Associated Press
Speakers hidden behind a statue call to swallows at the mission in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. For most of its 230-year history, the mission has hosted cliff swallows that flock to the crumbling bell tower each spring to nest. In recent decades, however, what used to be swarms of swallows have dwindled.
Sunday, March 22, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Want to see the swallows?
Cliff swallows arrive to San Juan Capistrano every March from their winter home in Argentina. Between March and October, they can be seen building nests in the mission’s eaves and other parts of the city. They start their migration back to Argentina in October. In recent years, urbanization has given the swallows more options for places to build their homes, but for the past four years, the mission has tried to lure them back by playing recorded courtship calls.
One is a lovingly preserved, 239-year-old religious and cultural treasure. The other is an unpolished music venue that serves $3 longnecks and is tucked behind a tire store.
For completely different reasons, the Spanish mission in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., and the Coach House concert hall, 1.5 miles south of the mission, are fascinating places to explore. Each has a rich history, which also can be said about the community around them.
The mission compound is the centerpiece attraction in the Orange County city of about 35,000, once home to swarms of cliff swallows that made the town famous by returning every year to nest in the mission’s stone walls.
The Coach House has been booking a diverse range of acts since opening in 1980 — icons such as B.B. King and Willie Nelson, New Wave hairdo acts, niche punk groups and metal bands.
At the mission, founded in 1776, visitors can take a self-guided audio tour (entry fee: $9) that offers a glimpse into life as a pastor in the 18th century and a visit to a church that remains in operation today. A highlight is the remains of the Great Stone Church, completed in 1806 but destroyed just six years later by an earthquake that struck during Sunday Mass, killing 40 people.
The Coach House is part warehouse, part restaurant and part concert hall, with the components adding up to a memorable operation. The venue features vinyl bar stools, long dining tables, attentive service and rows of publicity photos of acts that have played there — Al Stewart, 1970s singer of “Year of the Cat,” and Social Distortion, a venerable Orange County punk/pop band that cut its teeth at the Coach House, for example. The place seats about 500 people.
San Juan Capistrano’s other sites include the oldest neighborhood in California — the Los Rios Historic District, a collection of 40 homes that date to the 1700s — and a train depot built in 1894. Among the most prominent businesses on the main drag is the Old Barn Antique Mall, which offers 10,000 square feet of items from dozens of vendors.
Visiting historic communities can be an exercise in wading through kitschy souvenirs and tourist traps, but that’s not the case in San Juan Capistrano. You’re as likely to walk into a tony wine bar as you are a shop selling swallow T-shirts and mission refrigerator magnets.
Even a place that plays off of the town’s history, the Swallow’s Inn bar, isn’t cutesy or cloying. It’s a honky-tonk dive with bras hanging from the ceiling.
With an array of restaurants and nightspots, San Juan Capistrano offers enough to keep a visitor occupied for a getaway weekend. In addition, Doheny State Beach is in nearby Dana Point, and more beach fun can be found both up and down the coast.
Just keep in mind: Booking well in advance is a good idea for those who want to stay in San Juan Capistrano proper, as hotel space is limited.
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