Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Mission Basilica San Francisco de Asís, also known as Mission Dolores, was founded on October 9, 1776. It was the sixth California mission, founded by Father Francisco Palou. It is located in San Francisco, and received the name Mission Dolores from the Arroyo de los Dolores, a nearby stream. It was named for St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Order. The buildings have remained relatively unchanged since their construction in 1782. By the time that the California Gold Rush began in 1848, the city of San Francisco had grown tremendously. There were saloons and two race tracks on the mission property. During the 1906 earthquake, the basilica next to the mission church fell and was destroyed, but the Mission San Francisco de Asís remained unharmed. The mission is still an active church in the city of San Francisco. Many people attend services in the mission church and even more attend mass in the basilica next door. The mission is open to visitors. The Mission is now the name of the San Francisco neighborhood surrounding the church. This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.