Founded on 29 June 1776, 5 days before the signing of the Declaration of Independence,
Mission San Francisco de Asís de los Dolores
was the 6th California mission to be established & was the birthplace of San Francisco. Nicknamed Mission Dolores for a nearby stream, it is the oldest intact mission building in California.The present church, whose adobe walls are 4 ft. thick, was begun in 1782 & finished in 1791. It had survived several earthquakes prior to the 1906 quake & miraculously came through that disaster unscathed. The church beside it collapsed and the raging inferno of the 2nd day was halted by heroic efforts on the opposite side of Dolores St.
The three bells in the niches above the wooden balcony were cast in Mexico & are named in honor of Sts. Francis, Joseph, & Martin. To the left side of the mission lies the cemetery. (DLW, August 1998)
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