Abstract
Digital Preservation of Historic El Camino Real
Track: Technology
Authors: Tom Greaves
CyArk proposes to digitally preserve El Camino Real. Comprised of 21 missions, 4 presidios, 3 pueblos and other structures, El Camino Real spans 700 miles of the California Coast paralleling the San Andreas fault line. Beginning in 1769 with the founding of the San Diego Presidio and Mission, and ending in 1821 with the Mexican independence, this historic route is an important reminder of California's past. Native American tribes, colonial Spain, California, Mexico, Jesuits, and Franciscans and others all tie their history to the route. Annually this route is studied by 450,000 4th graders in the state of California and visited by over 300,000 people.
Digital preservation will inform seismic and structural analysis and retrofit to help to proactively conserve the route's structures. Virtual tours will provide access to the thousands of 4th graders who can't physically visit the sites. The project will elevate the awareness of El Camino Real on a global scale.
Phase 1 consists of developing a GIS of the historic El Camino Real with a robust and expandable 3D capable database underlying it. Phase 1 also includes a digital field documentation project at Mission Dolores to demonstrate the use of 3D scanning, high definition photography and other state of the art methods.
Phase 2 will consist of detailed 3D digital field documentation of the rest of the El Camino Sites and will include the development of detailed conservation deliverables (site plans and architectural drawings) for each of the sites including Mission Dolores .