Mission San Francisco de Asís

Mission San Francisco de Asís, commonly called Mission Dolores, is a Spanish mission church founded in 1776 in what is now the Mission District of San Francisco, California. It is one of the original California missions and contains the oldest surviving structure in the city.

The site retains the original adobe chapel (Mission Dolores) and a mission-era complex that now hosts a museum interpreting mission history, local Indigenous presence and Spanish colonial activities. The complex also includes a historic cemetery with graves dating to the mission period.

The mission was established by Franciscan missionaries as part of Spain’s colonial efforts to found missions throughout Alta California and was active throughout the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The surviving chapel and mission structures have undergone preservation and restoration work.

Situated in the Mission District of San Francisco, the mission is a short walk from Dolores Park and is accessible from the city’s central neighborhoods.

• Founding date: Founded on June 29, 1776, by Franciscan missionaries led by Junípero Serra as part of the Spanish mission chain in Alta California.

What to See #

• Mission Dolores chapel: The Mission Dolores chapel is the original adobe church structure dating from the mission's Spanish colonial period and is the oldest surviving building in San Francisco.
• Museum and cemetery: The mission compound includes a small museum and the historic Mission Dolores cemetery, which contains graves and markers from the Spanish, Mexican and early American periods of San Francisco history.