First Unitarian Church (San Francisco)

The First Unitarian Church is a church structure built in 1889 and is located at 1187 Franklin Street at Geary Street in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood, San Francisco, California. It is also known the First Unitarian Universalist Church and First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, and is nicknamed "Starr King's church".

1. History

The Unitarians built their first San Francisco Church in 1853 at 805 Stockton Street. When the congregation outgrew the first building within a decade, a new church was built on Union Square at 133 Geary Street, under clergyman Thomas Starr King, who was instrumental in advocating for California to join the Union. Thomas Starr King died in 1864 and his sarcophagus still remains is on the grounds of the church. In 1889, the church was moved to 1187 Franklin Street, its current location. The building was designed by architects Percy & Hamilton in the Richardson Romanesque-style. After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the bell tower was rebuilt. Prominent members associated with the early days of the church in San Francisco were James Otis, Leland Stanford, Bret Harte, Andrew Smith Hallidie, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Later members of the congregation included Julia Ward Howe and Edward Everett Hale. Other ministers after Starr King at this church included Horatio Stebbins (1821–1902) serving from 1864 to 1900; Bradford Leavitt (born 1868) serving from 1900 to 1949; Harry C. Meserve (1914–2000), serving from 1949 to 1957; and Harry Barron Scholefield (1914–2003) serving from 1957 to 1975.

1. See also

List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks First Unitarian Church (Berkeley, California) First Unitarian Church of Oakland Starr King School for the Ministry

1. References

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Archdiocese of San Francisco

The Archdiocese of San Francisco (Latin: Archdiœcesis Sancti Francisci; Spanish: Arquidiócesis de San Francisco) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the northern California region of the United States. The Archdiocese of San Francisco was erected on July 29, 1853, by Pope Pius IX. Its cathedral is the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption.

Church Landmark

Goodman Building (San Francisco)

Goodman Building, also known as the Emeric Building and the St. Beryl Hotel, is a historic commercial and residential building, built in 1860 and located at 1117 Geary Boulevard in Cathedral Hill, San Francisco, California. The building is listed as a San Francisco Designated Landmark since February 28, 1975, for the historical cultural value as it was an artist community and not for architectural significance.

Art Historic Site

Cathedral Hill, San Francisco

Cathedral Hill is a neighborhood and a hill, in the Western Addition district of San Francisco, California.

Landmark Neighbourhood

Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (San Francisco)

The Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, also known locally as Saint Mary's Cathedral, is the principal church of the Archdiocese of San Francisco in San Francisco, California in the United States. It is the mother church of the Catholic faithful in the California counties of Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo and is the metropolitan cathedral for the Ecclesiastical province of San Francisco. San Francisco has had three cathedrals. The third and present Saint Mary's Cathedral, completed in 1970, is located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood. It replaced the second Saint Mary's Cathedral, built in 1891 and destroyed by fire in 1962. The first Saint Mary's Cathedral served the community from 1854 to 1891 and is known today as Old Saint Mary's Cathedral.

Church Landmark