First Unitarian Church (San Francisco)

First Unitarian Church
Location	1187 Franklin Street, San Francisco, California, U.S.
Coordinates	37°47′07″N122°25′23″W / 37.785411°N 122.423166°W / 37.785411; -122.423166
Built	1889
Architect	Percy & Hamilton
San Francisco Designated Landmark
Designated	10 July 1971 [1]
Reference no.	40
Location in San Francisco County Show map of San Francisco County Location in California Show map of California Location in United States Show map of the United States

The First Unitarian Church is a church structure built in 1889 and is located at 1187 Franklin Street at Geary Street in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood, San Francisco, California. ^[2] It is also known the First Unitarian Universalist Church and First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco, and is nicknamed "Starr King's church". ^{[3] [4]}

History

The Unitarians built their first San Francisco Church in 1853 at 805 Stockton Street. When the congregation outgrew the first building within a decade, a new church was built on Union Square at 133 Geary Street, under clergyman Thomas Starr King, who was instrumental in advocating for California to join the Union. ^{[5] [6]} Thomas Starr King died in 1864 and his sarcophagus still remains is on the grounds of the church. ^[7]

In 1889, the church was moved to 1187 Franklin Street, its current location. The building was designed by architects Percy & Hamilton in the Richardson Romanesque-style. ^[8] After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the bell tower was rebuilt. ^[8]

Prominent members associated with the early days of the church in San Francisco were James Otis, ^[9] Leland Stanford, Bret Harte, Andrew Smith Hallidie, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. ^[2] Later members of the congregation included Julia Ward Howe and Edward Everett Hale. ^[10] Other ministers after Starr King at this church included Horatio Stebbins (1821–1902) serving from 1864 to 1900; ^[11] Bradford Leavitt (born 1868) serving from 1900 to 1949; ^[12] Harry C. Meserve (1914–2000), serving from 1949 to 1957; ^[13] and Harry Barron Scholefield (1914–2003) serving from 1957 to 1975. ^{[14] [15]}

See also

• List of San Francisco Designated Landmarks
• First Unitarian Church (Berkeley, California)
• First Unitarian Church of Oakland
• Starr King School for the Ministry

References

1. "City of San Francisco Designated Landmarks" (PDF). City of San Francisco. Retrieved 2022-10-21.
2. "San Francisco Landmark #40: First Unitarian Church". Noehill.com. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
3. Dowd, Katie (2015-10-12). "Even more pre-1870 photos of San Francisco". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
4. First Unitarian Universalist Society of San Francisco (n.d.). "Visiting Us". UUSF.org. Retrieved December 19, 2025.
5. Buehrens, John (2021-06-09). "Thomas Starr King: Protector of the Union, and Yosemite". Harvard Magazine . ISSN   0095-2427 . Retrieved 2022-10-22.
6. Harris, Mark W. (2003). Historical Dictionary of Unitarian Universalism. Scarecrow Press. pp. 290–292. ISBN   9780810865808.
7. Dowd, Katie (2020-05-26). "Thomas Starr King: The man who 'saved' California — and who California forgot". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
8. Michelson, Alan. "1st Unitarian Church #3, Western Addition, San Francisco, CA (1889)". Pacific Coast Architecture Database (PCAD). Built Environments Library, University of Washington.
9. The Pacific Unitarian, Volumes 29-32. San Francisco, CA. January 1920. p. 166.
10. Fifty Years of the First Unitarian Church of San Francisco, October 20, 1850-October 21, 1900. First Unitarian Society of San Francisco. The Society for Christian Work, Murdock Press. 1901. p. 32.
11. Mace, Emily. "Stebbins, Horatio (1821–1902)". Harvard Square Library. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
12. Berner, Bertha (1934). Incidents in the Life of Mrs. Leland Stanford. Edwards Brothers, Inc.
13. "Meserve, Harry C." SFGATE. 2000-12-03. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
14. Lattin, Don (2003-03-12). "Harry Scholefield -- path-breaking Unitarian cleric". SFGATE. Retrieved 2022-10-22.
15. "Scholefield, Harry Barron". SFGATE. 2003-03-09. Retrieved 2022-10-22.