West Elevation (not dated)

West Elevation (not dated)

Photo of West Facade (ca1964)

Note the differences in the two West facade elevations compared to the final building. The design proposals emphasize the frame-and-infill character of the construction through an extra column down the middle of each tower, open-air landings for the tower staircases, and overhangs at each level. The realized building emphasizes the mass of these towers; even the belfry voids have been filled-in breeze-block.

South Elevation (not dated)

Ground Floor Plan

Photo looking East down the nave toward the interior Northeast corner

Photo of interior of the cupola at the crossing

Transverse Sections

(14x above) Construction photos from the Parish Facebook page.

The construction photos above are not labeled or presented chronologically in the online album, but they seem to focus on two distinct periods: early construction and the final stages of roof construction. The first five photos include workmen with formwork pouring the first level of columns. There are also photos of the clergy standing among the field of unfinished columns, a bit like stelae. These perhaps document the pause in work that explains the twenty-year gap between the beginning and completion of construction, especially as these columns display their varilla de esperanza crowns of rebar. However, this unfinished state reveals the remarkably modest and Villagrán’s characteristically functionalist frame-and-infill construction method which makes the church remarkable.

The subsequent nine photo observe the construction of the roof, presumably closer to the final completion year of 1964. The workmen take pride in being photographed atop the rebar of the ridge beam, especially that of the complicated joint which marks the apex of the crossing of the transept. Members of the parish community on Facebook were able to identify one Miguel Spota as the tall man, frequently with hat and cigar, in various images. 

Photo of the West facade from Wikimedia Commons.

Photocollages of the nave looking West and East respectively.

The photocollages come from the Flickr account Catedrales e Iglesias who has since 2007 dutifully documented Mexican churches and made the photos accessible to the public. Readers are encouraged to visit this account for photos of other under-appreciated churches.

Photo of the West facade from the Northwest (April 2024, GoogleMaps)

Photo of the East face from the Northeast (April 2024, GoogleMaps)

Parroquia de San Antonio de Huatusco / José Villagrán García* / Huatusco, Veracruz, Mexico / (design begun 1938-, construction begun 1940-) 1964

*While the editor cannot identify other members of the architect’s design team, Raúl Cacho, Domingo García Ramos, and Gabriel García del Valle are listed as collaborating architects of Villagrán during the design period.