and was briefly renamed as San Juan de Argüello. Following the American

Conquest of California The Conquest of California, also known as the Conquest of Alta California or the California Campaign, was an important military campaign of the Mexican–American War carried out by the United States in Alta California (modern-day California), t ...

, San Juan remained a small, rural town until the 20th century; the restoration of the mission in the 1910–20s transformed the town into a tourist destination and a backdrop for

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

films.

History

Indigenous

The region was populated by the

Acjachemen The Acjachemen (, alternate spelling: Acagchemem) are an Indigenous people of California. They historically lived south of what is known as Aliso Creek and north of the Las Pulgas Canyon in what are now the southern areas of Orange County and t ...

, referred to by the Spanish as ''Juaneños'', an

Indigenous Californian The indigenous peoples of California (known as Native Californians) are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. ...

nation. They lived in the area for approximately 10,000 years, with some of their oldest villages being confirmed as over 9,600 years old. The mother village of

Putuidem Putuidem ('' Acjachemen'': "belly" or "the navel"), alternative spelling Putiidhem or Putuidhem, was a large native village of the Acjachemen people, also known as ''Juaneño'' since their relocation to Mission San Juan Capistrano. The site wa ...

was located in what is now San Juan Capistrano, as well as the village of

Acjacheme Acjacheme ("a heap of animated things") was an Acjachemen village that was closely situated to the mother village of Putuidem in what is now San Juan Capistrano, California. The Spanish missionaries constructed Mission San Juan Capistrano less tha ...

Spanish era

San Juan Capistrano was established by the Spanish in 1776, when

Saint Junípero Serra In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

founded

, the seventh of the

Spanish missions in California The Spanish missions in California ( es, Misiones españolas en California) comprise a series of 21 religious outposts or missions established between 1769 and 1833 in what is now the U.S. state of California. Founded by Catholic priests o ...

. The mission was built less than 60 yards from the village of

, which was exploited as a source of labor for the mission. The mission was named after St.

John of Capistrano John of Capistrano (''Italian'': San Giovanni da Capestrano, '' Hungarian'': Kapisztrán János, ''Polish'': Jan Kapistran, '' Croatian'': Ivan Kapistran) (24 June 1386 – 23 October 1456) was a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from the It ...

, a 14th-15th century

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

saint. The

1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake The 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake, also known simply as the Capistrano earthquake or the Wrightwood earthquake, occurred on December 8 at in Alta California. At the time, this was a colonial territory of the Spanish Empire. Damage occurred ...

resulted in the deaths of thirty-nine

people, thirty-one of whom were women, when the stone church at the Mission collapsed.

Mexican era

The Mexican

Congress of the Union The Congress of the Union ( es, Congreso de la Unión, ), formally known as the General Congress of the United Mexican States (''Congreso General de los Estados Unidos Mexicanos''), is the legislature of the federal government of Mexico cons ...

enacted the secularization of the Californian missions in 1833. In the mission period, 4,317 natives had been baptized at the mission (1,689 adults and 2,628 children). In that same period, 3,158 of those baptized had died. Some of the native people who survived the mission period continued to live at the mission for a short period after the secularization act, while others settled in the surrounding areas. Each mission was appointed an administrator to oversee the transfer of the missions and their lands from the

Franciscan Order , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

to the Mexican authorities.

Santiago Argüello Santiago Argüello (1791–1862) was a Californio, a soldier in the Spanish army of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in Las Californias, a major Mexican land grant ranchos owner, and part of an influential family in Mexican Alta California and post- ...

, a member of a prominent family of

Californios Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californians, Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish language, Spanish-s ...

, was appointed administrator of Mission San Juan Capistrano. During his tenure, the community was briefly renamed "San Juan de Argüello", similar to what happened to San Juan Bautista in

Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...

, which was briefly renamed "San Juan de Castro" after its administrator

José Castro José Antonio Castro (1808 – February 1860) was a Californio politician, statesman, and general who served as interim Governor of Alta California and later Governor of Baja California. During the Bear Flag Revolt and the American Conquest of ...

. In 1844 Don

Juan Forster Don Juan Forster (born ''John''; 1814 – February 20, 1882) was an English-born Californio ranchero and merchant. Born in England, he emigrated to Mexico at age 16 and became a Mexican citizen. Soon after, he moved to California (then a provi ...

and James McKinley purchased the former Mission San Juan Capistrano at public auction. Forster made his home here until 1864, when the mission was returned to the Catholic Church by president

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

American era

Hotel Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano (3042364270)

Following the American

, San Juan remained a relatively small and rural community until the end of the 19th century. Padre O'Sullivan arrived in San Juan Capistrano in 1910 to recuperate from a recent stroke. He became fascinated by Mission San Juan Capistrano and soon set to work on rebuilding it a section at a time. O'Sullivan repaired the roof of the Serra Chapel using

California sycamore ''Platanus racemosa'' is a species of plane tree known by several common names, including California sycamore, western sycamore, California plane tree, and in North American Spanish aliso. ''Platanus racemosa'' is native to California and Baja C ...

logs to match those that were used in the original work. He brought in architect Arthur B. Benton of Los Angeles to strengthen the chapel walls through the addition of heavy

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

buttress A buttress is an architectural structure built against or projecting from a wall which serves to support or reinforce the wall. Buttresses are fairly common on more ancient buildings, as a means of providing support to act against the lateral (s ...

es. The centerpiece of the chapel restoration was its ''

retablo A retablo is a devotional painting, especially a small popular or folk art one using iconography derived from traditional Catholic church art. More generally ''retablo'' is also the Spanish term for a retable or reredos above an altar, whether ...

'', imported from Barcelona in 1806 and donated by the Bishop of Los Angeles. The restoration of the mission resulted in San Juan Capistrano's emergence as a tourist destination, owing to its historic architecture and proximity to the sea. The mission was used often in

productions, such as

D.W. Griffith David Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 – July 23, 1948) was an American film director. Considered one of the most influential figures in the history of the motion picture, he pioneered many aspects of film editing and expanded the art of the na ...

's 1910

western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

The Two Brothers The Two Brothers is a German fairy tale collected by the Brothers Grimm, tale number 60. It is Aarne-Thompson type 303, "The Blood Brothers", with an initial episode of type 567, "The Magic Bird Heart". A similar story, of Sicilian origin, wa ...

'', the first film ever shot in Orange County. San Juan incorporated as a city on April 19, 1961. From 2009 to 2017, the famous swallows did not return to San Juan Capistrano, instead migrating to the Chino Hills, north of San Juan Capistrano. The swallows changed their route because the mission is no longer the tallest building in the area due to

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city." Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted growt ...

, and thus stopped attracting the swallows for nesting. Mission San Juan Capistrano embarked on a program to facilitate the return of the swallows, first by using swallow calls to attract the birds and then by building artificial swallow nests for the birds to use. As of 2017, the cliff swallows have returned home to Mission San Juan Capistrano and are still celebrated each year at the town's annual Swallows Day Parade and Mercado Street Fair. In 2018, the town celebrated its 80th annual Swallows Day Parade and Fiesta de las Golondrinas (

for "Festival of the Swallows"). The event holds the title of being the longest-running and largest non-motorized parade west of the Mississippi.

Geography

San Juan Capistrano is located in south Orange County and is bisected by Interstate 5. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

, the city has a total area of . of it is land and of it (1.26%) is water.

Climate

Demographics

2020

The

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

reported a population of 35,253. The racial makeup was 70.6%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

, .7%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 3.6%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, and 37.3%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race.

2010

At the 2010 census San Juan Capistrano had a population of 34,593. The population density was . The racial makeup of San Juan Capistrano was 26,664 (77.1%) White (55.8% Non-Hispanic White), 193 (0.6%) African American, 286 (0.8%) Native American, 975 (2.8%) Asian, 33 (0.1%) Pacific Islander, 5,234 (15.1%) from other races, and 1,208 (3.5%) from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13,388 persons (38.7%). The census reported that 34,506 people (99.7% of the population) lived in households, and 87 (0.3%) lived in non-institutionalized group quarters. There were 11,394 households, 4,030 (35.4%) had children under the age of 18 living in them, 6,706 (58.9%) were opposite-sex married couples living together, 1,089 (9.6%) had a female householder with no husband present, 526 (4.6%) had a male householder with no wife present. There were 456 (4.0%) unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 87 (0.8%) same-sex married couples or partnerships. 2,381 households (20.9%) were one person and 1,407 (12.3%) had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 3.03. There were 8,321 families (73.0% of households); the average family size was 3.44. The age distribution was 8,518 people (24.6%) under the age of 18, 3,066 people (8.9%) aged 18 to 24, 7,804 people (22.6%) aged 25 to 44, 9,792 people (28.3%) aged 45 to 64, and 5,413 people (15.6%) who were 65 or older. The median age was 40.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.7 males. There were 11,940 housing units at an average density of 835.2 per square mile, of the occupied units 8,462 (74.3%) were owner-occupied and 2,932 (25.7%) were rented. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3%; the rental vacancy rate was 4.7%. 24,052 people (69.5% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 10,454 people (30.2%) lived in rental housing units. According to the 2010 United States Census, San Juan Capistrano had a median household income of $75,356, with 12.7% of the population living below the federal poverty line.

2000

As of the census of 2000, there were 33,826 people in 10,930 households, including 8,196 families, in the city. The population density was 2,381.2 inhabitants per square mile (919.1/km²). There were 11,320 housing units at an average density of 307.6 persons/km² (796.9 persons/mi²). The

racial makeup A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

of the city was 78.47% White, 0.78% African American, 1.07% Native American, 1.92% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 14.21% from other races, and 3.43% from two or more races. 33.13% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 10,930 households, 39.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.7% were married couples living together, 8.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.0% were non-families. 19.7% of households were one person and 10.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.45. The age distribution was 28.1% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.0 males. The median household income was $62,392 and the median family income was $69,481. Males had a median income of $47,574 versus $34,821 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,926. About 10.7% of the population and 6.6% of families were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 14.8% of those under age 18 and 4.2% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Quaint Town, relaxing time (25684786730)

San Juan Capistrano is home to over 1,700 businesses. The city's unemployment rate was at 3.7% as of December 2017.City of San Juan Capistrano CAFR
/ref>

Top employers

According to the city's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report from June 30, 2020, the largest employers in the city are:

Arts and culture

San Juan Capistrano is also known for its

cliff swallow The cliff swallow or American cliff swallow (''Petrochelidon pyrrhonota'') is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae, the swallows and martins. The generic name ''Petrochelidon'' is derived from Ancient Greek ''petros'' meaning "roc ...

s. The protected birds return during migration, which originates in the town of

Goya, Argentina Goya is a city in the south-west of the province of Corrientes in the Argentine Mesopotamia. It has about 77,349 inhabitants as of the . The city lies on the eastern shore of the Paraná River, opposite Reconquista, Santa Fe, 218 kilometres sout ...

, around

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

's Day (March 19) each year. The day is celebrated by the city's annual Swallows' Day Parade and other festive events. The swallows leave around October 23, the former feast day of

. The 1940 hit song "

When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano "When the Swallows Come Back to Capistrano" is a song written by Leon René and first recorded by The Ink Spots featuring Bill Kenny in May 1940. The Ink Spots' recording of the song reached No. 4 on the US charts. Background René wrote the son ...

", written by

Leon René Leon René (February 6, 1902 – May 30, 1982) was an American music composer of pop, R&B and rock and roll songs and a record producer in the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s. He sometimes used the songwriting pseudonym Jimmy Thomas or Jimmie Thom ...

, is a love song inspired by this annual event. The Serra Chapel at the mission is the oldest in-use building in California. San Juan was also the site of one of the first places to produce

Californian wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. I ...

. Putuidem Village, a , is part of the original lands of the Acjachemen. Completed in 2021, it commemorates the history of the people called the Juaneño by the Spanish colonizers.

Government

As of April 2022, the City Council members are: Derek Reeve, (Mayor), Howard Hart, (Mayor Pro Team), John Taylor, Sergio Farias and Troy Bourne. The current city manager is Benjamin Siegel. In the

California State Legislature The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...

, San Juan Capistrano is in , and in . In the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

, San Juan Capistrano is in .

Education

San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano, CA (cropped)

San Juan Capistrano is served by

Capistrano Unified School District Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) is the largest school district in Orange County, California, United States. It is the 8th largest district in the state and the 78th largest in the country. The district currently has 54,036 students an ...

. In the 2007–08 academic year,

San Juan Hills High School San Juan Hills High School is a high school located in San Juan Capistrano, California, and it is the sixth high school of the Capistrano Unified School District. The school officially opened in the 2007–2008 school year as a new comprehensive ...

opened with about 600 freshman students. It is the city's only public high school, although a sizeable portion of San Juan Capistrano's residents attend high schools in neighboring cities since the schools in most of its neighboring cities are also under Capistrano Unified School District which is the second largest school district in Orange County. San Juan has four public elementary schools (grades K–5): Del Obispo Elementary School, Harold Ambuehl Elementary School, Kinoshita Elementary School, and San Juan Elementary School. The local public middle school (grades 6–8) is Marco Forster Middle School. Capistrano Valley High School (grades 9–12) lies just outside of the city's borders, but serves many of the city's students. A public continuation high school, Junipero Serra High School, also serves the area. Mission San Juan Capistrano - North Corridor (cropped)

Mission San Juan Capistrano - North Corridor (cropped)

San Juan also has six private, non-secular schools.

Capistrano Valley Christian Schools John of Capistrano (''Italian language, Italian'': San Giovanni da Capestrano, ''Hungarian language, Hungarian'': Kapisztrán János, ''Polish language, Polish'': Jan Kapistran, ''Croatian language, Croatian'': Ivan Kapistran) (24 June 1386 – ...

(grades pre-K – 12), Saddleback Valley Christian School (grades pre-K – 12), St. Margaret's Episcopal School (grades pre-K – 12), and

JSerra Catholic High School JSerra Catholic High School is a private coeducational Catholic high school located in San Juan Capistrano, California. Named after Saint Junípero Serra, the school was founded by parents in 2003 and is an independent school sanctioned by the ...

(grades 9–12). Mission Basilica School (grades K–8) is located on the historic Mission grounds, utilizes some of the historic buildings as classrooms, and is part of

Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano Mission Basilica San Juan Capistrano is a Catholic parish in the Diocese of Orange in California. The parish church is located just northwest of Mission San Juan Capistrano in the city of San Juan Capistrano, California, United States. Complete ...

. The other is Rancho Capistrano Christian School (grades K–8), located off Interstate 5 on

Saddleback Church Saddleback Church is a Baptist Evangelical multi-site megachurch, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, located in Lake Forest, California. It is the largest church in California, and one of the largest in the United States of America. ...

's south campus. San Juan also has a private, secular school, Fairmont School (grade K - 12), located close to San Juan Capistrano Mission.

Media

San Juan Capistrano is served by two newspapers, th
Capistrano Valley News
(owned by the Orange County Register) an
The Capistrano Dispatch
The Capistrano Valley News runs once weekly on Thursdays and The Dispatch runs on the second and fourth Fridays of each month.
The San Juan Capistrano Patch
', an online-only news website, also serves the city.

Transportation

The

Orange County Transportation Authority The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is the transportation planning commission for Orange County, California in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. OCTA is responsible for funding and implementing transit and capital projects for th ...

(OCTA) operates bus routes within the city, connecting it to other parts of Orange County.

Rail

The

San Juan Capistrano station San Juan Capistrano station is a train station in San Juan Capistrano, California, United States served by Amtrak, the national railroad passenger system, and Metrolink, a commuter railroad. The station has a single side platform serving the sin ...

is served by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

and Metrolink. The station is located one block away from the historic San Juan Capistrano Mission next to Los Rios Street in downtown San Juan Capistrano. Its proximity to the city's tourist attractions makes it a popular stop during the summer months.

Highways

Old Town San Juan Capistrano, California (26026195495)

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

has three interchanges completely located in the city (at Camino Capistrano, SR 74/Ortega Highway, and Junipero Serra Road), two interchanges partially located within the city (at SR 1/Camino las Ramblas (which is partially within

Dana Point Dana Point () is a city located in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 33,107 at the 2020 census. It has one of the few harbors along the Orange County coast, and with ready access via State Route 1, it is a po ...

) as well as SR 73 (which is partially within

Mission Viejo Mission Viejo ( ; corruption of ''Misión Vieja'', Spanish for "Old Mission") is a commuter city in the Saddleback Valley in Orange County, California, United States. Mission Viejo is considered one of the largest master-planned communities eve ...

)), and an additional northbound entrance ramp from Stonehill Drive and Camino Capistrano. California 1

Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most notable state routes in California. It is often incorrectly referenced that SR 1 terminates in nearby

because the city borders the Pacific Ocean (unlike San Juan Capistrano). In reality, SR 1 terminates shortly after it junctions with Interstate 5, crossing within San Juan Capistrano city limits (although this is a few hundred feet away from the city limits of Dana Point). There is an official SR 1 terminus sign on a traffic light pole along the southbound lanes on SR 1 shortly after crossing under Interstate 5 which is within San Juan Capistrano city limits. California 73

California State Route 73 State Route 73 (SR 73) is an approximately state highway in Orange County, California. The southernmost of the highway is a toll road operated by the San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor Agency named the San Joaquin Hills Transporta ...

southbound terminates at I-5 in San Juan Capistrano, while the northbound direction begins at I-5. There are no exits along SR 73 in San Juan Capistrano other than its junction with Interstate 5. California 74

California State Route 74 State Route 74 (SR 74), part of which forms the Palms to Pines Scenic Byway or Pines to Palms Highway, and the Ortega Highway, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs from Interstate 5 in California, Interstate 5 in San Juan C ...

has its official western terminus at Interstate 5 in San Juan Capistrano. The city-maintained road that continues west as Ortega Highway originally terminated at Camino Capistrano in front of

; however, interchange reconstruction that was completed in 2015 brought Ortega Highway to continue onto Del Obispo Street towards

, with a right turn required to stay on the older portion of Ortega Highway. California 241

California State Route 241 State Route 241 (SR 241) is a state highway in Orange County, California that is a toll road for its entire length. Its southern half from near Las Flores to near Irvine is the Foothill Transportation Corridor, while its northern half to SR& ...

, which originally terminated at Oso Parkway between Las Flores and

Coto de Caza Coto de Caza (Spanish for "Hunting Reserve") is a census-designated place (CDP) and guard-gated private community in Orange County, California. The population was 14,799 at the 2017 census. The CDP is a suburban planned community of about 4,000 ...

, was extended roughly 4 miles to Cow Camp Road in the community of

Rancho Mission Viejo Rancho Mission Viejo (Spanish: ''Rancho Misión Vieja'', meaning "Old Mission Ranch") is an active ranch and farm, habitat reserve, residential community, and census-designated place in South Orange County, California. Rancho Mission Viejo origi ...

, which is located just east of the city limits. US 101 (CA historic)

The original route of U.S. 101 ran through downtown San Juan Capistrano on what is now Camino Capistrano. It was decommissioned when Interstate 5 was completed in the 1950s.

Sister cities

Capestrano Capestrano ( Abruzzese: ') is a ''comune'' and small town with 885 inhabitants (2017), in the Province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo, Italy. It is located in the Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. History Antiquity In the necropolis the statu ...

, Italy * Ensenada, Mexico

Notable people

* Austin Hedges, MLB Catcher *

Kyle Hendricks Kyle Christian Hendricks (born December 7, 1989), nicknamed "The Professor", is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2014, and led MLB in earned run average for ...

, Chicago Cubs * Anthony Cumia, radio host and podcaster *

Norm Sherry Norman Burt Sherry (July 16, 1931 – March 8, 2021) was an American baseball catcher, manager, and coach who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Mets from 1959 to 1963. He bat ...

(1931–2021), catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball * Modesta Avila (1867–1891), Californio ranchera and protester

References

External links

*
San Juan Capistrano Chamber of Commerce

Visit San Juan Capistrano
{{authority control 1961 establishments in California Cities in Orange County, California Incorporated cities and towns in California Populated places established in 1776 Spanish mission settlements in North America