This concise and lavishly illustrated account balances the significant history of the San Antonio's missions' founding and their original function with the stories of their subsequent decay and eventual restoration. New drawings depict all five mission compounds as they first appeared. Built in the eighteenth century by Franciscan friars and Native American converts, San Antonio's five missions form the largest such cluster in the United States. One is preserved as the Alamo, the others make up San Antonio Missions National Historical Park.