St. Brigid Church at Van Ness & Broadway, serving San Francisco since 1863

    St. Brigid’s survived the 1906 earthquake, the great depression, two world wars – and an attempt by San Francisco’s Catholic archdiocese to demolish it.

    The Committee to Save St. Brigid Church was successful in landmarking the exterior of the building, including the beautiful stained glass windows imported from Ireland. We are now working to landmark the interior.

[ more pictures ]

    The furnishings and artwork inside St. Brigid’s are veritable treasures: exquisite turn-of-the century angelic statuary by San Francisco artist John McQuarrie (MacQuarrie); marble Holy Water Fonts in memory of California pioneer Alice Phelan Sullivan; ornately carved pews and paneling; and the Ruffatti pipe organ, marble altars, sculptures, and Stations of the Cross, all custom made and imported from Italy.
 

---

St. Brigid Church is a cultural and architectural
landmark in the Marina, Pacific Heights
and Russian Hill neighborhoods.

---

    This excellent example of Romanesque architecture has stood at the corner of Van Ness and Broadway for over 100 years. It withstood the 1906 Earthquake and Fire and contributed to the city’s recovery according to the legends and stories that filtered down through parish families.

    St. Brigid’s was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places in October 1995, is on the California Register of Historic Resources, and is widely listed among San Francisco’s most historically significant buildings.

    In 2006, the exterior of St. Brigid Church including the Harry Clarke stained glass windows and the Seamus Murphy statues of St. Brigid surrounded by the twelve apostles, became San Francisco Landmark #252. At that time the City's landmark ordinance did not explicitly allow for interior landmarking. But soon after, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick introduced legislation to allow the landmarking of publicly accessible interiors in privately owned buildings.

    On January 6, 2009, Supervisor Aaron Peskin sponsored a resolution initiating the interior landmarking process for St. Brigid. An interior landmark application is now being prepared and will soon be heard by the Historic Planning Commission of San Francisco. You can help us achieve St. Brigid interior landmarking by registering your support. Please email us and let us know. We will keep you posted of upcoming hearings and how you can help. Thank you very much!

May 2007 Dear Friends:     In 2006 our dear friend and Chair of the Committee, Joe Dignan, died of a heart attack. Joe was a founding member of the Committee to Save St. Brigid Church and worked tirelessly over the years for the cause of saving St. Brigid’s. Although we were all saddened by Joe’s death, we remain committed to finishing the work he started – the landmarking of St. Brigid Church.     I am happy to report that the exterior of St. Brigid Church, including the Harry Clarke stained glass windows, became San Francisco Landmark #252 on October 24, 2006. [Ordinance# 263-06]. At that time, however, the San Francisco Planning Code did not explicitly provide for landmark designation of building interiors, and so the magnificent interior of St. Brigid Church was not included in the original landmark.     In January 2007, Supervisor Jake McGoldrick, introduced legislation that would allow for the landmarking of publicly accessible interiors of privately owned buildings. The legislation was co-sponsored by Supervisor Aaron Peskin. The ordinance was reviewed and approved by the San Francisco Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, the Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors’ Land Use Committee, and the Board of Supervisors. On April 20th, Mayor Newsom signed the legislation into law. [Ordinance# 82-07].     The passage of this law allows the Committee to pursue interior landmarking of St. Brigid Church.     The Committee continues to work hard on these issues. If you are able, we’d appreciate your financial support. The Committee to Save St. Brigid Church is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt, nonprofit charitable organization under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). Contributions are deductible for tax purposes to the full extent provided by law. Any donation you can give would help us with expenses incurred with landmarking the church. We are very grateful to all of you for all your support over the years. Sincerely, Beatriz St. John, Chair Pro Tem Committee To Save St. Brigid Church

 

Contact Us

• Upcoming
  
• Summary
  
• Location
  
• Photos
  
• Facts & discussions
  
• Newsletters
  
• Media
  
• Church history
  
• Architecture
  
• Stained glass
  
• Ruffatti organ
  
• Saint Brigid
  
• Our Parishioners
  
• Our School
  
• Our Committee
  
• Alumni
  
• HOW TO HELP