As it stands today, with restoration completed, San Jose presents an interesting picture of the extensiveness of the original mission plan. It was the most beautiful, the most prosperous and the best fortified of the missions in New Spain. The mission building itself faces west, with a frontage of 62 feet, and including the monastery wing, is 241 feet long. The front walls are almost 5 feet thick and the others but slightly less. The Mission is enclosed in a quadrangle embracing more than six acres, protected by ramparts forming the outer walls of the Indian quarters which were a part of the establishment. Construction of the chapel took ten years, following a slow and tedious process. As the main walls were built, earth was constantly hauled in, the level being raised as the stones were piled higher. When the roof line was reached, dirt for the dome was piled higher and moulded so that each stone could be locked in place. With the roof completed, the dirt was dug out from beneath and the balance of the building finished. The single tower of San Jose rises to the height of the average seven and one-half story building, and the hemispheric dome of the church is almost as high.] [Illustration: The richly ornamented facade of San Jose is considered one of this Mission’s most notable features. Those parts not originally covered with carving were decorated with frescoes. The facade is rich with beautiful stone carving and ornamentation that is still in an excellent state of preservation despite the vandalism of relic hunters during the many years the mission was deserted following secularization.] [Illustration: The roof, dome and front of the walls of the original main chapel of San Jose crashed during a storm in 1868. They remained in a state of disrepair until 1937.] [Illustration: The lower portion of the facade of San Jose presents the work of the original sculptors. Above the doors is carved our Lady of Guadalupe. Figures in niches on each side of the doors, Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, are no longer intact. The hearts above these two statues represent the hearts of Mary and Joseph.] [Illustration: The window is framed in a wreath, above which is a partially mutilated statue of St. Joseph. Saints Dominic and Francis of Assisi are represented by statues on the right and left of the window.] [Illustration: Two-story cloisters connect with the main building.] [Illustration: Adjoining the main church at San Jose is a smaller chapel, which can be entered through this sculptured door. The original red cedar doors still swing on the old wrought iron hinges.] [Illustration: Padres of bygone days peacefully fingered their rosaries in this picturesque cloister.]