NUEVO MEXICO PROFUNDO collaborated with Father Adrian Sisneros and St. Joseph Parish in Cerrillos on the restoration of the historic church in Golden, New Mexico. The project entailed exterior repairs and then application of a waterproofing and stabilizing stucco system. The work was done by Mudd Brothers Construction of Albuquerque. A few photos are below.
PROFUNDO’s $20,000 donation to the restoration was made possible by gifts from an anonymous donor, Sallie Bingham, Robert L. Clarke Family Foundation, Laurie Gunst, Adam Mackie and Steven Jenison, William deBuys, Catherine Hubbard, Donna Hankinson, Jenifer Kirtland, Kate Northrop, Deborah Mersky, Michael Gross, Michelle Lepore & Victor Kazanjian, Donna Vigil, Robyn Hoffman, Healthmarket Communications, Anne Gallagher, Larry Russell, John Benigno, Kathleen Dexter, Robert L. Malchie, Allison Gentile, Joan Sapon, Lynda Sanchez, Barbara Tandy, Deborah Boldt, Carol Pertusini, Michael McGeary, and Daughters of the American Revolution, Charles Dibrell Chapter.
San Francisco church in Golden was redesigned and rebuilt about sixty years ago by Fray Angélico Chávez. He described the original church (illustrated in black and white below) as drab and inconspicuous, and the rebuilding was motivated when two years in a row, in 1959 and 1960, the church roof was blown off by storms. At about the same time, in 1960,Route 14 between Santa Fe and Tijeras was widened and paved, cutting through the hill on which the church was situated and leaving the church conspicuous on a precipice. “This Act of God,” Fray Angélico wrote regarding the storms, “plus the acts of the highway department, and the intrinsic historical character of the building, gave me the idea to restore the building in the old mission style…. Its prominent position on a new scenic highway would make it a sermon in stone for all passers-by.”
