The historic Mission San Buenaventura is facing a crisis. Its structure is deteriorating. But a federal grant could save the mission in downtown Ventura.
The mission's age isn't causing the deterioration. A poor choice of materials used to repair the structure in the 1970s is now destroying the walls.
"The plaster that was applied was Portland plaster, a solid plaster that doesn't breathe," said Father Tom Elewaut. "When the rain seeps into the walls, it doesn't allow the adobe bricks inside to dry out."
Elewaut is leading efforts to address the problem. He recently retired as the mission's pastor, but is still helping to manage historical structures in the Archdiocese.
"There are cracks all around the mission," said Elewaut. "You can even tap on some places in the wall and hear that it's hollow. It hasn't fallen off yet, but it's detached from the original adobe plaster."
The problems worsened after last winter’s storms. Falling plaster forced the Mission to close its main entrance. Preliminary estimates to repair the damage were in the $700,000 range, well beyond the financial means of the small Ventura parish.
The Santa Barbara-based California Missions Foundation stepped up to help.
They'd learned about a National Park Service grant program for locations linked to America’s 250th anniversary.
"We had to make the case connection this mission to the founding of the nation," said the foundation's director, David Bolton.
They demonstrated that members of California's early missions, presidios, and Indigenous communities were required to donate money to the King of Spain.
"The funds were gathered and sent on to the King, who sent the money to directly support the U.S. independence effort and its war, the Revolutionary War, against Great Britain," explained Bolton.
He said they used the Mission’s connection to America’s Revolutionary War effort to secure a $750,000 National Park Service grant for repairs.
"We're the only location on the National Park Service list of awardees that's in California," said Bolton. "We're very happy we were able to succeed."
Democratic Rep. Salud Carbajal of Santa Barbara and Ventura County Supervisor Matt LeVere provided key support in the effort to get the federal funding.
Elewaut said they won’t know how much repairs will cost until experts begin examining the walls, but the grant will cover a substantial part of the needed work.
The project also has added urgency, with the potential for more damage to the walls from heavy rainfall from the major El Niño event predicted to impact the region.
