The San Francisco call., 1896-03-17
Rev. P. ]. Cummins Purchases
a Large Lot in the
Mission.
IT FRONTS ON THREE STREETS.
ST. Charles Borromeo Parish Will Have
a Handsome Church on Sew
enteenth Street.

lERev. P. J. Cummins, pastor OF st.
Charles Borromeo at Eighteenth and Shot
we'll streets, has decided to have hand
some new church edifice, schoolhouse ana
dwelling in his parish. With this END III
view he has purchased large piece OF real
estate in the Mission and close to the pres
ent parish church as preliminary step IN
his project for an establishment that Will
be worthy of the important and growing
pastorate of st. Charles.
The transaction through which Father
Cummins acquired the real estate was
conducted very quietly through OFarreh
& Co. On March an order confirming
the sale was issued from the Probate Court
to John J. O'Farrell.
The land belonged to the estate OF John
L. Porter and was sold through George L.
Center, executor. 1t comprises part OF the
block bounded by Folsom, Sevfnteenth,
Shotwell and Sixteenth streets. It's front
age on Seventeenth is 245 feet, stretching
from Folsom to Shotwell, on which streets
the frontage is 40 feet-so there are three
large fronts, very desirable feature for
the uses to which the site VIII be put.
The price is S23, 400, subject to a mortgage.
Last Saturday Mr.. O'Farrell transferred
the property to Father Cummins, subject
to a mortgage. At present there is large
trunk factory upon the lot, and as the
works are in operation an income can be
secured from the investment until Father
Cummins is ready to remove the buildings
to make way for his parish edifce.
The parish church now standing one
block away at the northwest corner OF
Shotwell and Eighteenth streets is COM
bination of church and schoolhouse, hav-
ing been designed as a temporary structure
that would meet all requirements. A por-
ton of it is used also as residence by the
pastor and Rev. W. 6. O'Mahony, the as
sistant rector. This building was large
enough to accommodate parishioners when
it was opened, but the parish has grown to-
such proportions in numbers the church
and school are wholly inadequate to
present demands and great inconvenience
is suffered by the people of st. Charles.
parish for that reason.
The parish was established about nine
years ago, and for many months services
were held in the hall at Seventeenth and
Howard streets until the pastor was en-
able6 to build suitable place of worship.
The seating capacity of st. Charles
Church is not much over 600. and now the
parish register has list of 1900 families.
With masses at $3.50, 7:30, and 10:30A. M.
Sundays the church is overcrowded, and
at the later services the aisles and vesti-
bules are filled. The school for boys and
girls conducted by the Sisters of the Holy
Cross is similarly oyercrowded, with about
280 pupils in all, and some classes have to
be provided for outside. The land occu-
pied by the combined buildings is not
more than half the size of the lot just pur-
chased.
Father Cummins announced recently to
his congregation that it was matter of
urgent and imperative necessity to build
large church, and he expected assistance
in the undertaking. The present building
a magnificent house of worship erected on
the large lot on Seventeenth street.