Religious, Spiritual sights in San Francisco
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Old St Mary’s Cathedral
Many thought it a lost cause, but California’s first cathedral, inaugurated in 1854, tried for decades to give San Francisco some religion – despite its location in brothel central. Hence the stern admonition on the church’s brick clock tower: ‘Son, observe the time and fly from evil.’ Eventually the archdiocese abandoned attempts to convert Dupont St whoremongers and handed the church over to a Chinese community mission run by the activism-oriented Paulists. During WWII, the church served the US military as a recreation center and cafeteria. The 1906 fire destroyed one of the district’s biggest bordellos directly across from the church, making room for St Mar…
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First Unitarian Church
Low-down and rough around the edges aren’t usually meant as compliments, and they’re not usually applied to a church. But George Percy’s down-to-earth 1888 design for a cathedral in rough-hewn stone was considered appropriate by the progressive Universalists, whose current church committees include a pagan interest group and gay marriage advocacy. The 1970–74 annex built by Callister Payne & Rosse is a modernist eye-catcher that’s conceptually consistent with the older structure: a low, concrete-slab building that makes no secret of its construction. The design for the annex owes an obvious debt to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple in Oak Park, Illinois, as well as local …
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Saints Peter & Paul Church
Wedding cake was the apparent inspiration for this 1924 triple-decker cathedral with its lacy white towers, and in its downtime between masses in Italian and Chinese, the church pulls a triple wedding shift on Saturdays. Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe had their wedding photos taken here, though they weren’t permitted to marry in the church because both had been divorced (they got hitched at City Hall instead). True to North Beach literary form, there’s poetry by Dante in a glittering mosaic inscription over the grand triple entryway: ‘The glory of Him who moves all things/penetrates and glows throughout the universe.’ How very Ginsberg-meets-the-Beatles.
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Glide Memorial United Methodist Church
‘Go ahead!’ shouts the lady in the wheelchair as the rainbow-robed ex-con closes his eyes to hit a high note. The 100-member Glide gospel choir is kicking off another Sunday celebration, and the welcome is warm for whoever walks (or rolls) through the door – the 1500-plus congregation includes gays, lesbians, transsexuals, single-parent families and many who’d once lost all faith in faith. After the celebration ends, the radical Methodist congregation keeps the inspiration coming, providing a million free meals a year and housing for 52 formerly homeless families – now that’s hitting a high note.
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Tien Hou Temple
There was no place to go but up in Chinatown after 1870, when local laws limited where Chinese San Franciscans could live and work. Temples were built atop the barber shops, laundries and neighborhood associations lining Waverly Pl, making their presence known with brightly painted balconies festooned with flags and lanterns. Tien Hou Temple atop 125 Waverly Pl was built in 1852, and the altar miraculously survived the 1906 earthquake and fire to become a symbol of community endurance. Drop by and pay your respects; entry is free, but it’s customary to leave an offering for temple upkeep.
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Grace Cathedral
Stairways lead urban hikers past hidden cottages and scrap-sculpture gardens, but there's a shortcut to heaven in SF: hop the cable car uphill to Grace Cathedral. This progressive Episcopal church keeps pace with its parishioners: the AIDS Interfaith Memorial Chapel features a bronze Keith Haring altarpiece; stained-glass windows illuminate Human Endeavors, including Albert Einstein in a swirl of nuclear particles; and pavement labyrinths guide restless souls through the spiritual stages of releasing, receiving and returning.
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Columbarium
The ancient Roman innovation of memorial buildings for cremated remains came in handy in San Francisco in 1898, when real estate was already hitting a premium on the seven-by-seven peninsula. The neoclassical Columbarium was abandoned to raccoons and mushrooms from 1934 until 1979, when it was rescued by the Neptune Society, a cremation advocacy group. The restored, resplendent domed Columbarium is lined with Art Nouveau stained-glass windows and more than 5000 niches, honoring dearly beloved friends, dogs and rabbits.
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Konko Temple
Inside the low-roofed, high-modernist temple, you’ll find a handsome blond-wood sanctuary with a lofty beamed ceiling, vintage photographs of Konko events dating back 70 years, and friendly Reverend Joanne Tolosa, who’ll greet you, answer any questions about the temple or its Shinto-based beliefs, and then leave you to your contemplation. On New Year’s Day, the temple invites visitors to jot down a remembrance, regret and wish on a slip of paper to affix to a tree, and receive a blessing with sacred rice wine.
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Vedanta Society
Meandering through the Marina, you’ll pass Mexican-inspired art deco, Victorian mansions, generic bay-windowed boxes – and hello, what’s this? A riotous 1905 mishmash of architectural styles, with red turrets representing major world religions and the Hindu-inspired Vedanta Society’s organizing principle: ‘the oneness of existence.’ The society founded a new temple in 1959, but its architectural conundrum remains. The only thing missing is a finger pointing at the moon, with a caption reading ‘Thou art that.’
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Cathedral of St Mary of the Assumption
You might assume from afar that this 1971 concrete cathedral is a ship’s prow or witch’s hat. This behemoth started out as a modest proposal by a local architecture firm, but the archbishop read architectural criticism in his spare time and hired MIT guru Pietro Belluschi and Italian engineer Pier-Luigi Nervi to construct this sci-fi Catholic landmark. Say what you will about the exterior, but the honeycomb ceiling has great acoustics for organ recitals.
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African Orthodox Church of St John Coltrane
Cymbals shudder, and the bassist plucks the opening notes of ‘A Love Supreme.’ The liturgy has begun just as it has every Sunday since 1971, and the entire congregation joins in the three-hour devotional jam session. As Coltrane once said: ‘Damn the rules; it’s the feeling that counts.’ Overseeing the celebration from mesmerizing icons on the wall is the musician venerated here as St John Will-I-Am Coltrane, shown with flames leaping from his saxophone.
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Zen Center
No, this isn't a spa, but an active spiritual retreat since 1969 for the largest Buddhist community outside Asia. The graceful landmark building designed by Julia Morgan manages to pull off a seamless Italianate Japanese style without resorting to kitsch, and providing plenty of light. The center is open to the public for visits, meditation and workshops, and also offers overnight stays by prior arrangement for intensive meditation retreats.
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Church of St Mary the Virgin
You might expect to see this rustic Arts and Crafts building on the slopes of Tahoe instead of Pacific Heights, but this Episcopal church is full of surprises. The structure dates from 1891, but the church has kept pace with its progressive-minded parish, with homeless community outreach and ‘Unplugged’ all-acoustic Sunday services led by hip young reverend Jennifer Hornbeck.
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