If this is Thursday it must be poscards, 625

 

 

 

 

 

Mission Delores, San Francisco, California, ca late 1940s

 

This is an unused Selitho True Color from Ektachrome postcard published by E. F. Clements of San Francisco, California.  It has a divided back.  The estimated date of the card was derived from the statement in the blurb that says the mission had been holding services for more than 150 years. 

 

The blurb at the upper left on the reverse reads:  “208—Mission Delores, San Francisco, Calif.  Mission Delores was founded in 1776 and the present mission dedicated in 1791.  For more than 150 years services have been held here and it is the second oldest building in the city.  The little graveyard is of special interest as many California pioneers are buried there.” 

 

Mission Delores, also called Mission San Francisco de Asís, is a Spanish Californian mission thought to be the oldest surviving structure in San Francisco.  The adobe mission is the smaller white building on the left, while the larger Mission Delores Basilica, built in 1918, can be seen on the right.  The Basilica replaced a brick building that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. 

The creek, Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Delores or Our Lady of Sorrows, provided the commonly used name of Mission Delores. 

 

The settlement was named for Francis of Assisi who was the founder of the Franciscan Order of the Roman Catholic Church.  Although most of the original adobe mission complex has been altered or demolished, the façade has remained mostly unchanged since construction in 1782-1791.  A mural painted by native labor adored the main wall in the chapel.  Early missions were not restricted to being houses of worship but also were agricultural communities that produced all sorts of products, had hotels, ranches, hospitals, and schools.  For example, at the Dolores Mission there were 20 looms in operation turning wool into cloth.  The Mission’s holdings covered a circumference of about 125 miles.

 

During the California Gold Rush, wood siding was applied to the original adobe walls.  This siding was removed when the mission was restored.  The original adobe structure survived the 1906 earthquake but was nearly damaged when the fire following the quake stopped almost at the doorstep. 

 

For additional information, see:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Francisco_de_As%C3%ADs