Information provided by Mission San Juan Bautista Preservation Fund
The National Parks Foundation has awarded a $750,000 Saving America’s Treasures matching grant to the California Missions Foundation for a project submitted by the Mission San Juan Bautista Preservation Fund, a separate non-profit organization dedicated to restoring and preserving the Mission, in cooperation with the Old Mission San Juan Bautista Parish of the Diocese of Monterey. The Saving America’s Treasures program requires applicants to match the grant money dollar-for-dollar with nonfederal funding.
When the Saving America’s Treasures grant is matched, the $1.5 million total will be used for seismic strengthening and adjacent roof repair of the Mission church’s two-story Principal Façade—its front entrance, the baptistry, and the choir loft—the most seismically vulnerable section of the Mission church.
Seismologist have estimated a 62% probability of one or more 6.7 or greater earthquakes in the San Francisco Bay Region from 2003 – 2032. The Mission church is only 100 feet from the San Andreas Fault. Mitigating the seismic threat to the front section of the church is the essential first step in the restoration and preservation of the Mission, as well as the safety of its parishioners and visitors. Earthquakes destroyed the Mission twice in the 1800s and it was badly damaged by the 1906 earthquake.
As one of California’s most significant and well visited historic sites, the Mission hosts 100,000 annual visitors. This includes 40,000 school-aged children from throughout the state. On most weekends during the school year, as many as five school busloads of children, their teachers, and chaperones come to the Mission and learn about its role in California history.
For more information, please visit savemissionsjb.org
Mission San Juan Bautista Preservation Fund
(831) 238-5254