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Coming around the side of the church you can see some of the restoration work. This church has such a long history and quite frankly, I think we're lucky to have this much left. https://www.nps.gov/tuma/learn/historyc ... church.htm
Historic preservation within the National Park Service practices the principles of stabilization rather than restoration. Exterior plaster, because it bears the brunt of weathering and erosion, tends to get the most frequent treatment. Nearly 14% of the original surface finish on the façade remains intact and the rest is repair work that has been done over the past many decades. Expert masons treat the repair plaster with a soft tan/peach-colored stain, a significant change from its original garish colors. Interior plaster is stabilized in place, but not restored or rebuilt. Original pigments survive under protected areas like overhangs and interior surfaces.
The monumental building with its bright color scheme and decorative elements would have been unlike anything in O’odham tradition. Previously, natural features like springs and mountains provided a community’s identity and place name. But after the O’odham labored for more than twenty years to build this new face for their village, it became a landscape feature itself, and a symbol for Tumacácori’s complex story.
Historic preservation within the National Park Service practices the principles of stabilization rather than restoration. Exterior plaster, because it bears the brunt of weathering and erosion, tends to get the most frequent treatment. Nearly 14% of the original surface finish on the façade remains intact and the rest is repair work that has been done over the past many decades. Expert masons treat the repair plaster with a soft tan/peach-colored stain, a significant change from its original garish colors. Interior plaster is stabilized in place, but not restored or rebuilt. Original pigments survive under protected areas like overhangs and interior surfaces.
The monumental building with its bright color scheme and decorative elements would have been unlike anything in O’odham tradition. Previously, natural features like springs and mountains provided a community’s identity and place name. But after the O’odham labored for more than twenty years to build this new face for their village, it became a landscape feature itself, and a symbol for Tumacácori’s complex story.