St. Joseph's Church and Complex, Romanesque Revival church in South of Market district, San Francisco, US
St. Joseph's Church and Complex is a Romanesque Revival church at 1401–1415 Howard Street in the South of Market neighborhood, designed by architect John J. Foley and built in 1906. The 22,000-square-foot building once housed both a Catholic church and a school, and was damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake before a 2018 renovation turned it into the Saint Joseph's Arts Society.
The building was constructed in 1906 by architect John J. Foley and originally served Irish Catholic parishioners. Starting in the 1970s, it became a center for the city's growing Filipino community.
The complex transformed into Saint Joseph's Arts Society in 2018 and now hosts art exhibitions, performances, and community programs for local artists. This shift has made it a gathering place where creative work happens regularly.
The complex is located on Howard Street and is easily accessible on foot, with wide entrance stairs that accommodate different mobility needs. The interior offers multiple areas to explore, so a longer visit allows you to see all exhibitions and ongoing activities.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake damaged the building; the sources record the damage, not a survival. In 2018 the 22,000-square-foot structure was renovated and re-imagined as the Saint Joseph's Arts Society, a subscriber-based arts center led by Ken Fulk.
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