Junipero Serra Statue
![[bizarre_serra.jpg]](bizarre_serra.jpg)
This 26-foot statue commemorates Father Junipero Serra (1713 - 1784), a Franciscan missionary who was instrumental in the founding of the chain of Spanish mission churches along the California coast. Indeed, the freeway the statue overlooks has been named Junipero Serra Freeway. But with all due respect to Father Serra and his deeds, this statue takes, um, a certain artistic license with his likeness. Crudely fashioned out of concrete, with rather squat dimensions, it leaves the good padre looking somewhat hobbitish. The kneeling figure of Father Serra points to the route taken by the missionaries in their northward trek; supposedly his hand and sleeve also form the image of a donkey, which was Serra's most common mode of transportation.
Directions: Rest area on northbound Interstate 280, 3 miles north of Highway 92 interchange.
Last visited: July 1986.
Standard disclaimer: Sites are described for entertainment purposes only, as they were at the time of my last visit. I can not vouch for the current condition of the site or its accessibility.