Old St. Mary's Cathedral, with the address of 660 California St (corner of California and Grant), is also the Chinese Mission, and the first Cathedral in California. The cornerstone was set on July 17, 1853, and the cathedral completed and dedicated for Christmas1854, by Bishop Joseph S Alemany. This was both the first dedicated cathedral (and thus, the head Catholic building in the state, and was also the tallest building in San Francisco when it opened, at 27 meters (89 ft) tall, due to the extra tall clocktower. One of the most prominent features of the clocktower was the quote from Ecclesiasticus 4:23 right below the clock itself: "Son, Observe the Time and Fly from Evil." It was meant to warn the sailors from visiting the various brothels and other dens of vices in the area. This cathedral was demoted to a regular parish church in 1891 when the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption (aka "New Saint Mary's") was built at Van Ness and O'Farrell. ...
An exploration of San Francisco Chinatown typically NOT covered by tours