Mission San Francisco de Asís

Mission San Francisco de Asís is a colonial church complex in the Mission District of San Francisco, United States, consisting of a small chapel and a larger basilica next to it. The compound extends across several buildings with courtyards, a cemetery, and a museum displaying colonial-era objects.

Spanish Franciscans founded this outpost in June 1776, a few days before the independence declaration of the thirteen colonies on the east coast. Indigenous Ohlone built the adobe chapel and were baptized by missionaries, while their traditional way of life disappeared.

The name Dolores comes from a nearby creek once called Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, which supplied water to the area. Indigenous craftspeople created wall paintings with plant-based pigments that remain visible today, showing how different belief systems came together.

The small chapel sits to the left of the larger basilica and shows thick adobe walls and old wooden beams on the ceiling. The cemetery and gardens behind the buildings offer quiet away from the street and are easy to reach during daylight.

The chapel survived the 1906 earthquake without damage, while almost all other buildings in the city were destroyed or burned down. Its thick adobe walls proved more resistant than modern constructions of that time.

Location: San Francisco

Inception: 1776

Part of: Spanish missions in California

Website: http://missiondolores.org

GPS coordinates: 37.76440,-122.42700

Latest update: December 13, 2025 15:54