Preservationists Are on a Mission

The elaborate restorations underway at Mission San Juan Capistrano, undertaken since 1987 and expected to take another 10 to 15 years to complete, are a wonderful example of efforts to preserve the past in Orange County.

In recent weeks, the original painted decorations inside the dome of the Great Stone Church at the mission have been undergoing study in anticipation of their preservation. Samples of the paint were taken for analysis, with a plan to treat the decorations with chemicals to bring out their colors and preserve them. The paintings, showing fruit, vegetables and other designs, and believed to have been done in the early 19th century, have been hidden by grime and fungus.

Preservationists were able to get to the paintings while restoring the west wall of the church. Under the direction of the University of Pennsylvania, teams of students have been repairing the church, with the participation of a local architectural firm. Along the way, new methods of preservation have been used.

Also, recently, preservationists used an old technique to lay a new dirt floor on the Montanez Adobe, built near the mission. Military barracks at the mission are to get a makeover with help from a donation of materials and labor from the Building Industry Assn. Kaiser Permanente recently donated money for a program to teach children about the mission’s history, and the Weingart Foundation of Los Angeles donated money to preserve the bell wall.

For work on the Great Stone Church, mission officials have raised $1.8 million for repairs to keep the church from collapsing. Three-million dollars has been raised to retrofit other structures at the mission. The care, attention and generosity of various groups are crucial to the historic undertaking.

Nowadays, much of the attention in Orange County goes to new development and growth. But despite the relentless march of “progress,” restoration projects have been undertaken throughout the county--in downtown Santa Ana, on Balboa Pier, in Fullerton and elsewhere. This spirit of preservation is worth encouraging and supporting as a way of integrating past and present in Orange County for all of us and for future generations of residents and visitors.