The funky-looking St. Mary’s Cathedral has a saucy afternoon side-boob secret.

Photo credit: french + tye Onlookers, be warned. Every afternoon the washing machine church (aka Saint Mary’s Cathedral) on Geary and Gough boasts a free peep show.

I’m not talking about an actual peep show, but the shadow that falls delicately on the side of church in the afternoon certainly resembles the side of a woman’s boob (or maybe the silhouette of Fat Bastard from Austin Powers… we’re not sure). These are definitely SF’s biggest pair since Carol Doda and Twin Peaks.

Photo credit: nec-ro-man-cy

“Better than the face of the Virgin Mary on any tortilla,” this secret wonder of San Francisco appears almost every afternoon sometime around 2pm or 3pm depending on the time of year, but we’ll go with 2pm because “Two O’Clock Titty.“

We’ve read about this in the past on SFist, but we were reminded of it when it was recently featured on the site The Tittie Times (yes, it’s real, and mostly NSFW). And that makes it official in our mind. And don’t ask us what we were doing reading The Tittie Times, but it was totally for work.

No boob (Photo credit: The Tittie Times)

Boob! (Photo credit: The Tittie Times)

Besides the fact that the shadow is a little risque, the church itself is an amazing sight and part of the rich architectural history of San Francisco.

The church built in 1971 was controversial at the time because of the fact that it was shaped more like a washing machine agitator than a holy place. The cathedral is the principal church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco and is absolutely gorgeous on the inside.

So this is what the inside of a boob looks like (Photo credit: french + tye)

While some have called it an eyesore in the cityscape, I find it an interesting standout and has been named one of the top 25 buildings in the city. It may feel more like a museum than a church, but it still regularly hosts sermons, mass, and organ concerts.

It’s worth planning a short afternoon trip to check out this iconic San Francisco cathedral for its overall beauty as well as the silly shadow you might be able to catch if the time is right. Yet even more evidence to support how much this city can’t get enough of public nudity.

Read more at SFist, The Tittie Times, pigdog.org, puppiesandflowers.com, Art Siegel