San Francisco de Asís

General Information

Founded:

October 9, 1776 - The 6th California Mission

Also Called:

Mission Dolores

Current Status:

The old mission chapel is part of the Basilica Parish of Mission Dolores. The basilica, which towers over the original mission, was dedicated in 1918. Basilica status was granted in 1952.

Summary:

Although the first mass was held on June 29, 1776, the "Official" founding date is set as October 9, 1776.The mission’s iconic church is the oldest intact building in San Francisco. Popularly called Mission Dolores, the chapel contains some of the most sophisticated religious art in the mission chain. The cemetery is a well-landscaped oasis in the middle of a busy city.

Address

3321 16th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
United States

Get Directions

Directions

The mission is located at the intersection of 16th and Dolores Streets.
The 22 Fillmore electric bus stops at the front door.
The J Church Streetcar stops one block to the west at Church Street.
The 16th and Mission BART station is three (3) blocks to the east at Mission Street.

Website(s)

https://missiondolores.org

Phone(s)

415-621-8203

Fees, Hours, Tours and Church Services

Please contact the mission directly by telephone or by visiting the mission website for the most current information.

Due to Covid-19 restrictions, it is best to check for current information.

Weddings and Other Special Services

For details about weddings and other special services, please contact the Parish office by telephone at 415-621-8203 or by visiting the mission website.

Unique Attractions

The mission church dedicated in 1791 is the oldest intact building in San Francisco. It is unique, well-preserved, and charming.
The art at this mission is among the most sophisticated in the mission chain.
The mission cemetery, although much reduced in size from the mission era, offers a quiet oasis in this bustling city. The old gravestones tell the story of the city.
The mass grave of the Mission Indians buried here is called the Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes Shrine.
The Curator and Assistant Curator of this mission are Ohlone descendants and go out of their way to help visitors.

Mission Dolores Church Statues on Display

Other Historic Attractions

San Francisco has an almost infinite number of things to see and do and a rich history. If you are touring the city consider the de Young Museum, which has a fascinating oil painting of the mission by Oriana Weatherbee Day referred to as the "Judas Day Drawing."
For those who want to focus on the mission era, there are five other missions that can be seen in a couple of days with an early start:
- San Rafael and Mission Sonoma
- Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Jose

Tips for Visitors

The art and artifacts in San Francisco de Asis are well-labelled. Take time to enjoy the statuary and richly gilded baroque altar.
Pay attention to the bells which hang on rawhide thongs above the entrance way. These are all originals.
One of the best statues of the Founder of the California Missions, Junípero Serra, stands in the mission cemetery. Arthur Putnam sculpted this statue in 1918.

Mission San Francisco de Asis Architectural Drawing Mission Bells

Year Secularized

1834

Year Returned to Catholic Church

1857

Patron Saint (Named For)

Saint Francis of Assisi, Founder of the Franciscan Order

Prominent Missionary Leaders

Founding Father President - Fr. Junípero Serra
Founding Missionaries - Fr. Pedro Cambón and Francisco Palóu
Prominent Missionary Leader - Fr. Francisco Palóu, who was Fr. Serra's Confessor, and who served twice as temporary Father-President of all of the missions. Fr. Palóu was located at this mission from 1776 until 1785, when he returned to the Apostolic College of San Fernando in Mexico City.

San Francisco de Asis Fr. Serra Portrait

Indians Joining Mission

The Native Americans in the area were Ohlone. Indians from other groups were recruited or taken into the mission, including members of the Bay Miwok, Coast Miwok, and Patwin tribes. The mission was founded at the village of Chutcui. A marvelous drawing of Indians playing a stick game outside the mission was done by Expedition Artist Louis Choris.

Mission Site

Near San Francisco Bay, which the Spanish had just begun to explore. Juan Manuel de Ayala sailed into the Bay in San Carlos on August 5, 1775.

The Spanish became aware of the importance of San Francisco and its harbor after they discovered and named it the Bay of San Francisco in 1769.

The mission is now located about a half mile from the original site, at present day 16th and Dolores Streets.

San Francisco de Asis Discovery of the Bay of San Francisco

Mission Layout

Traditional quadrangle completed in 1798.

Water Source

Dolores Lake and a stream that ran by the mission, which the Spanish named Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.

Population

In 1783, after more than a decade in service, the mission had only 215 neophytes. During the peak years, from 1801-1821, the population ranged between 1,000-1,200 with the peak population of 1,251 achieved in 1820. The population declined sharply in the later years to 204 in 1832. The mission was plagued by disease and many of the Indians left.

Livestock

San Francisco de Asis built its livestock herd from 826 head to over 20,000 animals in the peak years between 1803-1814. In 1832, just before secularization in 1834, the herd population was 9,518.

San Francisco de Asis Cattle Brand

Agricultural Output

None of the Bay Area missions achieved significant agriculture production except Missions Santa Clara and San José (which ranked second in the entire chain).

Over the years 1782-1832, Mission Dolores harvested 87,000 bushels of grain and produce placing the mission in the lower third of mission producers. Wheat, barley, corn, beans, and peas were the primary crops.

Mission Church

The small chapel (114 feet long by 22 feet wide) was dedicated on August 2, 1791. It has survived earthquakes, fires, and other calamities.

A drawing of Mission Dolores made by Edward Vischer in 1782 shows how the mission looked in the mission era. The artist depicts a bull fight taking place at the mission during one of the many feast days that were celebrated.

In 1918 all the mission buildings except the historic chapel were demolished and a large Gothic-Revival style church constructed.

The mission chapel was restored in 1917 and received a complete restoration and retrofit in 1990 and 1994.

San Francisco de Asis 1918 Gothic Revival Church

Mission Bells

The three original bells hang on rawhide thongs above the entranceway, in a narrow niche. They are dedicated to San Francisco, San José, and San Martin. The bells are still in use.

Mission Art and Artifacts

The richly gilded baroque altar and reredos in the sanctuary of the church are stunning. The art is among the most sophisticated in the mission chain.

Significant Events

The hospital Asistencia of San Rafael, which subsequently became a full mission, was established 15 miles north of Mission Dolores in 1817. Hundreds of neophytes transferred there to regain their health.

Interesting Facts

The mission church is the oldest intact building in San Francisco.
Mission Dolores survived the great fire and earthquake of 1906.
In the movie Vertigo, Jimmy Stewart as Detective Scottie Ferguson, followed Kim Novak (the central character, Madeleine Elster) through Mission Dolores and into the cemetery.
Nearly 36,000 adobe bricks were employed in the construction of the Dolores Church.

For Additional Information

Surhone, L.M., Tennoe, M.T., & Henssonow, S.F. San Francisco De Asis Mission Church. (Print-on-demand of a classic).
Boule, M.N. (1988). The Missions: Mission San Francisco De Asís (California Heritage Series).
Engelhardt, Z. (1924). San Francisco or Mission Dolores. (The definitive early history of the mission).

Historical Gallery

San Francisco de Asis (popularly called Mission Dolores) is one of the jewels of the California Missions. While not too much remains of the original complex (just the church and part of the original cemetery), the old mission chapel is the oldest intact building in San Francisco. It has been carefully preserved. There was a complete restoration and retrofit in 1990 and 1994.

Because of this mission's location and appeal, San Francisco de Asis has been extensively illustrated by expedition artists and the prominent painters of the 19th century. The Historical Image Gallery presents fourteen of the most important paintings, drawings, and lithographs of this historic mission and several events that took place in its early history.

**Mission San Francisco de Asis Ohlone Indians Dancing**Ohlone Indians dancing in front of Mission San Francisco de Asis, a lithograph of an 1816 watercolor by Louis Choris, artist for the Russian Expedition of Otto von Kotzebue (1815-1817). Only the men danced. They were decorated with feathers and carried spears.

**San Francisco de Asis Indians Navigating San Francisco Bay**Indians on a tule boat navigating San Francisco Bay, by Louis Choris in 1816. The middle figure is a mission neophyte.

**San Francisco de Asis Sketch of Mission Era Buildings**A sketch of mission era buildings c. 1816, possibly by Louis Choris, from the Society of California Pioneers, courtesy of the Library of Congress.

**Mission San Francisco de Asis by Henry Miller**By Henry Miller in 1853. Miller completed the first full set of mission drawings.

**San Francisco de Asis by Edwin Deakin**This was completed c. 1899. This drawing shows the mission as it looked around the time of its secularization (1834).

**Mission Dolores 1883**H.C. Ford's drawing of Mission Dolores in 1883. Ford's drawing shows the mission as it looked in the 1830's.

**Mission Dolores**Mission Dolores around 1870, a colorized photograph showing the former mission convento converted to a seminary and priest's quarters.

**Mission Dolores A Drawing by Harry Fenn**A drawing by Harry Fenn (1845-1911). Fenn's drawing shows the mission church in a state of decay.

**Mission Dolores by Alexis Matthew Podchernikoff**A 1910 painting by Alexis Matthew Podchernikoff (1866-1933), courtesy of the Library of Congress.

**Preaching and Farming at Mission Dolores**A mural by Anton Refregier in 1947. This was one of the Rincon Annex Post Office Murals, designed to tell the history of San Francisco.

Contemporary Gallery

The Contemporary Image Gallery contains more recent photographs taken by several different photographers from around the Church gardens and the Church interior.

**San Francisco de Asis Statue of Junípero Serra**The statue by Arthur Putnam in 1918 is located in the mission cemetery, and was photographed by David J. McLaughlin. There are other notable Arthur Putnam statues on Presidio Hill.

**Mission Dolores Altar**The Mission Dolores Altar, photographed by Carol Highsmith, is provided courtesy of the Library of Congress. This richly gilded baroque altar and the reredos of this church are stunning.

**San Francisco de Asis Mission and Cathedral**Photograph By David J. McLaughlin, 2014.

Architectural Gallery

The current mission chapel, dedicated in 1791, has survived earthquakes, fires, and other calamities. It is the oldest intact building in San Francisco. There are quite a few architectural drawings of this historic structure.

The mission complex extended over several acres during the mission era and there were additional buildings to the right of the church. Pay attention to the date of each of the drawings.