Grace Cathedral, San Francisco

On the west side of Huntington Park stands Grace Cathedral. This Neo-Gothic church, clearly influenced in its architecture by Notre Dame in Paris, was dedicated in 1964, having taken 36 years to build. It replaced an earlier church which stood lower down Nob Hill that was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake. Grace Cathedral is the seat of the Episcopalian Bishop of California.

Picture - Entrance to the gothic Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Picture - Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Picture - Park and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.

Picture - Courtyard of Grace Cathedral Church, San Francisco.

View a slideshow of Grace Cathedral Pictures

Grace Cathedral Map

Important Information:

Official site: www.gracecathedral.org

Address: 1100 California Street, San Francisco, CA 94108-2206, United States

Opening hours: 7am-6pm; Sun: 8am-7pm; Sat: 8am-6pm

Parking: Free

Disability Access: Full facilities for persons with disabilities.

Guides: Guided tour included with admission.

Facilities: Gift shop

Transit: Bus: 1; Cable car: California Street.

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Although overall the church is modeled on Notre Dame, Florentine art inspired the main portals. These take the form of casts from Lorenzo Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise" adorning the Baptistery in Florence.

While the exterior is impressive the interior is where you will find the cathedrals true treasures. Among the highlights are a 13th Century crucifix, a 15th Century Flemish altarpiece, old tapestries, and the outstanding stained glass windows. Also of particular note are two labyrinths, (patterns in the ground / floor) one of which is outside and another inside the cathedral.

If you are spending some time in the city and have an interest, you may want to find out if there is a concert or performance of some kind taking place in the Grace Cathedral. A variety of concerts are held here throughout the year.

Grace Cathedral Highlight

Interior

The interior of Grace Cathedral houses a number of notable works of art including a 13th century Catalonian crucifix, a Flemish altarpiece dating from the late 15th century, a silk and gold Brussels Gobelin tapestry from the 16th century, a terracotta relief of the Madonna and Child by the Renaissance artist Antonio Rossellino and, on the north wall of the ambulatory, a collection of pages from medieval bibles illustrating the history of bible reproduction.

Also of particular interest are stained glass windows from the workshops of Charles Connick, Henry Lee Willet, Mark Adams and Gabriel Loire. The great east rose-window (by Loire, 1963) is illuminated after dark from within the building. The Cathedral has a celebrated choir of men and boys; recitals are often given on the Cathedral organ which has 7,286 pipes. The 44 bells in the north tower are rung every evening; the hour bell, weighing six tonnes, is the largest in the West.