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| Mission Dolores, the building on the left, the oldest building in San Francisco |
On September 17th, 1776 the San Francisco presidio was formally opened "...the day on which the Church commemorates the reception of the stigmata by St. Francis, the opening of the mission to follow on the saint's Feast Day, October 4th.
"Solemn High Mass was sung, and although the Fathers had bells, there was a free use of muskets, the ship in the harbor joining in with its swivel guns. The firing terrified the heathen so much that they would not allow themselves to be seen for several days. After this there was the chanting of the Te Deum and on the 8th there was a great banquet, for which two beeves were killed. A more wonderful achievement had come about than probably any of those present realized.
"All of this...happened in 1776, a year before [Junipero] Serra's arrival."
The Long Road of Father Serra, Theodore Maynard, 1954, pp. 193-194.