Carmel Mission Basilica was founded by Father Junípero Serra in 1770, making it one of the oldest buildings in California. Serra chose this site as his headquarters and home, and it is where he died in 1784 and was buried. He had founded nine missions in Alta California by then.

Seven churches rose on this property in the mission's first 26 years, the last built from Santa Lucia sandstone, the one standing today. By 1879, when Robert Louis Stevenson visited, the church was roofless and crumbling. Restoration began in 1884 and continued through the 1930s under Harry Downie, who restored the original catenary arch roofline.

VoiceMap's Mission Area Walking Tour follows Serra's story from the founding expedition through to his canonisation by Pope Francis in 2015, tracing the mission's long collapse and recovery alongside the native Rumsien people who shaped its early history.