18th-century murals uncovered at Mission Dolores

Two young men, one an artist, the other an archaeologist, crawled over the ancient redwood beams of San Francisco's Mission Dolores earlier this month, opened a trap door, lowered an electric light into a space behind the main altar -- and stared into the 18th century.

There, in a space thick with the dust of centuries and dark as a tomb, is a wall of nearly forgotten religious murals, painted in red, black and yellow by Native Americans in 1791 and hidden from public view for 208 years.

Read the full story here; the murals were covered by a massive altar screen in 1796 -- I grew up in the Bay Area, and never knew about them, though the article notes:

The murals were never really lost. They were always there, like a forgotten treasure. Information about them surfaced from time to time, most notably in the 1980s, when historian Norman Neuerburg made his way up the wooden spiral staircase to the choir loft, climbed a ladder into the attic, crossed over the interior roof of the mission to the trap door, and lowered himself on a rope ladder to see the murals. He had black-and-white sketches made.

Digital images of the hidden murals are being projected inside the modern church next to the old mission. Haven't been able to find any pictures online as yet.

Posted by David on January 29, 2004 1:45 PM