Right off of the Santa Clara University campus sits a small building. Its red roof tiles and white adobe walls are fairly typical for the area. But this is no Spanish Revival homage to California’s past. This edifice, now the Santa Clara Women’s Club, dates back to when Spain ruled Northern California. The nearby University grounds are home to the Santa Clara Mission, one of the 17 sites across California established by Spanish monks in order to convert Native Americans to Christianity while exploiting their labor. The monks chose the…
