Old Saint Mary's Cathedral bell tower clock

The Old Cathedral of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception is a

proto-cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominations ...

and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

located at 660 California Street at the corner of

Grant Avenue Grant Avenue in San Francisco, California, is one of the oldest streets in the city's Chinatown district. It runs in a north–south direction starting at Market Street in the heart of downtown and dead-ending past Francisco Street in the North ...

in the

Chinatown A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

neighborhood of

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. It was built in 1854 in the

Gothic Revival style Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

, and was made a Designated San Francisco Landmark on April 11, 1968.

History

Old St. Mary's was established, as a mission, by Paulist Father Henry Ignatius Stark, C.S.P. The cornerstone was placed on Sunday, July 17, 1853, at the corner of California and Dupont Streets by the Bishop of Monterrey Joseph S. Alemany, built by Chinese laborers, with brick brought around Cape Horn, and granite cut in China. With its dedication by Alemany, now as the new Archbishop of San Francisco, at Christmas Midnight Mass, 1854, it became the first

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the

Archdiocese of San Francisco The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: ''Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci''; Spanish: ''Archidiócesis de San Francisco'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the Unite ...

. The building was designed in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by William Craine and Thomas England, two of the earliest resident architects in California.Sally B. Woodbridge, John M. Woodbridge and Chuck Byrne, ''San Francisco Architecture'' (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 1982) St. Mary's is the first cathedral in California to be built for the express purpose of serving as a cathedral, although other churches in the state served as cathedrals before it was built. When it opened, it was the tallest building in San Francisco and all of California. It was used from 1854 to 1891 as a cathedral and was replaced by the first Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, as the archdiocese was in need of a larger space for the growing number of Catholics in the area. In 1891, Old Saint Mary's became a parish church, still using the same name that it bore as a cathedral. The new St. Mary's Cathedral was located at Van Ness Avenue and O'Farrell Street. Under the clock face of Old St. Mary's appear the words: "Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil" (). This sentiment was aimed at the men who frequented the surrounding

brothel A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...

s in the 1850s. It was across the street from Old St. Mary's, at the southeast corner of California and Dupont Streets (the latter being the current Grant Avenue), that

Emperor Norton Joshua Abraham Norton (February 4, 1818January 8, 1880), known as Emperor Norton, was a resident of San Francisco, California who, in 1859, proclaimed himself "Norton I., Emperor of the United States". In 1863, after Napoleon III invaded Mexi ...

collapsed in 1880, on his way to a lecture at the

California Academy of Sciences The California Academy of Sciences is a research institute and natural history museum in San Francisco, California, that is among the largest museums of natural history in the world, housing over 46 million specimens. The Academy began in 1853 ...

. Old St. Mary's survived the

1906 San Francisco earthquake At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...

, only to be gutted a day later by the fires started by the earthquake. The fires were so hot that they melted the church bells and marble altar. All that were left were the exterior brick walls and the bell tower. The renovation of the church was completed in 1909, supervised by architects Welsh & Carey. Dupont Street, with its association with the Barbary Coast and Chinatown, was renamed Grant Avenue, a respectful nod to former president and general

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. The church further expanded and built an auditorium, a library and a lecture room and then used that space to host events for the servicemen and women of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Old St. Mary's remains an active parish of the archdiocese, serving the

and

Nob Hill Nob Hill is a neighborhood of San Francisco, California, United States that is known for its numerous luxury hotels and historic mansions. Nob Hill has historically served as a center of San Francisco's upper class. Nob Hill is among the highes ...

communities of San Francisco. Old St. Mary's Church is a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

. The

Paulist Fathers The Paulist Fathers, officially named the Missionary Society of Saint Paul the Apostle ( la, Societas Sacerdotum Missionariorum a Sancto Paulo Apostolo), abbreviated CSP, is a Catholic society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men founded ...

have served Old Saint Mary's since 1901, and continue serving there today. From 2011 to 2012, the church went through further renovations, during which time all the crosses on the roof were removed as it was restored. While the four crosses along the sides were put back up, as of September 2012 the cross in the middle has not returned.

Rectors

RectorsCatholic Directory Archdiocese of San Francisco of St. Mary's Cathedral 1854–1891: * Rev. Hugh P. Gallagher 1854–1860 * Rev. James Croke 1860–1871 * Rev. John J. Prendergast 1871–1891

References

External links

Old Saint Mary'sDiocese of San Francisco
{{Buildings in San Francisco timeline Roman Catholic churches in San Francisco Chinatown, San Francisco Former cathedrals in the United States Roman Catholic churches completed in 1854 National Register of Historic Places in San Francisco Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in California San Francisco Designated Landmarks Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco Buildings and structures burned in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake 1850s architecture in the United States Gothic Revival church buildings in California Roman Catholic cathedrals in California Burned religious buildings and structures in the United States 1854 establishments in California 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States

History

Rectors

See also

References

External links