A "sweat house:" the inspiration to City Hall's structure.

The Mission Viejo City Hall and Library complex may look like any other City center, but looks can be deceiving since this is far from an ordinary, municipal center.

If you get up close and personal, you will find various symbols and stories of the City’s history that have been placed throughout the complex. Both the City Hall and Library were designed by LPA of Irvine, and were built with exteriors of stacked stone referred to as “Mission Viejo Rock,” which is actually cast concrete.

Also, the City Hall Council Chamber is where most public business meetings are held. The room was created to represent a structure in Native American Villages known as the “sweat house.”

In the center of the parking area between the City Hall and Library, the historic roadway El Camino Real has been recreated in stone. Historical markers describe the old roadway and pay tribute to it with the poem The King’s Highway –El Camino Real by John S. McGroarty, also known as a California Poet Laureate.

Visitors and residents should also take note of a beautiful fountain that serves as the centerpiece of the Civic Center courtyard. Did you know that it was created to replicate the Aguaje del Cuate (Twin Springs) that once flowed near the water company facility at the southeast corner of Oso Parkway and Cabot Road?

As lore would have it, the springs were once the best-known natural landmark between Los Angeles and San Diego. A horse change station for the Seeley and Wright Stageline Co. once operated next to the springs.