San Francisco de Asis Mission Church

San Francisco de Asis Mission Church
Mission Church of Ranchos de Taos
Shown within New Mexico
Basic information
Location The Plaza of Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
 USA
Geographic coordinates 36°21′31″N 105°36′28″W / 36.3586°N 105.6078°W / 36.3586; -105.6078Coordinates: 36°21′31″N 105°36′28″W / 36.3586°N 105.6078°W / 36.3586; -105.6078
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Architectural description
Architect(s) Unknown
Architectural style Spanish
Completed 1772
U.S. National Historic Landmark
Added to NRHP April 15, 1970[1]
NRHP Reference no. 70000416
Designated as NHL April 15, 1970[2]
Type Contributing property
Designated October 2, 1978
Parent listing Ranchos de Taos Plaza
Reference no. 78001830

San Francisco de Asis Mission Church is a historic and architecturally significant church on the main plaza of Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico. Built between 1772 and 1816, it is one of the finest extant examples of a Spanish Colonial New Mexico mission church, and is a popular target for photographers. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.[2]

Description

San Francisco de Asis is located about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of Taos, New Mexico, at the center of the main plaza in the unincorporated of Ranchos de Taos on the south side of New Mexico State Road 68. It is a large adobe structure, about 120 feet (37 m) in length, with a cruciform plan. An adobe wall extends from the back of the church and one of the transepts to form an enclosed rectangular area on the building's south side. Adobe buttresses project from several portions of the main walls, including architecturally distinctive beehive-curved buttresses at the ends of the transepts. The roof is formed out of adobe laid on planking supported by timber vigas, set in distinctive doubly corbelled mounts. The vigas are also more closely spaced than is typically found in other examples of Spanish colonial architecture. The entrance is flanked by a pair of bell towers.[3]

History

The mission at Ranchos de Taos was established in the early 18th century.[3] Construction on this church began around 1772[4][5] and was completed in 1815[4] by Franciscan Fathers; its patron is Saint Francis of Assisi.[6] It was the center of the fortified plaza, which provided for protection against Comanche attackers.[7] The church has undergone several instances of restoration, including in 1967, when all of the ceiling vigas and doors were replaced with reproductions.[3]

The church has inspired some of the greatest number of depictions of any building in the United States.[6] It was the subject of several paintings by Georgia O'Keeffe,[8][9] and photographs by Ansel Adams, Paul Strand and Ned Scott. Georgia O'Keeffe described it as "one of the most beautiful buildings left in the United States by the early Spaniards."[6] The Taos Chamber of Commerce states that the building is "one of the most photographed and painted churches in the world".[10]

The church was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1970.[2][3] It is also designated as a World Heritage church.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. 1 2 3 "National Historic Landmarks Survey, New Mexico" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Charles W. Snell (May 1, 1968) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church, National Park Service and Accompanying photos from 1968
  4. 1 2 Hooker, Van Dorn. Centuries of Hands: An Architectural History of St. Francis of Assisi Church, p15. Sunstone Press (1996), ISBN 0-86534-234-2.
  5. ↑ Ranchos de Taos. The Columbia Gazetteer of North America. 2000
  6. 1 2 3 Charles C. Eldredge (1993). Georgia O'Keeffe: American and Modern, p198. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-05581-1.
  7. ↑ Marc Treib (1 January 1993). Sanctuaries of Spanish New Mexico. University of California Press. pp. 188–192. ISBN 978-0-520-06420-1.
  8. ↑ 1971.16 | Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas Archived 2010-09-19 at the Wayback Machine.
  9. ↑ Georgia O'Keeffe - Learning Archived 2008-09-16 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ "Pilgrimage to the Mission Churches" (PDF). Taos Chamber of Commerce. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-15. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  11. ↑ GCatholic.org

Further reading

  • Spirit and Vision: Images of Ranchos de Taos Church. 1987, Museum of New Mexico Press. ISBN 0-89013-170-8. 80 images of the church, from a 1982 exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts, Santa Fe.
  • Marc Treib (1 January 1993). Sanctuaries of Spanish New Mexico. University of California Press. pp. 192–195. ISBN 978-0-520-06420-1.
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