California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Drawing of Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) by lithographer, Captain William Smyth, R.N., ca.1839

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Drawing of Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) by lithographer, Captain William Smyth, R.N., ca.1839

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Photograph of a drawing of Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) by lithographer, Captain William Smyth, R.N., ca.1839. A man holding a long stick (spear?) walks next to a woman (or girl?) down a road that leads to the mission up ahead. Two horsemen appear to be racing towards the mission. The mission consists of several buildings, one of which is a church. The buildings architecture appears to be of simple bungalow style buildings and not the typical mission/Spanish-style structure. There is an arcade adjoined to the church (center). Mountains are visible in the distance.; "The story of Misión San Francisco de Asis (popular name of Mission Dolores) began some 220 years ago. It was in March, 1776, that a scouting party under the direction of Lt. Don Jose Joaquin Moraga visited the area and named the small stream and lake after the Saint of the day, Arroyo de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores (Lake of Our Lady of Sorrows). He returned to Monterey to convey the news and received his commission to establish a presidio and mission in the name of Carlos III of Spain. His expedition of soldiers, colonists with wives and children, and two Franciscans arrived on June 27, 1776, to pitch their camp near the Lake. On June 29, Fras Francisco Palou and Benito Cambon celebrated Mass in honor of the feast of Saints Peter and Paul on the shores of the small lake. This would be the site of the future Mission, but the date of June 29th would become the official birthday of the City of San Francisco. Of the 21 California Missions, this is the third most northerly, and the sixth to be established under the direction of Father Junipero Serra. Misión San Francisco de Asis is situated in the very heart of a bustling international seaport city on a tree-lined boulevard, overshadowed by a majestic Basilica on the north and quaint Victorian row houses and apartments on the south. Just outside the rough-hewn redwood doors and sitting in the middle of a grassy median strip is the Mission Bell heralding the renowned El Camino Real or King's Highway. The Old Mission is designated as Registered Landmark Number One and is very near the geographical center of the City of San Francisco. It is whitewashed adobe brick under a tiled roof. The facade is extraordinary in that it appears to have four huge columns supporting a second story balcony housing six smaller columns and three bells. It is a wonder that the entire facade is fashioned from a single block of adobe bricks 10 feet thick, 22 feet wide set on a foundation of rock four feet below the surface." -- unknown author

Asset Metadata

Title Drawing of Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) by lithographer, Captain William Smyth, R.N., ca.1839

Subject Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) (file heading), Missions, Spanish (lcsh), religious facilities (adlf), San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) Mission (subject)

Tags OAI-PMH Harvest

Place California (states), San Francisco (city or populated place), San Francisco (counties), USA (countries)

Temporal Subject 1839

Type images

Format 3 photographs : glass photonegative, photonegative, photoprint, b&w ; 21 x 26 cm., 10 x 13 cm. (aacr2), art (aat), glass plate negatives (format), negatives (photographic) (aat), photographic prints (aat), photographs (aat)

Source California Historical Society (contributing entity), California Historical Society Collection, 1860-1960 (collection), Title Insurance and Trust, and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection, 1860-1960 (subcollection)

Date Created 1839

Creator Pierce, C.C. (Charles C.), 1861-1946 (photographer), Smyth, W. (artist)

Publisher University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Repository Email specol@lib.usc.edu

Repository Name USC Libraries Special Collections

Repository Location Doheny Memorial Library, Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189

Rights Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Copyright Public Domain. Please credit both “University of Southern California. Libraries” and “California Historical Society” as the source. Digitally reproduced by the USC Digital Library.

Access Conditions Send requests to address or e-mail given

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/chs-m17484

Identifier 5756 (accession number), CHS-5756 (call number), CHS-5756 (filename), chs-m265 (legacy collection record id), chs-c65-17477 (legacy record id), chs-m17484 (legacy record id), USC-1-1-1-14084 (legacy record id), 1-131-10 (microfiche number), USC (project)

IIIF ID [Document.IIIFV3ID]

DM Record ID 17477

Unique identifier UC142807

Legacy Identifier CHS-5756.tiff

Type Image

Internet Media Type image/tiff

Resolution 17.0 in × 13.7 in at 300dpi
43.1 cm × 34.9 cm at 300dpi

Inherited Values

Title Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Description The nearly 15,000 unique photographs of this collection contain the work of C.C. Pierce which cover the Los Angeles region city, street and architectural views, California Missions, Southwestern Native Americans, and turn-of-century Nevada, Arizona, and California. Pierce, active from 1886 to 1940, was one of the leading photographers of his day and amassed a collection of 15,000 images, including his own and those bought and copied from his contemporaries, George Wharton James and Charles Puck. The James collection contains over 2,000 images of portraits, customs, ceremonies, arts, and games of various groups of Southwestern Native Americans.

Date Created 1860/1960

Linked assets

Title Insurance and Trust and C.C. Pierce Photography Collection 1860-1960

Conceptually similar

Drawing of Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) by Henry Chapman Ford, ca.1883

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores), showing close-up view of mission, ca.1900

Painting of Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores), ca.1901

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) from the front after an earthquake, ca.1910

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores), showing the front of the mission and cemetery, ca.1904

Exterior view of the church and priest's residence at Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores), ca.1880

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) from the side, after an earthquake, ca.1908-1910

Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores) from the front, ca.1887

Interior view of the Mission Francis de Asis (Dolores), shown from the ceiling, San Francisco, 1909

Painting depicting the exterior of the new church and cemetery at Mission San Francisco de Asis (Dolores), ca.1900

Exterior view of the Mission Francisco de Asis (Dolores), San Francisco, ca.1909

Exterior view of the Mission Francis de Asis (Dolores), showing building materials, San Francisco, 1909

Exterior view of the Mission Francis de Assis (Dolores) in disrepair, San Francisco, ca.1856-1857

Cemetery at the Mission Francis de Asis (Dolores), San Francisco, ca.1865

Exterior view of the Mission Francis de Asis (Dolores), showing a sidewalk, San Francisco, May 15, 1906

Drawing of the bay at Monterey, by Captain William Smyth, R.N., ca.1839

Lithograph depicting a panoramic view of the Mission Francis de Asis (Dolores), ca.1900

Drawing depicting the Mission San Francisco de Asis during the early 1870's, ca.1900

Interior view of the Mission Francis de Asis (Dolores) showing the altar, San Francisco, December 17, 1904

Interior view of the Mission San Francisco De Asis' (Dolores) altar, taken by photographer Edward Vischer, before 1875

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