In the late 18th century, Franciscan missionaries established 21 missions up the California coast, from San Diego to Sonoma. Each uniquely beautiful Mission was built 1 day's trek from the next, along a path known as El Camino Real (the Royal Road), remnants of which still exist today. The Missions' construction marked the beginning of European settlement of California and the displacement of the Native American population. The two L.A.-area Missions are located in the valleys that took their names: the San Fernando Valley and the San Gabriel Valley. A third Mission, San Juan Capistrano, is located in Orange County.

Established in 1797, Mission San Fernando once controlled more than 1 1/2 million acres, employed 1,500 Native Americans, and boasted more than 22,000 head of cattle and extensive orchards. The fragile adobe Mission complex was destroyed several times, but was always faithfully rebuilt with low buildings surrounding grassy courtyards. The aging church was replaced in the 1940s, and again in the 1970s after an earthquake. The Convento, a 250-foot-long colonnaded structure dating from 1810, is the compound's oldest remaining building. Some of the Mission's rooms, including the old library and the private salon of the first bishop of California, have been restored to their late-18th-century appearance. A half-dozen padres and many hundreds of Shoshone Indians are buried in the adjacent cemetery.