The missions—built between 1769 and 1823 and extending in a chain of 600 miles from Sonoma to San Diego—stand as symbols of California's Spanish colonial past. Pictured is San Miguel's bell tower.

At California's nearly two dozen Spanish missions, conversion these days isn't just about religion; it's also about seismic retrofitting. That's because the missions — which date to the late 1700s, ...

Stretching from San Diego to just north of San Francisco, the 21 Missions of California forever changed the face of this | dHNfOGpicmt0eWw0LXM The Navy built this and barely anyone knows about it ...