Mission San Francisco de Asís, known as Mission Dolores, stands at 320 Dolores Street in San Francisco. The Franciscans Francisco Palóu and Pedro Benito Cambón founded it on October 9, 1776. Ohlone laborers made 36,000 adobe bricks for its walls, and the adobe chapel was finished in 1791. The chapel has walls four feet thick and a ceiling with painted Ohlone designs. A mural of 1791 was painted by Ohlone artists.
The 1906 earthquake destroyed the brick church of 1876 and damaged the adobe chapel. A new church was built from 1913 to 1918, and Willis Polk restored the adobe building in 1917. Churrigueresque ornamentation was added in 1926.
The mission cemetery is the oldest in San Francisco. Pope Pius XII named the church a minor basilica in 1952. It is designated San Francisco Landmark Number 1 and is an active parish church.
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