Historical sites | Religious Spaces | Art in Chinatown
Chinatown is home to several temples and churches.
The First Chinese Baptist Church
15 Waverly Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415-362-4139
Fax: 415-362-7644
Email: office@fcbc.com
Website: http://www.fcbc-sf.org
The First Chinese Baptist Church was first erected in 1880 by Dr. Jesse B. Hartwell and has played an integral role in the development and fostering of the Chinese community in San Francisco. From its first establishment, the church has provided a source of comfort, support and resource for Chinese newcomers, sojourners and immigrants who were ostracized and discriminated against. The church offered day school for Chinese children, Chinese language classes and night school for adults at a time when the Chinese were denied access to education by the government. The church’s outreach and support to the Chinese community continues on today. Currently, the church offers English language instruction and conversation classes in addition to citizenship classes in partnership with City College of San Francisco.
Old St. Mary’s Cathedral 
660 California St.
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415-288-3800
Email: jennifer@jenniferduartedesign.com
Website: http://www.oldsaintmarys.org
Old St. Mary’s Cathedral was first dedicated in 1854 as the first cathedral in California. The cathedral was erected on the plans of Bishop Joseph Sadoc Alemany, a 36 year old Spanish Member of the Dominican Order born in Vich, Spain who became the first archbishop of San Francisco in 1853. He planned and gathered donations from Protestants and Jews in addition to Catholics to build the cathedral. However, as years passed, the area of which the cathedral was built around began to deteriorate and decline leaving it a place of destitution and criminal activity. As a result, arrangements were made for a new cathedral to be relocated and built at a less notorious and dangerous location. In 1883, a site was purchased on the corner of O’Farrell Street and Van Ness Avenue. On 1891, the new cathedral was dedicated and the old cathedral became a parish church and named the Old Cathedral of St. Mary’s.
Old St Mary’s Cathedral served the nearby community of Chinatown which at that time was a community particularly desperate in trying to survive in a new and strange land that treated them with contempt. Extreme criminal activity and violence paraded the streets which could no longer be ignored. As a result, Old St. Mary’s Cathedral saw a unique opportunity to serve this community and thus established a Chinese Mission within the cathedral.
Old St. Mary’s Cathedral later became victim to the disaster resulting after the 1906 Earthquake that shook everything in California west of the San Andreas Fault. However, the Cathedral suffered little damage from the actual quake but was essentially demolished after the fire that came roaring after the quake sparing nothing but its walls and bell tower.
After a long debate, it was finally decided to rebuild the demolished cathedral to preserve and honor the people’s view of St. Mary’s Cathedral as a piece of irreplaceable history. On June 20, 1909, the newly renovated Old St. Mary’s Cathedral was rededicated by Archbishop Riordan.
Old St. Mary’s Cathedral also served as a place of safety during World War II as it was considered “the closest thing to home in the whole war” to many men and women in service. It offered many social and dance events and was therefore renamed Old St. Mary’s Service Center. Old St. Mary’s Service Center closed it doors in September 1946 but before it did, it had served 450,000 members of the military who had come to visit.
Buddhas Universal Church
720 Washington St.
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415-982-6116, 6117 or 6118
Fax: 415-421-3325
Email: busf@sbglobal.net
Website: http://www.bucsf.com
Buddhas Universal Church, dedicated in 1963 is the largest Buddhist church in the United States and holds the largest congregation in the city. The church was established and built upon the generosity of its members and the surrounding community. Once an old nightclub, the five story building was bought and transformed into a religious house in November 1951 with the help of a bank loan. However, after purchasing the building, members of the church were informed of the structure’s unstable condition due to its haste renovation after the disastrous 1906 earthquake and fire. The building needed to be completely demolished and completely rebuilt again. In dire need of another renovation, but lacking the sufficient funds to support the reconstruction, members of the church took it upon themselves to carry out the reconstruction.
However, upon hearing about the reconstruction, the bank rescinded their loan on the account that the collateral upon which they had made the loan was rapidly disappearing. Thousands of dollars in debt did not deter the congregation’s determination to rebuild. Members and friends contributed portions of their monthly salaries, fundraised by baking cookies and took to the street. 11 years and 4 months later, what once was a dilapidated building and a distant dream became a reality as a church slowly emerged from the rubble due to the persistent efforts and steady labor of volunteers from the community.
Gold Mountain Sagely Monastery (Dharma Realm Buddhist Association)
800 Sacramental St.
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415-421-6117
Fax: 415-788-6001
Email: drbagmm@jps.net
Website: http://www.drba.org, http://www.drbachinese.org/branch/GMM/
Dharma Realm Buddhist Association was founded by the Venerable Master Hsuan Hua in 1959. The Association, a state and federally approved non-profit and educational corporation, was founded on the grounds of bringing the orthodox teachings of the Buddha to the entire world. In 1962, Master Hua arrived to the United States where he organized an in-residence Buddhist study and practice center in San Francisco which later became one of Northern California’s foremost Buddhist Centers, Gold Mountain Sagely Monestery.
Norras Temple
109 Waverly St (9th fl)
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415-1993
Norras Temple is the oldest Buddhist temple in San Francisco dating back to more than 50 years.
Kong Chow Temple
855 Stockton St
San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415-788-1339
Kong Chow Temple was founded in 1857.
Tien Hau Temple 
125 Waverly Place
San Francisco, CA 94108
No phone
Located in the middle of a historical alleyway, Tien Hau can be easily missed by passer bys who are unfamiliar with the area. Found on the top floor of 125 Waverly Place, the temple offers the space for worshippers to pay their respect to the Goddess of Heaven and the Goddess of Sea, Tien Hau.
The Goddess Tien Hau is worshipped by millions of Chinese all over the world. She is said to have been born in Melchow Island, Potin County Heng Hau Fu, Fukien Province in the Sung Dynasty (960 A.D.) She is known for her exceptionally talented power of perception as well as her kindness and compassion over mankind. Tien Hau is worshipped for her mystic force over the sea and in helping people in distress.
And so it goes, Tien Hau Temple was built in San Francisco in 1852 and continues to exist as the oldest Chinese temple in the United States, in gratitude to the Goddess for her protection and guidance over those who voyaged across the treacherous storms of the Pacific Ocean.
After climbing the few flights of narrow stairways, Tien Hau welcomes worshippers with wafts of burning incense. Admission is free but donations are appreciated as the Temple is run solely by the support of visitors.