St. Mark's Lutheran Church

St. Mark's is the home church of the oldest Lutheran congregation on the West coast. Building this church took thirty years, partly because of continuing crises of leadership due to conflicts between liberal-leaning congregation of German immigrants and a succession of pastors. A Romanesque Revival building with Gothic elements this was the biggest German church in California in 1895. Its architect was Henry Geilfuss, who moved to San Francisco in 1876 and was responsible for hundreds of other buildings in the area, most of which were unfortunately destroyed in 1906. The first earthquake hit this one during the dedication ceremony, but it is remarkably stable and survived that earthquake and all subsequent ones with little damage. The 1906 earthquake and explosions weakened the East tower, and the fire melted the cross off the roof, but the rose window remained unbroken and the main building was sturdy enough to be turned into a hospital and refuge for San Franciscans displaced by the fire. The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake destroyed the chandelier brought from Germany for the original church by Claus Spreckels, but nonetheless - the building you see now is one of the best remaining examples of early San Francisco architecture. The organ and the acoustics here are particularly good, so if you happen to have time try to go in for one of their performances.