Tumacácori National Historical Park Entrance

Almost immediately following creation of Tumacácori National Monument in 1908, a visitor center and museum was envisioned. In 1935, a diverse group of National Park Service specialists – an archaeologist, photographer, naturalist, and two architects – were sent to survey Spanish colonial mission sites in Sonora, collecting architectural data for use in planning Tumacácori’s museum.
The building is fashioned after the style of the Sonora missions. As in the construction of the early churches, native materials were employed in the characteristic manner. Walls are of sun-dried adobe brick, cornices are of burned brick, and the exterior walls finished with lime plaster stucco.
Many of the architectural features and details of the Sonora Missions were incorporated in the museum building. The main entrance motif is patterned after the entrance to Cocóspera. The carved entrance doors emulate the carved doors of San Ignacio, some of the most beautiful doors of the entire mission chain.