Presidio Terrace in San Francisco City and County, California — The American West (Pacific Coastal)
St. Johns Presbyterian Church
American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Site
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, April 18, 2009
1. St. John's Presbyterian Church Marker
City and County of San Francisco (Marker Number 83, 410.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Buildings • Religion & Religious Structures. In addition, it is included in the American Presbyterian and Reformed Historic Sites, and the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series lists.
Location. 37° 47.204′ N, 122° 27.567′ W. Marker is in San Francisco, California, in San Francisco City and County. It is in Presidio Terrace. It is at the intersection of Arguello Boulevard and Lake Street, on the left when traveling north on Arguello Boulevard. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: San Francisco CA 94118, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on California’s Coast Ranges. It is also on the American Pacific Coast. Globally, it is in North America, on the Ring of Fire, in the Pacific Rim, in the Western Hemisphere, in the Western World, and in the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain and
this page online
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The San Francisco Columbarium (approx. 0.4 miles away); Juana Briones (approx. half a mile away); Adobe House Site (approx. half a mile away); Daily Life in the Early 19th Century / La vida cotidiana en el siglo XIX (approx. half a mile away); Juan Bautista de Anza (approx. 0.6 miles away); San Francisco's First People (approx. 0.6 miles away); The Anza Expedition Camped Here (approx. 0.6 miles away); Bachelor Officers' Quarters: Pershing Hall (approx. 0.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in San Francisco.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Former Site of Laurel Hill Cemetery (was approx. 0.6 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
More about this marker. The marker is to the right of the entrance on Arguello Boulevard.
Regarding St. Johns Presbyterian Church. St. Johns Presbyterian Church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. This church is also one of 445 American Presbyterian and Reformed Historical Sites registered between 1973 and 2003 by
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, April 18, 2009
2. St. John's Presbyterian Church Marker
St. John's Presbyterian Church is on the National Register of Historic Places.
St. John's Presbyterian was originally located at on Post Street, near Mason. In 1888, the congregation moved to its second building, at California Street and Octavia.
Click for more information.
St. John's Presbyterian was originally located at on Post Street, near Mason. In 1888, the congregation moved to its second building, at California Street and Octavia.
Click for more information.
The following text is taken from the Presbyterian Historical Society website:
Organized in 1870, St. John's occupied two houses of worship before constructing the present sanctuary on Lake Street at the turn of the 20th century. Many of its furnishings, including the pews, the pulpit, the inscribed transept arch, the Rose window, and the Johnson pipe organ, followed the congregation to each successive building. The Shingle-style church, with its imposing, square steeple tower, its steeply pitched gabled roof, and its ornamental hexagonal South tower, was completed in 1906. The first services were held on Easter Sunday. Three days later, the church was damaged by the earthquake of April 18, 1906, and it would be another year before the sanctuary was ready for regular use. It was formally dedicated on April 28, 1907.
Also see . . . California SP Saint John's Presbyterian Church. National Register of Historic Places Registration
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, April 18, 2009
3. Cornerstone - Laid 1905
In 1902 the congregation decided to build a new church in the western part of the city. Designed by the firm of Dodge and Dolliver, ground was broken in 1905, and the first services in the new building were held April 15, 1906.
Statement of Significance:(Submitted on September 26, 2025, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon.)
The oldest extant church In San Francisco's Richmond District, and the district's only Shingle Style church, Saint John's Presbyterian Church (1905) is the last remaining visual reminder that San Francisco's religious institutions anticipated and participated in the city's westerly expansion in the late nineteenth and early Twentieth centuries. The church is also the only remaining example in San Francisco of the phllanthrophy of A. (Arthur) V. Foster, a member of the congregation from his arrival in San Francisco in 1875 until his death in 1930.
Saint John's Presbyterian Church has been a designated Landmark of the City and County of San Francisco since September 13, 1976. It is known as Landmark Number 83, and was cited in the designating documents for its interior as well as its exterior archtectural significance together with its historical significance, including its associations both with Doctor Scott and A. V. Foster, and the importance of the congregation in the development of the city of San Francisco.
Photographed by Andrew Ruppenstein, April 18, 2009
4. St. John's Presbyterian Church - Entrance with markers to the left and right of the entrance
The Great Earthquake struck on April, 18, 1906. The heavily damaged church, repaired and reopened, and was rededicated on April 28, 1907.
April 18, 2009
5. St. John's Presbyterian Church from the Northeast
St. John's Presbyterian has appeared in at least 3 movies, So I Married an Axe Murderer, Little City, and Zodiac.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 29, 2009, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. This page has been viewed 1,418 times since then and 30 times this year. Last updated on August 14, 2018, by Douglass Halvorsen of Klamath Falls, Oregon. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on April 29, 2009, by Andrew Ruppenstein of Lamorinda, California. 5. submitted on April 29, 2009. • Syd Whittle was the editor who published this page.
