The foundation of stones imbedded in mortar, is nearly six feet thick under the front towers in order to support their great weight. The massive towers, with their arcaded belfries arranged in two stages, were of identical design. The one on the right, never having been completed, lacks the crowning dome and cupola of the one on the left, thereby destroying the otherwise perfect symmetry of the facade, though not detracting from the charm of the structure. A number of legends have arisen to account for the unfinished tower. It is said the King of Spain, anxious to increase his revenues, ruled that each church upon completion must pay a tax to the royal treasury. The astute padres left the church in a state that could not be considered completed. Another version relates that Ignacio Gaona, the mission builder, with but a few months of labor left, sustained a fatal injury in a fall off the unfinished tower which may account for its not being completed, as well as for the fact that the name of his assistant was inscribed on the Sacristy door, viz. “Pedro Bojourquez, 1797.” The imposing silhouette of the towers is greatly enhanced by the flowing lines of their flying buttresses at each corner. These corner buttresses are arched across to the base of the upper belfry in the form of graceful scrolls. The platform around the lower stage of the belfry is protected by a balustrade of finely turned balusters. The most decorative feature of the facade is the gabled entrance pavilion which, with its curvilinear silhouette and baroque detail, exemplifies the excesses of the late Spanish Renaissance and recalls the Churrigueresque embellishments of the Mexican cathedrals. The original ornamentations—arabesques, shells, niched figures, and swirling volutes in both low and high relief—appear in soft shades of red, the faded residue of the original vermilion paint.