Editing Mission Santa Cruz (section)

== Decline ==
[[File:Holy Cross Church at Santa Cruz circa 1900 Keystone-Mast.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Holy Cross Church ({{Circa|1900}})]]
The front wall of the adobe mission, built in 1794, was destroyed by the [[1857 Fort Tejon earthquake]]. A wooden facade was added and the structure converted to other uses. A new wooden church was built next door in 1858.<ref>http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/23/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120101131706/http://www.santacruzpl.org/history/articles/23/ |date=January 1, 2012 }} Kimbro, Edna E. "Construction Chronology of the Site of Holy Cross Church". Santa Cruz Public Library</ref> In 1889, the current [[Gothic Revival architecture|Gothic Revival]]-style Holy Cross Church was built over (in the same orientation) part of the original sanctuary and cemetery.<ref>Chesley, Joan "Digging into the past at Holy Cross Church". The Observer, Vol. 25 # 8, 1993</ref> The cemetery wall was defined in 1993 <ref>{{Cite news|last=Alvarado|first=Emilio|date=9 July 1993|title=Working to save Mission Treasures|work=Santa Cruz Sentinel}}</ref><ref>Edwards, R., C. Simpson Smith & R.P..Hampson, "Historical Resources Investigations at Holy Cross Church, Santa Cruz, California, 1999 (on file, Northwest Information Center, Sonoma State University)</ref> and developed as a memorial and native plant garden.

The current Holy Cross Church was built on the site of the original mission church in 1889, and it remains an active [[parish]] of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Monterey in California|Diocese of Monterey]]. A section of stone foundation wall from one of the mission buildings and a few old headstones from the mission cemetery can be found directly behind the present Holy Cross Church. A reduced-scale "replica" chapel was built near the mission site in the 1930s and functions as a [[chapel]] of Holy Cross Church. Today's Plaza Park occupies the same location as the original plaza, at the center of the former mission complex. The complex at one time included as many as 32 [[buildings]]. The only surviving mission building, a dormitory for native acolytes, has been restored to its original appearance and functions as a museum of the [[#Santa Cruz Mission Historic Park and District|Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park]].

At the same time, the mission cemetery was excavated and the remains moved to a mass grave at Old Holy Cross Cemetery, a few miles to the east. In recent years, a group of local volunteers worked to restore the old cemetery, and to identify the mission gravesite and those whose remains were moved there. A memorial was dedicated in 2016.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Masters |first1=Ryan |title=Thousands buried in mass, unmarked Live Oak grave honored with memorial |url=http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20161216/thousands-buried-in-mass-unmarked-live-oak-grave-honored-with-memorial |newspaper=Santa Cruz Sentinel |access-date=December 16, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161218132941/http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/social-affairs/20161216/thousands-buried-in-mass-unmarked-live-oak-grave-honored-with-memorial |archive-date=December 18, 2016 |url-status=live |date=December 16, 2016}}</ref>

The only original Mission building left is a long multi-room building which at one time housed local ''[[Yokuts]]'' and ''[[Ohlone]]'' Native American families. The original building is located at 144 School Street and can be toured during operating hours.<ref>[http://www.thatsmypark.org/cp-parks-beaches/santa-cruz-mission-state-historic-park/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325061641/http://www.thatsmypark.org/cp-parks-beaches/santa-cruz-mission-state-historic-park/|date=March 25, 2013}} Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks Website</ref> There is also a protected remnant of the mission church foundation wall behind the current Holy Cross Church. The parish address is 126 High Street. The road leading to the mission from the west is called Mission Street, which is also part of [[California State Route 1]].

In 1931, Gladys Sullivan Doyle proposed to construct a reduced-size replica of the original chapel. She contributed all of the construction costs, on the condition that she be allowed to be buried inside. Her grave can be viewed in a small side room. Since there were no surviving photographs or drawings of the original structure, design of the replica chapel was adapted from an 1876 (19 years after the collapse of the building's front half) painting by the French painter [[Léon Trousset]].<ref>[http://leontrousset.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110170434/http://leontrousset.com/|date=January 10, 2016}} Leon Trousset.com</ref> The original painting hangs in the nave of the chapel.

[[File:Mission Santa Cruz.jpg|thumb|right|Inside the mission chapel replica]]

The concrete construction was done by parishioner Tranquilino Costella, an Italian immigrant, whose contractor stamp is still seen in the sidewalk in front of the mission. The small replica chapel is mainly used for private services, daily Masses (M-F), and Morning Prayer on Saturday. An adjoining room functions as a gift shop. A stone fountain from the original mission complex stands in the garden behind the gift shop.