From the Curbed inbox: What's going on at Grace Cathedral?! Grace Cathedral, Nob Hill's crown jewel, is undergoing a massive waterproofing effort. Turns out they have some major leak issues, but most of them stem from the front stairs. The Cathedral itself sits on the former site of the Charles Crocker mansion, which was destroyed in the 1906 Earthquake and Fire. The Crockers gave the site to the Dicese of California, with an original design by noted English architect George F. Bodley. After the cornerstone was laid in 1910, local architect Lewis P. Hobart took over and changed the design, but construction didn't get underway until 1928. Consecration of the essentially completed Grace Cathedral took place in 1964, though the stairs and plaza were redone in 1995 when Gibbs Memorial Hall was demolished.
The stairs and entrance plaza are located above a bunch of underground spaces, like a preschool, conference center, restrooms, and storage areas. The area has been leaking like crazy for years, so they have to remove and replace the stairs and labyrinth on the front, as well as fixing the bases of the massive cathedral doors. Things will look pretty much the same, but they'll be replaced with more water resistant materials and new waterproofing measures.
· San Francisco Landmark #170 [SF Planning]
· Grace Cathedral Construction Projects [Grace Cathedral]