Mission San Francisco de Asís

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Mission San Francisco de Asís

A view of the restored "Mission Dolores" on a rainy San Francisco day in December 2004 (the remaining Mission structure is the smaller building at left, while the larger structure is the rebuilt basilica).
Location	San Francisco, California
Name as Founded	La Misión de Nuestro Padre San Francisco de Asís [1]
Translation	The Mission of Our Father Saint Francis de Assisi
Namesake	Saint Francis of Assisi
Nickname(s)	"Mission Dolores" [2]
Founding Date	June 29, 1776 [3]
Founding Priest(s)	Father Francisco Palóu
Founding Order	Sixth
Military District	Fourth
Native Tribe(s) Spanish Name(s)	Costeño
Owner	Roman Catholic Church
Current Use	Parish Church
National Historic Landmark	#NPS-72000251
Web Site	http://www.missiondolores.org

Mission San Francisco de Asís was founded on June 29, 1776 by Lt. José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu (both members of the de Anza Expedition). The settlment was named for the founder of the Franciscan Order, and earned the nickname Mission Dolores from the nearby Lago de los Dolores ("Lake of the Sorrows"), now vanished.^[4] The first Mission consisted of a log and thatch structure dedicated on October 9, 1776 after the required church documents had arrived. The present Mission site was dedicated in December of 1791. Though most of the Mission complex (including the quadrangle and convento) has either been altered or demolished outright during the intervening years, the façade of the Mission chapel has remained relatively unchanged since its construction in 1782–1791. At one point, wood clapboard siding was applied to the chapel walls as both a cosmetic and a protective measure; the veneer was later removed when the Mission was restored. The original site of Mission Dolores was near what is now Camp and Albion Streets, two blocks away.

The Mission chapel, along with "Father Serra's Church" at Mission San Juan Capistrano, is one of only two buildings remaining standing where Father Junípero Serra is known to have officiated (although "Dolores" was still under construction at the time of Serra's visit). In 1817, Mission San Rafael Arcángel was established as an asistencia to act as a hospital for the Mission, though it would later be granted full mission status in 1822. After the California Gold Rush began in 1848, the City of San Francisco had grown tremendously; there were saloons and two race tracks on the Mission property. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the basilica was destroyed, while the Mission itself remained relatively unharmed.

The Mission is still an active church in San Francisco. Many people attend services in the Mission church and even more attend mass in the adjacent basilica. The Mission is open to visitors, and is located on Dolores Street near its intersection with 16th Street. The Mission District is the name of the San Francisco neighborhood adjacent to the Mission, and was one of the few areas of San Francisco not destroyed by the fires that sprang up in the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake.

[edit] Other historic designations

• California Historical Landmark #327-1 site of original Mission Dolores chapel and Dolores Lagoon
• California Historical Landmark #393 — "The Hospice," an outpost of Mission Dolores founded in 1800 in San Mateo, California
• California Historical Landmark #784 — El Camino Real (the northernmost point visited by Father Serra)

[edit] Miscellany

• In Vertigo, detective Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart) follows Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak) into Mission Dolores and out to the cemetery, where she lays flowers at the grave of "Carlotta Valdes". Although the grave marker was fictional and set up specifically for the film, it was reportedly left to stand in the cemetery for a number of years after filming.

• A dining car named Mission Dolores was part of the train The City of San Francisco, jointly operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway, the Southern Pacific Railroad, and the Union Pacific Railroad between Chicago and Oakland, California until 1971.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Leffingwell, p. 149
2. ^ Young, p. 117
3. ^ Yenne, p. 64
4. ^ Young, p. 117

[edit] References

• Schafer, Mike and Joe Welsh (1997). Streamliners: History of a Railraod Icon. MBI Publishing Co., St. Paul, MN. ISBN 0-7603-1371-7.
• Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. Thunder Bay Press, San Diego, CA. ISBN 1-59223-319-8.
• Young, Stanley and Melba Levick (1988). The Missions of California. Chronicle Books LLC, San Francisco, CA. ISBN 0-8118-3694-0.

[edit] See also

• Spanish missions in California
• Mission San Rafael Arcángel
• San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia
• USNS Mission Dolores (AO-115) — a Mission Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.
• USNS Mission San Francisco (AO-123) — a Mission Buenaventura Class fleet oiler built during World War II.
• 49-Mile Scenic Drive

[edit] External links

• Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper
• San Francisco Public Library - Photographs of Mission Dolores
• Map of Mission Dolores and nearby water sources (from ShapingSF.org)

A view of "Mission Dolores" around the turn of the 20th century, prior to construction of the adjacent basilica.

Mission San Francisco de Asís prior to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. A portion of the original basilica structure is visible at right.