Located in the heart of historic Old Town Scottsdale, The Old Adobe Mission attracts people from all over the world who want to learn more about the early days of the area and to view the beautifully restored Mission, the oldest standing church in Scottsdale. The Old Adobe Mission is a historical phenomenon that must be witnessed during your travels. The Mission attracts the most devout, the most intrigued, and those that are looking for that rare place they will never forget.

The Old Adobe Mission is near the city’s celebrated arts, shopping, and entertainment districts. Experience Scottsdale’s history, culture, and charm by simply strolling its streets or taking one of many walking tours available.

The Old Adobe Mission originated as Our Lady of Perpetual Help (OLPH) Catholic Church and built by hand by the Mexicans who settled in Scottsdale in the late 1910s. It was designed by Robert T. Evans in a Spanish Colonial Revival architectural style similar to others he had seen in Sonora and New Mexico.

More than 14,000 adobe bricks were used for the construction. They were each made from a blend of native clay, silt, sand, straw, dung, and water. They weighed 50 pounds and were carried and placed by hand.

Grandvell Shumaker drew up the blueprints and helped the men read them as construction began, and Bérnabe Herrera, a tinsmith and OLPH's first catechist, handcrafted all of the Mission's 15 stained-glass panes using discarded stained glass from St. Augustine's Cathedral in Tucson.

The women from the community also assisted by organizing the advertising and fundraising and providing on-site workers with food, water, and most of all, encouragement. Doña Dolores Rivera de Ochoa, the treasurer of the Catholic Society, collected donations to help build the church, which was completed in the fall of 1933.

In 1949, it became a parish, and it served its community until 1956 when the parish outgrew the building and moved into a larger church at Miller Road and 2nd Street.

In 2000, the City of Scottdale's Historic Preservation Commission contacted OLPH regarding placement of the Mission on its Historic Register. Rev. Thomas Hever, the pastor of OLPH, made the decision to preserve the old church, and in 2001, the City of Scottsdale officially placed the Mission on its Register of Historic Buildings.

Restoration efforts began in 2002 with a grant obtained from the Arizona State Parks' Historic Preservation Heritage Fund.

Today, the Old Adobe Mission continues to represent a true, historic monument of faith. Its splendor is forever captured in the simplicity of its design, and its quiet, majestic beauty continues to call out to anyone seeking a peaceful place for prayer, contemplation, meditation, and serenity.

The Old Adobe Mission provides the perfect setting for the origins of Scottsdale’s Dia de Los Muertos as its growth expands throughout Old Town Scottsdale.

In 2017 SDDLM founder Robert Ramirez, Dr. Everardo Stanton and Master-Woodcrafter Gabriel Mckeagney combined their efforts to create and gift a custom newly commissioned sign for the Adobe Mission in celebration of the founding of Scottsdale’s Dia de Los Muertos Festival.