Mission San Francisco de Asis Choir Loft

The Mission was named after Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, but it quickly became became known as Mission Dolores due... more

by Debby Pueschel

Title

Mission San Francisco de Asis Choir Loft

Artist

Debby Pueschel

Medium

Photograph

Description

The Mission was named after Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order, but it quickly became became known as Mission Dolores due to its close location to a creek called Arroyo de los Dolores, or ‘Creek of Sorrows.’ Founded with only a handful of settlers and soldiers, Mission Dolores quickly grew in size and rapidly became the most culturally significant building in all of San Francisco.
The San Francisco Mission was the 7th mission founded by Spanish settlers in their quest to colonize and evangelize the native peoples of California. Today, it is the only intact Mission Chapel in the chain of 21 established Missions under the direction of Father Junípero Serra. Originally, a small log-thatch building was built as the mission chapel, but was quickly replaced in 1791 with an adobe chapel that still exists today.
The Mission quickly grew in the 19th century and became one of the most important and large settlements in Spanish Alta California. Although many people erroneously think of Missions as just religious institutions, they were actually centers of communities that included soldiers, farmers, traders, and native peoples. It is estimated that at its height in the early 19th century that the Mission housed over a 1,000 people and owned thousands of livestock that they used for farming and ranching.
In 1906, the great San Francisco Earthquake decimated most of the city, but the original adobe church was spared. Soon after, the Basilica was built. Today, the small original mission sits right next to the Basilica.

*Churches 12-24-19
*Catholic Art Gallery 1-1-20
*Spirit of Los Angeles 1-14-20

Uploaded

December 23rd, 2019