History When Richard and Mary Tobin took young Lizzie Armer into their home in the early 1860's, little did they know that she would later translate the love and devotion learned from her new family into a religious community dedicated to the care of the less fortunate. In 1872, Lizzie Armer founded the Sisters of the Holy Family and set to work caring for and ministering to needy children and adults; the lonely, the elderly, the sick, the poor and the hungry. Though the first few years were a struggle at best, Lizzie Armer forged ahead and her community soon grew. In 1878, with the financial and spiritual help of the Tobin family, the Sisters of the Holy Family opened the first Day Home at 525 Post Street in San Francisco. This was the first child care institution of its kind in this city. In The Day Home family continued to grow until 1906 when the Post Street Day Home was destroyed in the fire following the Great Earthquake. It was six years and three temporary homes later before a permanent Day Home was built. In 1911, Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt hired the architectural firm of Willis Polk & Co. to design a Mission style building at the corner of 16th Street and Dolores in the heart of the Mission District. The rambling three story building was designed especially for children, with half steps to accomodate little legs and many large windows to let the sunshine pour through. The building was completed in 1912 and given to the Sisters of the Holy Family for their permanent Day Home. Holy Family Day Home's second generation of youngsters soon filled the rooms with the sounds of laughter and child's play. "Morning songs and games" transformed these small children into birds, bees, trees and flowers. Through play, music and art, they learned about the world around them and their place in it. The children came from families in the then predominantly Irish Mission District. In addition to caring for young children, Holy Family Day Home welcomed many schoolage children back to the Home during the afterschool hours. Older girls also participated in sewing classes weekdays and Saturdays.