Just east of the Santa Barbara Mission, Mission Historical Park spreads its 10 acres of green at your feet. Imagine the sweep of the large open grassy area at your feet, the A.C. Postel Memorial Rose Garden and the fountain nearby, the hiking trails threading under sycamore and native oak trees. Notice the historic olive grove dedicated to World War I veterans and the tangible echoes of industry here: remains of tannery vats, a pottery, and a gristmill.
Beneath and around you lies a worked landscape of water — a historic reservoir and aqueduct system that once served the mission. The park and the Mission were designated a California State Historical Landmark on July 12, 1939 (No. 309). A road cuts the park in two: Alameda Padré Serra, a major access way carrying an Average Annual Daily Traffic of about 9,900 vehicles, separates the larger 8-acre southern area — from East Los Olivos and Laguna north to Alameda Padré Serra and east to Plaza del Rubio — from the smaller 2-acre northern parcel between Alameda Padré Serra, Mountain Drive and Mission Ridge Road.
Notice the rose garden, the olive grove, the sycamores, and the open lawn unfolding here.