Cathedral People Profile: Michael Lampen

Michael Lampen has been at Grace Cathedral in the position of Archivist since 1982. He first came to the cathedral as a chorister in 1956. He has a BS in Geology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and is knowledgeable on the early San Francisco landscape. As the Cathedral Archivist, he is the authority on Grace Cathedral's history, fabric and furnishings. His fascination with spirituality, art and history came together at the Cathedral and he served as a tour guide starting in 1963.

“My great-great-grand uncle was the first rector for Church of the Advent, Francis McAllister,” he says, describing his family’s tradition of service to the church. “On my father’s side, my grandfather was de-facto dean of Christ Church Nassau in the Bahamas, which was a nice post, and is where my father grew up. My grandfather also wrote boys' adventure stories with titles like Queen of the Extinct Volcano. My father, who had a career as an English naval officer wore several hats on the cathedral staff and was made the first lay canon in the Episcopal Church. At age 94 (as of June 29) he still leads senior Bible Class and takes Evening Prayer services. He met my mother at a war-time dance-social in Berkeley, and they were married in the Chapel of Grace in 1945. He was posted to Australia, where my brother and I were born. When we returned to San Francisco, and we joined the choir, I had a distinct Australian twang as a young chorister.”

The archive is housed in a pair of rooms, underneath the cathedral, on the Crypt level. “We are in the west end of the crypt, below street level. It’s below the Quire, under the apse, pretty close to the organ. I get free organ concerts that filter through the ceiling, and hear people moving chairs around upstairs.”

A current project involves preparing the original blueprints of the cathedral to be cataloged. “It’s rare to have blueprints to a cathedral,” Michael explains. “These are unique. You can see fine little details in these organ screens for the Chapel of Grace. We began this process more than a year ago, and have half a year to go.”

Joan Curry, archive volunteer, has spent two years preparing the blueprints, which were drawn with oil pencil on paper. “It takes me three days to stabilize one blueprint. I come from a family of architects and carpenters who designed and built their own homes. I’m very aware of the importance of having blueprints to the cathedral building. It’s not common at all.”

The treasures of the archive are valued not only in their financial worth, but their historical significance. “The blueprints are irreplaceable. They’re one of a kind," says Lampen. "We have the hammer used to lay the ‘cornerstone’ of the Cathedral, and the axe used to symbolically open the ‘iron curtain’ to begin the completion of the Cathedral. Something really special is a collection of the parish registers for Grace Church from 1849 to 1868, and 1904. But the rector wasn’t able to save all registers in the 1906 fire. He grabbed some of the chalices, patens, and registers, put them into his child’s pram (baby carriage) and scurried with his wife across Nob Hill to safety.”

Michael Lampen’s detailed articles can be found online in Tales from the Crypt, and provide an invaluable resource for everyone who wants to learn more about Grace Cathedral and the history of San Francisco.

Michael Lampen and Joan Curry restore the blueprint for the Chapel of Grace organ screens.

Michael Lampen examines transparencies of the Ghiberti Doors.