St. Cecilia Catholic Church

On January 7, 1917, Archbishop Edward J. Hanna established the new Parish of St. Cecilia in San Francisco and appointed Reverend John P. Tobin the first Pastor. Father Tobin, who was born in Ireland in 1876, ordained a priest in Baltimore, June 21, 1902, had served as assistant pastor of Mission Dolores for fourteen years before coming to the sand dunes of Parkside District. The boundaries of this newly-formed parish extended from the ocean on the west to Twin Peaks on the east and from Pacheco Street on the north to Balboa Terrace on the south, including what is now St. Francis Wood, Merritt Terrace, West Portal, Forest Hill, Sunset Terrace and Parkside District, a vast area of little more than sand dunes and vegetable gardens.