By Jonathan Volzke, The Capistrano Dispatch
City officials, community leaders and representatives of families that were part of Capistrano generations ago gathered Saturday for the opening of Los Rios Park in the city’s Historical District.
“This beautiful new park is the product of an entire community that gave of itself to make this day a reality,” San Juan Capistrano Mayor Mark Nielsen said in his remarks before the ribbon cutting. “Today is a joyous occasion for our entire community and especially for all those who have been personally involved in conceptualizing and shaping plans for this park going back about 30 year. As we commemorate this special occasion, we are celebrating among family and friends.”
Assemblywoman Diane Harkey arrived to the ceremony on horseback, and Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens also attended. The day featured Ballet Folklorico dancers, songs from characters from the El Camino Real Playhouse and several displays for native gardening and even birds of prey.
The park, north of Del Obispo Street between Paseo Adelanto and Los Rios, cost $4 million and also includes an 85-space parking lot. The park is largely passive, with native California plants to conserve water. New restrooms and a children’s climbing and play area are included, along with picnic tables. One unique feature: Sprinklers are set on motion sensors when the park is closed between dusk and dawn. To discourage vandals or homeless, they spray water if someone enters key areas of the park.
The park is in the Historic Los Rios District, which is the oldest continuously lived in residential community in California. Homes there were built with the construction of Mission San Juan Capistrano in 1776. In 1794, 40 adobe structures were constructed on what is now Los Rios Street to house the Indians who worked at the Mission.
The Montanez Adobe, now owned by the city and part of the new park, is believed to be one of those original structures, and was the home of Dona Polonia Montanez, whose father, Tomas Gutierrez, was an early Mission carpenter. Next door to the park is the Rios Adobe. Feliciano Rios came from Spain 1776 as a solider with Mission founder Father Junipero Serra and built the adobe in 1794. The Rios family still lives in the home, making it the oldest continually occupied home in the western United States.
The park includes a historical wall, with photographs of members of some of the town’s oldest families. Among them is Modesta Avila, who in 1889 ran a clothes line across the train tracks to protest what she thought was the theft of her land by the railroad. A railroad agent said it was a piece of wood, though, and she was ultimately convicted of obstructing a train. She was sent to San Quentin to serve a three year sentence and died just two years later, at age 22.
Nielsen credited the community for working together to finalize realize the three-decade vision for the park. “This park is a symbol of not only a great past, but also of great things to come,” he said.
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