The Flickr Russianimmigrants Image Generatr

1520 Green Street, Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
Founded 1857, this church built 1907,
architect: Charles Paff

prior to the great 1906 fire, this congregation was located on the west side of Powell Street, near Filbert.

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1508-1520 Green Street, Van Ness Avenue, San Francisco, California
orthodox church
Founded 1857, this structure built 1907

This structure is both recognizably Russian and turn-of-the-century period revival. Distinctively Russian components include the kokosniki-decorated basse and gilded finial of the bell tower and main dome, the various gilded crosses, and the minor polygonal dome. The flat pedimented main door, rusticated surfaces, block out-lined cornices, and rich Georgian balustrade reflect American influence. Many small stained glass windows create a general medievel effect. As is tradtional for orthodox churches, holy trinity is built in the form of a Greek cross with the altar in the east. The dome, representing heaven, has stained glass windows in the drum, and a massive brass chandelier hanging from its groined center. Many oriental rugs and brass stands holding candles lend a rich warmth to the interior. The icons and murals throughout the church were done by the artist Gleb Ilyn, who also decorated the old holy virgin Russian orthodox church on Grove street, designed by the newsom brothers. There are no pews or benches: worshippers stand or kneel in accordance with age-old custom. Among the cathedral's treasures are th seven bronze bells, cast in Moscow in 1888 at the request of bishop Vladimir of San Francisco. An inscription on the largest commemorates the miraculous escape of the Russian emperor Alexander iii and his family when revolutionaries bombed the train on which they were passengers. Such bells are exceedingly rare because most of them were melted down for metal during the Russian revolution or world war ii. Additions were made to the building in 1934. It was extensively remodeled in 1979-1984. At the same time, the open, dome-topped bell-tower was reshaped and raised.
architect: Charles Paff


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The Russian Threshing Stone "Farmers in South Russia used threshing stones to thresh newly harvested wheat. The cut wheat was arranged in a circular pattern over a threshing floor. The seven sided, cone shaped wheels weighed from 360-720 pounds and were pulled by a team of horses in a precise rotation over the wheat. As the stone knocked the wheat loose from the straw, laborers turned the straw and cleared the threshing floor for the next load of wheat."

"Mennonite immigrants of the 1870s brought this technology to Kansas. Over time, they transitioned to the use of faster and more efficient mechanized threshing machines. Many of these stones remain in the central Kansas area, They stand as a symbol of the region's rich agricultural heritage." (Text from a
sign at the site)

8th Avenue, Richmond District, , San Francisco


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First Russian Christian Molokan Church
841 Carolina Street
San Francisco / Сан-Франциско

"The church, or meeting house, on Carolina Street is plain. There are no icons, no statues, no rituals. The services are led by an elected leader and go on for many hours of Bible reading and singing. The Molokans are noted for their music." - Nolte, S F Chronicle

The Molokans split off from the Orthodox church centuries ago. Their pacifist beliefs led them to leave Pacific Russia after the 1905 war and revolution, a vanguard stopped in Hawaii for a year before coming to San Francisco.

"The building is plain; but for the sign, in Russian and in English, over the door it might be anything from an apartment building to a union hall. The inside is even less suggestive of its real function. The downstairs is a large room with chalkboards, and upstairs is a kitchen and another large room, empty but for wooden benches and a table. No altar, no crucifix, no candles, no stained glass, no pulpit. The chandeliers suggest that the main room is either unfinished or being prepared for a paint job, neither of which is true, since it has been this way since the building was erected in the early Twenties." www.molokane.org/molokan/Locations/Americas/California/Sa...

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former St. Luke's German Evangelical Church
1935 directory: Bethel Evangelical Church
now: St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Cathedral
№ 2005 15th Street at Church
San Francisco, California
built ca. 1903


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Quarters for non-Chinese, non-Asians waiting to be processed.