However, after about 20 years of service the Serra's Chapel was considered to be too small; so in 1797 "The Great Stone Church" was constructed in the shape of a cross, being 180 feet long, 40 feet wide, and 50-foot high walls with a 120-foot campanile. This was the only chapel in all of Alta California not constructed out of adobe.
Stones were quarried from beds up to six miles away and transported to the site by ox carts. To support the stone walls, the foundation was seven feet thick. The sanctuary floors were made from diamond-shaped tiles, and brick-lined niches along the walls displayed statues of various saints. At the completion of construction, "The Great Stone Church" was the "most magnificent building in all of California." The campanile could be seen from 10 miles away and the bells could be heard from slightly over that distance.
However, in 1812, a large earthquake caused the bulk of the building to collapse, so services were moved back to the Serra's Chapel. "The Great Stone Church" was never reconstructed and the ruins have been compared to those of Greece and Rome, referred to as the "Alhambra of America," "American Acropolis," and the "Melrose Abbey of the West."
Through various movies, artist, and music, the Mission is famous for the annual "Return of the Swallows," which is observed every March 19 on Saint Joseph's Day. The American Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) spends its winters in Goya, Argentina and then makes the 6,000 mile journey to the American Southwest in springtime. After raising their young, the Swallows leave for Argentina on St. John's Day, October 23. While in-flight, the Swallows travel up to 600 miles a day.
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