The foundation for Saint Paul's Catholic Church began with community initiative in 1876 when George Shadbourne wrote to Archbishop Joseph Alemany, OP, expressing the desire to establish a new parish in the growing Noe Valley area and offering to help collect funds, purchase land, and construct a church. Archbishop Alemany approved the request, recognizing the pastoral needs of the expanding community. A collection was taken among parishioners, and land was purchased on Church Street for $2,800. This initial property acquisition included the key lot at 29th and Church, plus three additional lots facing Church Street, providing a solid foundation for future expansion.
<-- more -->The first church building was constructed in 1880, with Archbishop Alemany himself laying the cornerstone on April 29, 1880. This initial structure was modest by comparison to what would follow—it seated 750 people and served approximately 200 families in the parish. The church cost $18,000 to construct. The location was strategically chosen in Noe Valley, which was developing as a residential neighborhood in the outer reaches of San Francisco during this period. Reverend Lawrence Breslin was appointed as the first pastor.
The Expansion Decision (1890s)
By the 1890s, it became clear that the 1880 church could not accommodate the growing parish community. The decision was made to construct an entirely new, larger church building designed to serve the expanding Catholic population of Noe Valley. This planning decision reflects broader trends in San Francisco during the late 19th century, when the city's population was rapidly expanding and Catholic communities were establishing institutions to meet spiritual and educational needs.
Architect Selection: Frank T. Shea (1859–1929)
The archdiocese selected Frank Thomas Shea as the architect for the new church. Shea was the most prolific church architect of his time and was responsible for designing numerous significant ecclesiastical projects for the San Francisco Archdiocese. In addition to Saint Paul's, Shea designed St. James', St. Brigid's, and Old St. John's for the archdiocese. His prominence in the San Francisco architectural scene is further evidenced by his service as San Francisco city architect from 1893 to 1897, a position he held during the critical planning period for Saint Paul's.
Shea was Beaux Arts-trained and brought sophisticated architectural training to his ecclesiastical commissions. He would later be credited with overseeing and finishing the design of San Francisco's City Hall, completing Augustus Laver's initial competition-winning design by replacing the original 453-foot tower with a dome at 335 feet. His brother, William Dennis Shea (c. 1866–1931), was also an architect, and the two brothers collaborated on various church buildings for the Archdiocese.
Architectural Design and Style
Shea chose a modified English Gothic style for Saint Paul's Church. This stylistic choice reflected contemporary ecclesiastical architectural preferences and provided a dignified, reverential character suitable for a major parish church. The English Gothic style, with its emphasis on verticality, pointed arches, and ornamental details, was consistent with ecclesiastical architecture of the period.
A critical planning element involved the design of the distinctive steeples. The church was planned with two asymmetrical steeples—one rising 170 feet and the other 200 feet. The reasoning behind this asymmetry appears to have been aesthetic; as later pastors noted, it is unclear why one was designed taller than the other, though the architect may have considered the varied heights more aesthetically pleasing. However, this design choice would later take on structural significance when earthquake considerations became paramount.
Specific Planning Considerations
The planning process involved careful attention to seating capacity. The new church was designed with 1,400 seats, a significant increase from the 750-seat capacity of the original church. This represented a major expansion in the parish's ability to serve its growing congregation and reflected confidence in continued community growth.
The English Gothic design featured several distinctive elements that were planned in detail:
The scale of the project was substantial—the completed structure was later described by the May 27 Catholic Monitor as "San Francisco's Most Beautiful Church."
Financing Plan: Pay-As-You-Go Strategy
One of the most significant planning decisions was the financing method. The archdiocese and parish leadership decided to use a "pay-as-you-go" formula, whereby construction would proceed only as funds were available, ensuring that the parish would be debt-free upon completion of the project. This conservative financing approach meant that the construction timeline would necessarily be extended, but it protected the parish from long-term financial obligation.
Parish Leadership and the Role of Father Michael D. Connolly
Reverend Michael D. Connolly became pastor during the planning period and took a deeply involved role in the church's development. Father Connolly was known as a man of considerable enterprise and vision. Beyond serving as the canonical pastor, Connolly worked closely with architect Frank Shea and functioned as a contractor and builder for the project itself. This dual role was quite unusual and gave Connolly significant influence over the detailed planning and execution of the design.
According to parish history, Father Connolly played a major collaborative role in planning the church's finishing details and aesthetic elements. He was instrumental in securing the imported European materials, including the Frank Mayer stained-glass windows from Germany and the Carrara marble altar from Italy.
Importantly, Father Connolly planned the building with extensive structural reinforcement in mind, even before the 1906 earthquake would make seismic considerations mandatory. He insisted that the church be "built like a fortress," ensuring that all construction would be heavily reinforced from the outset. This prescient structural philosophy would prove invaluable when the 1906 earthquake struck.
Construction Timeline and Commencement
Construction officially began in 1897, marking the start of what would become a 14-year project. The decision to begin construction in 1897 came after several years of planning, fundraising, architectural design, and community preparation.
The Planned Quarry for Materials
The planning included sourcing materials locally when possible. Church officials, anticipating the large quantities of stone required, identified a quarry at 30th and Castro Streets as a source for much of the granite to be used in construction. This represented forward planning regarding material supply chains for such an ambitious project.
Community Involvement in Planning
The planning process importantly included the expectation of significant community participation. As documented in parish histories, the plan called for extensive voluntary labor from parishioners, including Saturday morning religious education students who were expected to participate in quarrying and transporting stone to the building site.
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