Notorious SF: Church of Satan

6114 California Street, November, 2002.
The Church of Satan at 6114 California Street was in ruins and marked for demolition in 2001. The property was long the home of founder and Satanic Bible author Anton LaVey who died in 1997. LaVey was known as the Black Pope by his followers who included the Manson Family and Jane Mansfield. A natural showman, he sustained his evil act by conducting decades of rites, rituals, and curses at this location in the City. LaVey, who founded the church in 1966, was beneath it all a media character. His manifesto ascribed his own brand of dark psychological insight to a lot of the same debauchery that was happening in Northern California leading up to the Summer of Love. Though he became known all over the world, LaVey's success waned in the '80s and by the early '90s he had gone bankrupt. Current owners of the broken down black Victorian plan to build a three-unit building on the site. It is a testament to the City's housing market that developers expect no shortage of applications from renters willing to live over the doorway to Hell. If the San Franciscan is asked in a trivia game to name the father of Rosemary's Baby the San Franciscan will always answer Anton LaVey. LaVey is often given credit for the uncredited role of the Devil in Roman Polanski's classic 1968 thriller starring Mia Farrow. The Internet Movie Database credits character actor Clay Tanner in the role and names LaVey as a consultant on the film.

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Copyright 2001 Hank Donat
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