A South Coast landmark is in big trouble in the wake of last winter's big storms.
The Mission Basilica San Buenaventura is one of California’s historic missions. It's facing a crisis that threatens its existence.
"We are standing on Main Street, facing the front facade of the Mission Basilica that was established in 1782," said Father Tom Elewaut, the pastor at Mission San Buenaventura.
You can see the front steps of the mission and its bell tower. But you can also see cracks and spots where chunks of plaster are missing from the structure.
"Christmas Eve, with the pouring rain, I got a call from someone asking if I knew the plaster was falling down," said Elewaut. "I came out to Main Street, in front of the mission, and it was almost like snow, bits and pieces of plaster everywhere that had been coming down. We had to close the main entrance, and kept it closed for about a month and a half."
The cracks include another highly visible part of the landmark structure.
"There's cracks on the corner of the bell tower, where the plaster is beginning to peel off," said Elewaut. "You can see on the façade, one or two layers that have already come off, and even some exposed bricks to the left of the entrance. There are cracks all around the building. The plaster's beginning to open up, not only with our ocean moisture, but with the heavy rains and the wind. It has been catastrophic for this historic site."
As experts examined the cracks, they discovered a much more serious problem was occurring, one that couldn’t be fixed with plaster and paint.
"There are three layers of plaster on the mission," Elewaut explained. "There's the original adobe plaster that's adhered to the adobe bricks. There's another layer of lime plaster. But, unfortunately, in 1976, they put on what is known as Portland plaster, which is terrible for an adobe building. It holds in the moisture. It's tough. It doesn't let moisture permeate, but when moisture gets behind it, it starts to erode the adobe and the adobe bricks, and it doesn't allow the adobe to breathe."
Elewaut walked us through the mission courtyard to the east side of the church. He showed us the damage that has appeared on the structure’s walls.
He taps the wall.
"Hear that hollow sound behind it? That's because it's detached," he explained.
Fixing the growing damage isn’t going to be easy or cheap.
The estimate is that it will cost just over a quarter of a million dollars to repair the church façade and bell tower. It could be more, depending on the extent of the external damage. The estimate to properly do the repairs to the whole mission is about $670,000.
"We need to peel off the Portland plaster, and then possibly what was the second layer of adobe plaster that has dried out, and is detaching from the original. There might be some places where the original plaster has to be taken off," said Elewaut. "We need to remove it all, or at least get it down to where we can adhere quality, breathing plaster."
The mission doesn’t have the money for the repairs. Complicating the situation is the fact that while some of the missions have federal historic landmark status, Mission San Buenaventura does not. That status is necessary for federal grants.
The pastor said some members of the congregation and the community have made donations. He added that while the support is appreciated, it’s going to take more than the grassroots contributions they’ve received to save the mission.
He’s hoping and praying that some foundations will step up to help preserve this place where families have come for generations for spiritual support, and visitors have come for decades because of its place in history.
