City Council Declares May as National Historic Preservation Month

With San Juan Capistrano being a town steeped in history, San Juan Capistrano Mayor Howard Hart issued a proclamation recognizing May as National Historic Preservation Month on April 18.

The San Juan Cultural Heritage Commission and Docent Society will host a celebration to coincide with the monthlong designation on May 6 at the Blas Aguilar Adobe Museum on El Camino Real and along Los Rios Street. Docents will give informational tours of the area’s long-standing adobes, including the Montanez Adobe.

Cultural Heritage Commission Chairperson and local historical advocate Ann Ronan was given an award of recognition by Hart.

“Our city’s motto says it all: ‘Preserving the past to enhance the future,’ ” Hart said. “Our city is unique and grounded in a mission of Native American culture, Mission heritage, and (an) agrarian past.”

Hart also mentioned San Juan’s historic neighborhoods and buildings, and the city’s efforts to ensure preservation. Los Rios Street is said by local historians to be California’s oldest residential street, while Mission San Juan Capistrano dates back to 1776.

National Historic Preservation Month was first instituted in 1973 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This article was orginally published in The Capistrano Dispatch.