Mission Survived Quake, but It’s Worse for Wear

Walls pulled apart, statues broke into pieces and a crack appeared that runs the length of the church, but the state’s most dilapidated mission, San Miguel Arcangel in Central California, surprised experts by surviving the Paso Robles earthquake Dec. 22.

The estimated cost of repairing the mission, parts of which date to 1818, has doubled as a result of the 6.5 quake, and the very process of shoring up its walls could threaten the integrity of priceless wall paintings dating to 1824. The paintings, the centerpiece of which is the all-seeing eye of God, were done by Spanish artist Esteban Munras, with the aid of local Salinan Indians.

“San Miguel is the only mission with original paintings by Munras,” said Tina Foss, an official with the California Missions Foundation. “They cover the entire inner wall of the church.

“This is not the kind of building where you can say, ‘Oh well, we’ll build a replica.’ You can never replicate this building.”

Still, to Foss, vice president of the foundation, which is raising money to rehabilitate aging mission buildings across the state, the surprise was that the damage wasn’t worse.

“It was the only mission that I felt was in danger of being lost prior to the earthquake,” Foss said. “The fact that it’s still standing after the earthquake -- I’m thrilled.”

The estimated cost of repairing San Miguel, one of 21 California missions, was $10 million before the quake. Much of the doubled post-quake estimate would be spent to insert steel beams to stabilize the walls of the main church. “There was major structural damage to the church,” said Richard Ameil, president of the foundation.

Even before the earthquake, Mission San Miguel, in the small town of San Miguel north of San Luis Obispo, was the poster child for a $50-million campaign by the foundation to restore and repair all the California missions. Walls around its grounds were crumbling. Gates hung from hinges. Rats were known to live above the cracked beams in the ceiling.

Most of the $50 million has been earmarked for structural repairs at San Miguel and elsewhere, while millions more would go toward preserving antique furnishings and compiling a list of what each mission owns. “There is no comprehensive inventory of what’s even in the missions,” Ameil said.

Money would also be spent on security to prevent the kind of theft that occurred several months ago at Mission San Antonio de Padua, where a 200-year-old violin was stolen and replaced with a child’s toy.

“There’s no way to put an estimate on its value,” Ameil said. “It’s disappointing and shocking that it’s gone.”

California Sens. Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein have introduced legislation that would raise $10 million for the project. Calling the missions “state treasures,” Feinstein warned that “they are on the verge of being lost to us forever.”

The California Mission Preservation Act passed the House in October, and was scheduled for a hearing in the Senate on the day the deadly poison ricin was discovered in a Senate office building, forcing a postponement of the hearing until March 9.

The Diocese of Monterey also announced that it and the Franciscan Friars, the two owners of the mission, were forming a special working group to find the best way to save San Miguel.

“There is a need to do something about retrofitting before further damage is done,” said John Fowler, the committee chairman.

San Miguel was established on July 25, 1797, the 16th in order of founding. Part of the original structure burned to the ground in 1808, and reconstruction was completed a decade later. When Mexico won its independence from Spain, the mission went through a secular period, becoming a saloon, dance hall and warehouse. During the Gold Rush, it was the scene of mass murder. Five sailors from Monterey in search of ore robbed and killed 11 people living there.

The missions were returned to the Catholic Church in 1863 by order of President Lincoln.

The small size of the San Miguel community, 1,100 people, complicates the task of raising money for repairs. Mission foundation officials said they had not seen an increase in giving after the earthquake.

Father Ray Tintle, the church pastor, said the congregation remained loyal, even after the church closed. Services are being held at a center for the homeless in town, Casa San Miguel.

Mission San Miguel isn’t the first heavily damaged by an earthquake. Much of Mission San Fernando was destroyed in the Sylmar quake of 1971.

Even so, Foss said, “I haven’t even entertained the thought that we won’t save the building. Absolutely, it can be saved. The issue is finding the money in time to save it.”