About

Our Mission Statement

The Mission Dolores Neighborhood Association (MDNA) was founded and exists to protect the historic resources in our neighborhood, San Francisco’s oldest residential area and a sub-area of The Mission District. Yet we also support quality new construction and design, as long as contributory buildings are not demolished or diminished in the process. In doing so, we work closely with project sponsors and architects on a regular basis. We also focus on quality of life issues, the arts, and proudly support our ethnic, cultural and economic diversity.

Neighborhood boundaries

Our neighborhood is bounded by Valencia Street on the east, Sanchez Street to 18th Street and Church Street to 20th Street on the west, 20th Street on the south, and Market Street and the Central Freeway on the north. Also included are properties along the west side of Church between 18th and 20th Streets and the south side of 20th Street between Church and Dolores Streets.

The Mission Dolores Neighborhood is a sub-area of the Inner Mission. Mission Dolores Parish is the namesake of our neighborhood, as well as the broader Mission District.

Please refer to the Mission Dolores Historic Context Statement and Survey unanimously adopted by the San Francisco Historic Preservation Commission on March 17, 2010, with an updated version and 7 historic districts unanimously adopted by HPC on July 20, 2022. This documentation can be viewed by going to the San Francisco Planning Department’s website at
https://sfplanning.org/project/mission-dolores-neighborhood-historic-contextstatement-survey.

MDNA Board Members

Aaron Phillips, EA, CEP (President)
Barbara Dwyer, medical writer (Vice President)
Peter Scott Lewis, composer (Past-President/Founder of current MDNA)
Donna Shibata, JD, MBA
Siamak Akhavan, writer and seismic engineer
Shelagh Ross, PhD
Lucia Bogatay, AIA
Patricia Algara, ASLA – Co–Founder and Principal: BASE Landscape Architecture
Steve Haigh, Past President/Victorian Alliance
Salu Ribeiro, CEO and Founder: Bay PLS
Marius Starkey, artist
Andrew Galvan, historian, Curator/Mission Dolores Church (emeritus)
Ted Scourkes, PhD (emeritus)

Consultants

San Francisco Preservation Planning Department Staff
Alice Carey and Company
Author: Mission Dolores Survey, Final Context Statement, and National Register Nomination: Bill Sugaya and Nancy Goldenberg, Directors
Carol Roland-Nawi, PhD
Author: Draft Mission Dolores Historic Context Statement
Joseph Stubbs, Graphic Artist
Mission Dolores Historic Context Statement
Vincent Marsh, Architectural Historian
Author: 523 A and B Survey Forms: Golden Gate Lutheran Church (601 Dolores)
And Second Church of Christ, Scientist (651-655 Dolores)

Website

The MDNA website is administered by MDNA. Gideon Kramer provided many of the photos on the site, designed the MDNA logo on the Home page and the plaque at Dolores & Market Street. Most of the historical photos are courtesy of the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library.

Our 501(c)(3) Fiscal Sponsor

The San Francisco Study Center
Geoff Link, Executive Director

Donations

We welcome your donations to help achieve our historic preservation goals. Please make your checks out to the San Francisco Study Center, our fiscal sponsor, stating that the funds are for the MDNA and send it to our contact address listed below. Please also include a short note stating who you are and whether you’re a member. New members are asked for a $25 membership donation. The Study Center is a 501(c3) tax exempt organization, so your donations are tax-deductible. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call or write us. You can donate to us online through the SF Study Center site: https://missiondna.wedid.it/

If you donate online and/or want to become a member, please write us an email telling us about your donation, your intentions, and include your contact information. We ask for a minimum $25.00 donation for new members. Donations received to date include the following:

$8,762 from MDNA Membership
$4,000 from Prado Group, Inc (Mission Dolores LLC) to design and produce a large bronze plaque in front of its new building at 38 Dolores and at the gateway to the Hisoric Mission Dolores Neighborhood. The plaque was designed by Board Member Gideon Kramer. (6-5-13)
$1,500 from Skyline Reality
$500 from SafeCleanGreen/Mission Dolores
$500 from Bi-Rite Market

Meetings

MDNA’s Board of Directors meet on the second Wednesday of every month from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. We sometimes take July or August off. If you’re interested in attending, please let us know by either email or phone beforehand, so we can make sure we have enough room, since our meetings are often packed. We meet at 65 Dorland (between Guerrero and Dolores).

We also have special general membership meetings.

The general public is always welcome to all our general membership meetings and our regular board meetings. If you live within the boundaries of our neighborhood and support our mission statement, we encourage you to join MDNA.

****Upcoming Meetings for 2024: The MDNA Board will be meeting on the second Wednesday of February, June, September, and November starting on February 14th at 6:30pm. (Please inform us if you’d like to attend.)

Meeting Minutes

UPCOMING EVENTS

MDNA Board Meeting – Guests Welcome

January 15, 2025 @ 8:00 am - 6:30 pm65 Dorland St, Room 304/306