San Francisco de Assisi Mission Church - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Its mysterious sculptural form, created out of the indigenous building materials of adobe and wood, has been portrayed by more artists than any other church in the United States.

The village of Ranchos de Taos was settled by the Spanish in 1716. "The Ranchos Church," San Francisco de Asis, was completed in 1815 and provides one of the best examples of Franciscan Old World architectural ideals combined with New World building techniques.

The church is fortress-like, with adobe walls four feet thick and enormous buttresses. Light plays off its enormous sculptural form to reflect the change of line, time and space. The church's surface holds the community's history—generations of hands plastering and replastering the adobe walls. For many Taosenos, the church provides a place of worship on Sundays and holidays, for others it provides an anchor in the landscape.

The Museum of New Mexico Press, Santa Fe published a book of paintings, photographs and essays in tribute to this New Mexico landmark. In the forward essay, Dr. George Kubler, Yale University comments:

"The magnetic attraction of the Ranchos Church is comparable to that of the Plaza de las Tres Cultureas, rooted in an Amerindian past, functioning in a Hispanic village, and drawing to its study those from throughout the world who value its expression of balance among different peoples coexisting in a tolerant tension. New Mexico may be a paradigm of the whole United States, and the church at Ranchos de Taos may express its complex balance."

The church itself is open to respectful visitors Monday through Saturday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. On October 4, the feast of St Francis is celebrated in the church and the village. Many of the old adobe homes around Ranchos Plaza now house galleries, shops and restaurants, so be sure to plan enough time to explore the community.

Street address: 60 St. Francis Plaza Ranchos de Taos, NM United States 87557 County / Borough / Parish: Taos County Year listed: 1970 Historic (Areas of) Significance: See Long Description Periods of significance: See Long Description Historic function: See Long Description Current function: See Long Description Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] National Historic Landmark Link: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed

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