Hoag Foundation Donates $200,000 to Preserve Mission
The George Hoag Family Foundation has donated $200,000 to the preservation of “America’s acropolis,” a term coined for Mission San Juan Capistrano, mission officials said.
“This is the largest single donation received by the mission for its preservation campaign,” said Jerry Miller, executive director of the mission.
The Hoag foundation told mission officials the donation was made because the mission is a “historic treasure and a community asset that belongs to us all.”
The donation will support the mission’s $7-million fund-raising effort, launched two years ago to preserve the crumbling 220-year-old church and build an internal support structure, Miller said. Specifically, the money will be used to stabilize the west wall of the Great Stone Church.
The church, which was destroyed in the 1812 earthquake that killed 40 people, was surrounded by scaffolding in 1989 to prevent its further collapse.
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