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(KRON) — The Sacred Heart Church complex—a site dating back to the late 1800s—received an official San Francisco landmark status on Tuesday. Earning the landmark status redeems the site as one of the city’s historic landmarks and will secure its guaranteed preservation moving forward, said San Francisco district supervisor Dean Preston.
Before 2004, Catholics baptized, married, and mourned at the Sacred Heart Church for over a century. The complex is also known for its association with Father Eugene Boyle, a prominent activist and representative of the Black civil rights movement. Boyle was a pastor of the church from 1968 to 1972.
The Old Sacred Church then ceased to be a church at its final Mass on Dec. 26, 2004, when church officiants formally closed it. Now, the Romanesque-style building still retains its architecture, but with one slight change inside of the building — for the past decade, it’s been a disco-style roller rink.
Instead of holy water and choir, church visitors have had their rites of passage through roller skates and disco music. With the help of their curator, David Miles Jr., The Sacred Heart Church has been hosting The Church of Eight Wheels since 2014.
“I am proud of this historic landmarking of the Sacred Heart Parish. This was a team effort that brought together preservationists, the Planning Department, Historic Preservation Commission and the property owners,” said Supervisor Preston. “I am glad we were able to get it done, and I’m looking forward to the next chapter for this special property.”
With the site’s historic landmarking status, the owners of the Church of 8 Wheels shared with Supervisor Preston’s office that “the church should continue to be a place for beginners and pros alike to put on their skates and groove to disco music under neon lights and stained-glass windows.”
The Church of The Sacred Heart was initially built in 1897 and designed by Thomas “TJ” Welsh — an architect who has built over 400 buildings in San Francisco.
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