St. Paul's Catholic Church (San Francisco)

Coordinates: 37°44′39″N 122°25′37″W / 37.7442°N 122.427°W / 37.7442; -122.427
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
St. Paul's Catholic Church
Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking1897
Completed1911
Specifications
Length200 ft (61 m)
Nave width68 ft (21 m)
Width across transepts108 ft (33 m)
Height365 ft (111 m)

St. Paul's Catholic Church (

Noe Valley
neighborhood.

History

St. Paul's traces its history back to 1876 when George Shadbourne communicated a desire to

curé
was built. This first church seated up to 750 people, and served approximately 200 families.

In 1897, growth led the parish to construct the current 1,400 seat

Patrick W. Riordan
.

The church required seismic reinforcement after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. At one point, the archdiocese seriously considered closing St. Paul's because of the potential costs of reinforcing the church and adjacent buildings; this decision was later reversed. The parish sold some of the adjacent buildings and reinforced the remaining buildings, which cost approximately $8.5 million.[1]

St. Paul's has also been the location for several movie and television episodes throughout its long history. In a season 4 episode of The Streets of San Francisco entitled "Requiem for Murder" there are both interior and exterior views of the church used during the episode. In 1992, the parish was the site of filming for the comedy film Sister Act, which starred Whoopi Goldberg. While the parish – called "St. Katherine's Monastery" in the film – is actually in the upscale middle class neighborhood of Noe Valley, the surrounding area was set redressed to make it appear that the church was in a much poorer community like the Tenderloin or Bayview.[2]

References

  1. ^ "History and Purpose". Saint Paul's Catholic Church. Retrieved 2007-09-27.
  2. ^ Anda, Juan De. "Tourism for Locals: Dressing Up St. Paul's Catholic Church for Sister Act". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2016-12-28.

External links

37°44′39″N 122°25′37″W / 37.7442°N 122.427°W / 37.7442; -122.427