California Missions

Mission Dolores

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This sight has been seen for over 228 years. It’s the front of the original adobe church completed at Mission Dolores, in 1791.

My wife and I have visited 16 of the historic California missions, in our quest to tour all 21. And so far we both agree that the most beautiful mission is Mission Dolores.

Inside the adobe church at Mission Dolores, looking toward the altar.

Its official name is Mission San Francisco de Asis, and it was established in 1776 in what is now downtown San Francisco. But it was established near a creek named Arroyo de los Dolores, and early-on was nicknamed after the creek.

The ceiling of the adobe church was painted by Native Americans, using their own traditional colors and patterns. Many tribes were found at this mission, including the Costanoan, Ohlone, Miwok, and Patwin people.

This resulted in some confusion, trying to find it with my GPS. Apparently, GPS prefers the nickname.

The altar of the adobe church.

Death has often been the price for beautiful things, and San Francisco is one of those alluring traps of beauty that has led to the demise of many. The geography is hilly, and the climate is cool and wet, year round. The steep hills made it difficult for the missionaries to plant and grow crops. That led to starvation and malnutrition. And when they got sick, the cool, wet climate set into their lungs and bones, and dragged them into an early grave.

Looking toward the rear of the adobe church, you’ll find a spiral staircase leading to a loft with an organ. I wonder, how in the heck did they get that organ up there?

The Native Americans were attracted to the curiosities and allures imported by the Spanish. But they were vulnerable to European diseases, for which they had no natural immunity. And when they got sick, the climate prevented recovery, allowing Death to swoop down and snatch them.

Measles proved to be the most potent of the diseases, for the natives in San Francisco.

A Gothic Revival brick church was built beside the original adobe church, in 1876. It was destroyed by the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906. This structure, called the Mission Dolores Basilica, replaced it in 1913.

It’s estimated that 5,000 natives who died from measles and other diseases, are buried on the mission grounds in unmarked graves.

The basilica is massive, compared with the adobe church. But I guess you need massive in order to conduct masses.

By 1817 so many natives were dying, that the missionaries built a hospital in nearby San Rafael. It was more inland, and offered a warmer and drier climate, improving chances for recovery. This hospital later became Mission San Rafael Arcangel.

The opulent altar at Mission Dolores Basilica. San Francisco is a wealthy town, and the indulgences of thousands of rich, purgatory-fearing parishioners paid for the splendor of this church.

The natives, for all their poor health, managed to build a large, beautiful church in 1791. They constructed very thick adobe walls over a foundation of rock four feet below the surface. The roof timbers were, and still are, lashed together with rawhide.

This oculus in the basilica reminds parishioners of Who’s keeping an eye on them.

The old adobe was so strongly constructed that it has survived numerous earthquakes, twelve of which were at least 6.0 in magnitude, and three of which were at least 7.0 in magnitude. This includes the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 (7.8), and the Loma Prieta Quake of 1989 (7.1). Today, it is the oldest intact building in San Francisco.

The ceiling of the basilica is bathed in orange ambiance from stained glass windows.

A brick church was built next to it in 1876, but it was shaken down by the 1906 quake. In 1913, the Mission Dolores Basilica was built in its place.

At the rear of the basilica is an impressive stained glass window portraying St. Francis of Assisi.

My wife and I compared the two structures. In our view, the old adobe church stands out for its simple beauty, while the basilica stands out for its elaborate elegance. These two churches, built side-by-side, complement each other with their contrasting designs of old versus new, primitive versus profound, and humble versus lofty.

These twin bell towers from the basilica dominate above the roofline of the old adobe church, as seen from the cemetery.

It occurs to me that the human spirit possesses similar contrasting beauty. We are all old spirits. Yet we can live in the moment as if we are new. We are born with primitive desires and instincts. Yet we can educate ourselves into the profound and sophisticated. And we wage a constant war within, between humility and the pride of our accomplishments.

The cemetery at Mission Dolores. That’s a statue of Saint Francis on the right.

We left the mission with a sense of awe for its magnificence, and sadness for the deaths of all those natives. It seems nothing beautiful is acquired without some amount of suffering. And perhaps no other mission in California exemplifies this principle more, than Mission Dolores, in San Francisco.

This memorial in the cemetery commemorates the 5,000 Native Americans who gave their lives for this mission, and who are buried on the mission grounds.

Categories: California Missions

88 replies »

  2. There is a little bit of irony that you are drawn to these missions and churches 🙂

    I agree that Mission Delores is the most striking that you’ve shown us so far. I’m glad you included a close-up photo of that impressive ceiling. The eye is immediately pulled upward to that unusual feature. As impressive as the back wall to the altar may be, the ceiling upstages it.

    You have some great photos in here. My favourite is the one of the 2 towers. From the ground we often overlook the ornate the upper levels – including those beautiful “onion tops”.

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  3. Wow, Tippy, just five more missions to go! I love the mixture of old and new portrayed here. I especially liked the oculus through which “He” can watch us, and the fact that the sturdy adobe building stayed intact through such violent earthquakes. Gorgeous pictures! 🙂

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    • Thanks. I like the oculus, too. I always think oculuseseses look cool. And I felt safe in that adobe, knowing it can withstand one of San Francisco’s most common type of natural disaster.

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  4. This mission is quite beautiful, love the ceiling!!
    Good question about the organ! 🙂
    So sad about so many dying. You are right, often some of the most beautiful things do have a story of suffering attached to them.

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  6. “I wonder, how in the heck did they get that organ up there?” ~> probably the same way they built the ancient pyramids . . . a long ramp with a gradual incline OR pulleys to hoist it UP, UP, UP.

    Thanks for sharing another missive on your mission mission.

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    • All valid theories. Well, I don’t know about that pyramid theory. It could also have been a miracle. Perhaps an angel tucked it under its arm and flew it up.

      You’re welcome. The mission is not yet accomplished, as we have five more to go. We’ll probably get to them sometime next year.

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  7. Awesome pics!

    The way I see it is if they had forgotten farming, and just bought and ate Cheezits and Nacho’s they would have been fine. There wouldn’t have been so much death.

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