The Mission

The Mission or Mission District of San Francisco, California was named for the sixth Californian Mission- Mission San Francisco de Asis. The actual mission is one of the oldest buildings in the neighborhood. Land area that makes up the mission is 1.865 square miles. It has a total population of 42,234. For visitors The Mission begins at Mission Street and borders US Route 101 to the east, with Inner Mission also on the eastern border. Potrero Hill, Eureka Valley, and Noe Valley are to the west and known as the Castro. Bernal Heights is the southern border, while South of Market and Central Freeway are on the northern border.

Long before Spanish settlers came to California, the Yelamu Indians lived on the land called The Mission. By the 18th century, Spanish missionaries had arrived uprooting several Indian tribes, but making a mission for them to live as slave labor. By the early 1940s to mid 1960s the neighborhood had changed to a known immigrant community. Revitalization of the area is ongoing in order to wipe out some of the gang presence and provide better living arrangements for many Mexican and Central American immigrants who continue to move into The Mission.