Today's stone masonry church was half completed by 1795, but it took until 1809 to finish it, and it was dedicated on September 9, 1809. Mission San Buenaventura's walls are six and a half feet thick. Its main altar and reredos came from Mexico in 1809, and the original hand cut pine and oak ceiling beams hauled from the mountains and dragged down the coast with oxen still support the roof.
In 1812, an earthquake struck Mission San Buenaventura. Its bell tower collapsed, and the buildings were not fit to live in for a few months.
Unlike many other missions that fell into ruins after secularization, San Buenaventura was well cared for, and it still has its original walls and floors.
Another earthquake in 1857 damaged the mission, and its tile roof was replaced with shingles. A few years later, a well-meaning priest named Father Cyprian Rubio "modernized" inside, covering the original floor and ceiling, removing the hand-carved pulpit and replacing the small windows with stained glass.
In 1956-57, the mission was restored. The windows were reconstructed to their original size, and the original ceiling and floor were uncovered. The roof was removed and replaced with tile 1976. Five bells hang in the campanario today - one made in 1956 and four older ones, two marked 1781 and one marked 1825. There are also wooden bells in the museum, the only ones known in the state of California. The fountain in garden is new, and different than the original, which had a sculptured bear's head decoration.
The two Norfolk Island pines in the church garden are said to be over 100 year old, planted by a sailing captain who wanted to grow wood for ship's masts.
