Mission San Francisco de Asís Church

Address: 3321 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114, United States

Website: https://www.missiondolores.org/

Hours: Basilica daily 9:00am-5:00pm; mission museum Tue-Sun 10:00am-5:00pm (closed Mondays)

Admission: Free to enter basilica; small fee for the museum and guided tours (varies)

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.

Mission Dolores is in the heart of San Francisco’s Mission District. From BART, exit at 16th Street-Mission (serviced by several Muni lines) and walk west along 16th Street. The site is accessible via multiple Muni buses and light-rail routes; street parking is limited.

• Attend a morning Mass in the historic church to see the building used as a living parish rather than only a museum
• Visit the Mission Dolores cemetery (the oldest surviving in San Francisco) located behind the basilica-some headstones date to the late 18th and early 19th centuries
• Approach via 16th Street to appreciate the basilica's façade and the contrast with modern Mission District murals