Entry No. 18 — the San Francisco file — filed under: weird monument
St. Francis of the Guns
A nearly 9-foot bronze St. Francis with arms flung open, cast by sculptor Beniamino Bufano in 1968 from 1,968 firearms Mayor Joseph Alioto collected in a voluntary gun turn-in after the King and Kennedy assassinations; the robe carries a mosaic mural of the faces of Lincoln, MLK, RFK, and JFK.
The story
In 1968, following the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto launched a voluntary gun turn-in drive. City residents handed over 1,968 firearms—a head count matching the year. Instead of scrapping the metal or dumping it into the bay, the city handed the arsenal to sculptor Beniamino Bufano, an eccentric pacifist who had famously severed his own finger decades earlier and mailed it to Woodrow Wilson to protest World War I.
Bufano melted those 1,968 rifles and pistols into molten bronze and recast them into a nine-foot-tall figure of St. Francis of Assisi with his arms flung open. Inlaid along the front of the saint’s robe is a mosaic panel featuring the faces of four assassinated American leaders: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy. It is literal swords-into-plowshares alchemy sitting out in the Bay Area wind.
Despite its backstory, the monument stands in surprising obscurity on the Ocean Campus of City College of San Francisco, right outside the entrance to Science Hall along Frida Kahlo Way (formerly Phelan Avenue). Thousands of students and commuters pass by every week without realizing the saint by the steps was poured from nearly two thousand weapons.
What it's like
Head to the CCSF Ocean Campus and look for Science Hall near the base of the outdoor campus steps. Because the statue sits in an open plaza, you can walk right up to it 24/7 without paying admission or clearing security, though you'll want daylight to pick out the mosaic portraits set into the chest. Campus parking can be tight while classes are in session, so hit the campus on a weekend or late afternoon when things quiet down, then walk over to Ocean Avenue for a local burrito.
The move: Wander the free, open Ocean Campus quad to find the statue by the Science Hall entrance, then grab a burrito on nearby Ocean Avenue — a strange little pilgrimage most SF natives have never made despite driving past the campus for years.
- 📍 Ingleside / City College of San Francisco, Ocean Campus
- 💸 Free
- ⚡ Up for anything
- 🌗 Outdoors
Where: 50 Phelan Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94112 (in front of the Science Hall)
Hours: Added 2026-07-20 — confirm current hours before you go.
Pair it with
- Seward Street Slides — Pair Bufano's heavy bronze peace monument with another neighborhood landmark born out of late-60s/70s local initiative—a pair of steep concrete slides.
- Doggie Diner Head — Continue a tour of offbeat San Francisco outdoor metal and fiberglass icons by driving over to see the last surviving Doggie Diner head.
- The Golden Fire Hydrant — Match one quiet civic monument forged out of 1960s tragedy with another piece of local history—the fire hydrant painted gold for saving the Mission in 1906.
Good to know
Where exactly is St. Francis of the Guns located?
It stands outside the entrance to Science Hall on the Ocean Campus of City College of San Francisco, located at 50 Frida Kahlo Way (formerly Phelan Avenue).
Is there an admission fee or set viewing hours?
No. It is located in an open outdoor campus quad and free to visit anytime, though visiting during daylight hours makes the mosaic work much easier to see.
How many guns were used to create the statue?
Mayor Joseph Alioto's 1968 citywide turn-in collected 1,968 firearms, all of which Bufano melted down for the bronze sculpture.
Whose faces appear on the saint's robe?
The mosaic panel on the front depicts four assassinated leaders: Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy.
Plan a visit & invite your people →
Further reading: Roadside America · Wikipedia · pilgrimage.gtu.edu · presidentsusa.net · Reddit
last checked: 2026-07-20