Ma-Tsu Temple of USA, Taoist temple in Chinatown, San Francisco, United States

The Ma-Tsu Temple is a Taoist temple in San Francisco's Chinatown, on Becket Street, founded in 1986 and dedicated to Matsu, the sea goddess. It has foundational ties to the Chaotian Temple in Beigang, Yunlin, Taiwan. It is not the Tin How Temple two blocks south, which is also dedicated to Matsu but was founded in 1910.

The temple was established in 1986 with ties to the Chaotian Temple in Taiwan, serving as a new center for worship in the local community. It relocated to its current Beckett Street location in 1996 to better serve the growing needs of followers in the neighborhood.

The temple serves as a gathering place where followers perform daily rituals and leave offerings before the shrines. Incense smoke fills the rooms, and colorful paper decorations on the walls reflect the religious practices of the local community.

The temple sits on Becket Street, two blocks north of the Tin How Temple on Waverly Place, so the two Matsu shrines are easy to confuse. It occupies the first floor of a building, reached from the street rather than through a courtyard. Look for the red lanterns on the fire escape to confirm the entrance.

The temple is not the Tin How Temple two blocks south: that one, also dedicated to Matsu under her Cantonese name, was founded in 1910 and is the oldest surviving Taoist temple in Chinatown. The Ma-Tsu Temple began on Grant Avenue and moved to Becket Street in 1996.