The founding of St. Philip the Apostle Church and Parish in 1910 satisfied the needs of a growing Roman Catholic Community in the Upper Noe Valley. There are two symbols that grace the sidewalk and street in front of the church. The shamrock painted Kelly green on the sidewalk and the matching green divider stripe on the street are reminders of the large group of Irish families who shared this part of the Valley with their German neighbors.

San Francisco grew rapidly after the devastation of the earthquake and fire, and Noe Valley began to fill up quickly. However, there was no Catholic church in the area, so to fulfill their religious obligations it was necessary for parishioners to travel more than a mile to hear Holy Mass. In 1910 the Most Reverend Patrick W. Riordan, Archbishop of San Francisco, called the Rev. John J. Cullen and gave him instructions to found this new parish in San Francisco. Father Cullen traversed the heart of the proposed parish and parts of its outskirts making a cursory map of its boundaries; he lost no time in founding St. Philip’s parish.

The parish rented an old workshop and converted it to a chapel. A lot was later purchased at the corner of Elizabeth and Diamond Streets, and a temporary church was built on Elizabeth Street in 1912. The parochial residence on Diamond was completed in 1913 in the late Gothic style, now altered. The church was later converted to a school, and another building named the Large Hall was used as the sanctuary.

Construction of the current church building was begun in 1925. John J. Foley is listed as architect. The style is Gothic Revival with asymmetrical towers at each side supported by pier buttresses. The Gothic arched entry is recessed with deeply paneled and ornamented hardwood doors. Upon entering the nave you notice the barrel vaulted ceiling supported by large Corinthian topped marbleized columns. The columns form a perfectly symmetrical space and separate the center from each side. The north and south rows of five columns are separated by Gothic arches each with an original hanging lantern. The arches are symmetrically aligned with the Gothic arched windows enclosing stained and colored glass images of selected Saints, The Virgin Mary, and Jesus.

Under leadership of Father Jerome Hannigan, who was musically inclined, the new church utilized two choir lofts in the transept to facilitate antiphonal singing. Above and below the choir lofts are beautiful windows depicting Christ in the Garden, Christ on the Cross, Christ Ascending, and Mother Mary. As a result of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965), the altar was changed in 1964 to face the people, and it was considerably simplified. The main altar and side altars of Carrara marble match in a modern style.

The church school on Elizabeth Street and convent on 24th Street were built in 1938 in the Spanish Colonial style of Mexico by noted architect Martin Rist. Mr. Rist was the architect of St. Cecilia’s at Seventeenth Avenue and Vicente, which is Mexican Colonial Revival and Romanesque in style. Father John R. Cantillon, also an Irish native, started Whist card games to raise money for the school, and they became a very popular social event in Noe Valley.

The Parish celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2010 with a centennial capital campaign that restored and preserved the building. Along with new carpeting, repairs were made to the roof, stained glass windows, and interior lighting. Mass is celebrated in both English and Spanish, and there is an Irish immigrant chaplain in residence.