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Reconstruction had to seem overwhelming but I'm glad they did it.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA), an organization that put men back to work during the Great Depression, helped stabilize the ruins in the 1930s. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s that a thorough reconstruction project was undertaken by the Catholic Archdiocese and architect Harvey Smith Jr. to restore the church, convento, and sections of the defensive wall. Renovations included a new roof for the church, reconstruction of a well, and the partial rebuilding of the defensive walls. Smith was the same man who oversaw the WPA’s complete reconstruction of Mission San Jose.
The Works Progress Administration (WPA), an organization that put men back to work during the Great Depression, helped stabilize the ruins in the 1930s. However, it wasn’t until the 1950s that a thorough reconstruction project was undertaken by the Catholic Archdiocese and architect Harvey Smith Jr. to restore the church, convento, and sections of the defensive wall. Renovations included a new roof for the church, reconstruction of a well, and the partial rebuilding of the defensive walls. Smith was the same man who oversaw the WPA’s complete reconstruction of Mission San Jose.