Mission San Francisco de Asís

The settlement was named in dedication Saint Francis of Assisi (San Francisco), the founder of the Franciscan Order, but was also commonly known as "Mission Dolores" owing to the presence of a nearby creek they had named, Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, in English, "Our Lady of Sorrows Creek."[11] During the expedition of Juan Bautista de Anza, this site was identified by Pedro Font as the most suitable site for a mission in the San Francisco area.[12]

The original mission was a small structure dedicated on October 9, 1776, after the required church documents arrived. It was located near what is today the intersection of Camp and Albion Streets (according to some sources),[13] about a block-and-a-half east of the surviving adobe Mission building, and on the shores of the now filled Laguna de Los Dolores.[4] A historical marker at that location depicts this lake, but whether it ever actually existed is a matter of some dispute. (Creek geologists Janet Sowers and Christopher Richard propose that the legendary lake is the result of misunderstandings of Juan Bautista de Anza's 1776 writings. According to their 2011 hydrological map, there were no lakes in the area, only creeks.)[14]

The present mission church, near what is now the intersection of Dolores and 16th Streets, was dedicated in 1791. At the time of dedication, a mural painted by native labor adorned the focal wall of the chapel. The mission was constructed of adobe and was part of a complex of buildings used for housing, agricultural, and manufacturing enterprises (see architecture of the California missions). 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. The chapel is notable for its wall mural painted in 1791 by the Native American Ohlone people, which is hidden behind the altar and reredos. Though not on public view, the mural is a rare piece of Native American artwork from the period of initial contact between Europeans and indigenous people.

According to their association, Ramaytush Ohlone, the native inhabitants of the area, "entered the mission" in 1785. "Most Ramaytush had died" just after 1800.[15]

According to mission historian Guire Cleary, the early 19th century saw the greatest period of activity at San Francisco de Asís:

At its peak in 1810–1820, the average Indian population at Pueblo Dolores was about 1,100 people. The California missions were not only houses of worship, but they were agricultural communities, manufacturers of all sorts of products, hotels, ranches, hospitals, schools, and the centers of the largest communities in the state. In 1810 the Mission owned 11,000 sheep, 11,000 cows, and thousands of horses, goats, pigs, and mules. Its ranching and farming operations extended as far south as San Mateo and east to Alameda. Horses were corralled on Potrero Hill, and the milking sheds for the cows were located along Dolores Creek at what is today Mission High School. Twenty looms were kept in operation to process wool into cloth. The circumference of the Mission's holdings was said to have been about 125 miles.[16]

The mission chapel, along with "Father Serra's Church" at Mission San Juan Capistrano, is one of only two surviving buildings where 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. The Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821) strained relations between the Mexican government and the California missions. Supplies were scant, and the Indians who worked at the missions continued to suffer terrible losses from disease and cultural disruption (more than 5,000 Indians are thought to have been buried in the cemetery adjacent to the Mission). In 1834, the Mexican government enacted secularization laws whereby most church properties were sold or granted to private owners. In practical terms, this meant that the missions would hold title only to the churches, the residences of the priests, and a small amount of land surrounding the church for use as gardens. In the period that followed, Mission Dolores fell on very hard times. By 1842, only eight Christian Indians were living at the mission.[16]

Mission Dolores, 1856

Mission San Francisco de Asís around 1910. The wooden addition has been removed and a portion of the brick Gothic Revival church is visible at right. The large stone church was severely damaged in the 1906 earthquake.[1]

The California Gold Rush brought renewed activity to the Mission Dolores area. In the 1850s, two plank roads were constructed from what is today downtown San Francisco to the mission, and the entire area became a popular resort and entertainment district.[17] Some of the mission properties were sold or leased for use as saloons and gambling halls. Racetracks were constructed, and fights between bulls and bears were staged for crowds. The mission complex also underwent alterations. Part of the Convento was converted to a two-story wooden wing for use as a seminary and priests' quarters, while another section became the "Mansion House," a popular tavern and way station for travelers.[18] By 1876, the Mansion House portion of the Convento had been razed and replaced with a large Gothic Revival brick church, designed to serve the growing population of immigrants who were now making the mission area their home.

During this period, wood clapboard siding was applied to the original adobe chapel walls as both a cosmetic and a protective measure; the veneer was later removed when the mission was restored. During the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the adjacent brick church was destroyed. By contrast, the original adobe mission, though damaged, remained in relatively good condition. However, the ensuing fire touched off by the earthquake reached almost to the mission's doorstep. To prevent the spread of flames, the Convent and School of Notre Dame across the street were dynamited by firefighters; nevertheless, nearly all the blocks east of Dolores Street and north of 20th street were consumed by flames. In 1913, construction began on a new church (now known as the Mission Dolores Basilica) adjacent to the mission, which was completed in 1918. This structure was further remodeled in 1926 with churrigueresque ornamentation inspired by the Panama-California Exposition held in San Diego's Balboa Park. A sensitive restoration of the original adobe mission was undertaken in 1917 by architect Willis Polk. In 1952, San Francisco Archbishop John J. Mitty announced that Pope Pius XII had elevated Mission Dolores to the status of a minor basilica. This was the first designation of a basilica west of the Mississippi and the fifth basilica named in the United States. Today, the larger, newer church is called "Mission Dolores Basilica" while the original adobe structure retains the name of Mission Dolores.

The interior of the Mission chapeolores

• Francisco Palóu and Pedro Benito Cambón – June 27, 1776 (founders)
• Francisco Palóu – June 27, 1776 – 1784
• Eugene O'Connell – 1854[23]
• Richard Carroll – 1854–1860
• John J. Prendergast – 1860–1867
• Thomas Cushing – 1867–1875
• Richard P. Brennan – 1875–1904
• Patrick Cummins – 1904–1916
• John W. Sullivan – 1916–1939
• Thomas A. Connolly – 1939–1948 (first auxiliary bishop, first rector)[24]
• James T. O'Dowd – 1948–1950 (rector)
• Merlin Guilfoyle, VG – 1950–1969 (rector)
• Norman F. McFarland – 1970–1974 (last rector)[25]
• Richard S. Knapp – 1974, 1974–1983 (served first as administrator, then pastor)
• John J. O'Connor – 1983–1997
• Maurice McCormick – 1997–2003
• William J. Justice – 2003–2007 (Became a bishop after he left Mission Dolores)
• Arturo Albano – 2007– 2015
• Francis Mark P Garbo - 2015–Present

• Spanish missions in California
• List of Spanish missions in California
• San Pedro y San Pablo Asistencia
• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks
• 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.
• Mission Dolores Outpost

• Cleary, Brother Guire (January 31, 2003). "Mission Dolores Links San Francisco with its 18th Century Roots – Founded as La Mission San Francisco De Asis by Franciscans, it survived earthquake and fire". Catholic San Francisco. Archived from the original on February 5, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
• Forbes, Alexander (1839). California: A History of Upper and Lower California. Cornhill, London: Smith, Elder and Co.
• Johnson, Paul C. (supervising editor) (1964). The California Missions. Menlo Park, CA: Lane Book Company. LCCN 64-22823. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)
• Krell, Dorothy, ed. (1979). The California Missions: A Pictorial History. Menlo Park, CA: Sunset Publishing Corporation. ISBN 0-376-05172-8.
• Ruscin, Terry (1999). Mission Memoirs. San Diego, CA: Sunbelt Publications. ISBN 0-932653-30-8.
• Worden, Alastair; Leffingwell, Randy (2005). California Missions and Presidios. Voyageur Press. ISBN 978-0896584921.
• Yenne, Bill (2004). The Missions of California. San Diego, CA: Thunder Bay Press. ISBN 1-59223-319-8.
• Young, Stanley; Levick, Melba (1988). The Missions of California. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN 0-8118-3694-0.

• Engelhardt, O. F. M. (1924). San Francisco or Mission Dolores. Chicago, IL: Franciscan Herald Press.
• Jones, Terry L.; Klar, Kathryn A. Klar, eds. (2007). California Prehistory: Colonization, Culture, and Complexity. Landham, MD: Altimira Press. ISBN 978-0-7591-0872-1.
• Milliken, Randall (1995). A Time of Little Choice: The Disintegration of Tribal Culture in the San Francisco Bay Area 1769–1910. Menlo Park, CA: Ballena Press Publication. ISBN 0-87919-132-5.
• Paddison, Joshua, ed. (1999). A World Transformed: Firsthand Accounts of California Before the Gold Rush. Berkeley, CA: Heyday Books. ISBN 1-890771-13-9.
• San Francisco Morning Call (June 8, 1889). "Mission Dolores – The Cemeteries Now Ready to Be Transferred to the City". San Francisco Morning Call.
• Schafer, Mike; Welsh, Joe (1997). Classic American Streamliners. Osceola, Wisconsin: MotorBooks International. ISBN 978-0-7603-0377-1.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mission Dolores.

• Mission Dolores Basilica
• Mission Dolores via The Archdiocese of San Francisco
• Elevation & Site Layout sketches of the Mission proper
• Catholic San Francisco – History of Mission Dolores
• San Francisco Public Library – Photographs of Mission Dolores
• Map of Mission Dolores and nearby water sources (from ShapingSF.org)
• California Historic Plaque marking the original site of Mission Dolores at Camp and Albion Streets in SF
• Mission Dolores Neighborhood Association
• American Southwest, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• Early History of the California Coast, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
• Listing, drawings, and photographs at the Historic American Buildings Survey
• Ground plan of Mission Dolores, San Francisco, Ca at The Bancroft Library
• Howser, Huell (December 8, 2000). "California Missions (107)". California Missions. Chapman University Huell Howser Archive.