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Golden Gate Park: Difference between revisions

Coordinates: 37°46′11″N 122°28′37″W / 37.76972°N 122.47694°W / 37.76972; -122.47694
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m TheTechnician27 moved page Golden Gate Park, San Francisco to Golden Gate Park over redirect: This was unilaterally moved in August with seemingly zero justification; however, Golden Gate Park is entirely unambiguously the primary topic.
 
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{{Short description|Public park in San Francisco, California, United States}}
{{About|the San Francisco city park|the regional attraction managed by the National Park Service|Golden Gate National Recreation Area|the bridge|Golden Gate Bridge }}
{{About|the public park in San Francisco|other uses|Golden Gate (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox park
{{Infobox park
|park=Golden Gate Park
| name = Golden Gate Park
| photo = California-06241 - In front of museum (20449897948).jpg
|image=Golden_gate_park_aerial.jpg|thumb
| photo_width = 300px
|image size=400px
| photo_caption = [[Spreckels Temple of Music]] and [[Music Concourse]] as seen from the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park
|caption=An aerial view (facing south) of Golden Gate Park from [[Panhandle (San Francisco)|The Panhandle]] (at far left edge of picture) to the Pacific Ocean
| type = [[Urban Park]]
|type=Municipal ([[Parks in San Francisco, California|San Francisco]])
|location=[[San Francisco]]
| location = [[San Francisco]], [[California]], [[United States]]
| map =
|size={{convert|1017|acres|km2 sqmi}}
| map_width =
|opened=1870s
| mapframe-custom = {{Maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=300|frame-height=300|zoom=11|frame-lat=37.7697|frame-long=-122.4769|type=shape|stroke-color=#000|stroke-width=1|id=Q635559|title=Golden Gate Park}}
|visitors=13 million
| coords = {{coord|37|46|11|N|122|28|37|W|Region:US-CA_type:landmark|display=inline,title}}
|status=Open all year

| area = {{convert|1,017|acre|km2}}
| opened = {{start date and age|April 4, 1870}}
| owner = [[Government of San Francisco]]
| operator = [[San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department|SF Parks]]
| visitation_num = about 24 million annually
| publictransit =
{{Unbulleted list
| {{rint|tram|1}}: {{rail-interchange|sanfrancisco|metro}} {{rint|sanfrancisco|N}}
| {{bus icon}}: {{Muni route|18}}, {{Muni route|5}}, {{Muni route|5R}}, {{Muni route|44}}, {{Muni route|33}}, {{Muni route|7}}, {{Muni route|43}}, {{Muni route|28}}
}}
| status =
| open = 24 hours
| embedded = {{Infobox NRHP
| embed = yes
| name =
| nrhp_type = hd
| nocat = yes
| image =
| caption =
| architect = [[William Hammond Hall]]<br />[[John McLaren (horticulturist)|John McLaren]]
| architecture = Olmsted, Vaux & Co.-influenced
| added = October 15, 2004
| refnum = 04001137<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2009a}}</ref>
}}
}}
}}
'''Golden Gate Park''' is an [[urban park]] between the [[Richmond District, San Francisco|Richmond]] and [[Sunset District, San Francisco|Sunset]] districts of [[San Francisco, California]], United States. It is the [[List of parks in San Francisco|second-largest park in the city]], containing {{convert|1,017|acre|ha|abbr=}}, and the third-most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 24&nbsp;million visitors annually.


The creation of a large park in San Francisco was first proposed in the 1860s. In 1865, landscape architect [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] proposed a park designed with species native to San Francisco. The plan was rejected for a [[Central Park]]-style park designed by engineer [[William Hammond Hall]]. The park was built atop shore and [[sand dunes]] in an unincorporated area known as the [[Outside Lands]]. Construction centered on planting trees and non-native grasses to stabilize the dunes that covered three-quarters of the park. The park opened in 1870.
'''Golden Gate Park''', located in [[San Francisco]], [[California]], is a large [[urban park]] consisting of {{convert|1017|acres|km2 sqmi}} of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than [[Central Park]] in New York, to which it is often compared. With 13 million visitors annually, Golden Gate is the third most visited city park in the United States.<ref>after [[Central Park]] in New York City and [[Lincoln Park]] in Chicago</ref>

Main attractions include cultural institutions such as the [[De Young (museum)|De Young Museum]], [[California Academy of Sciences]], and the [[Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco)|Japanese Tea Garden]]; attractions such as the [[Conservatory of Flowers]], the [[San Francisco Botanical Garden]], the [[Beach Chalet]], the [[Golden Gate Park windmills]], and the [[National AIDS Memorial Grove]]. Recreational activities include bicycling, pedal boating, and concerts and events such as [[Outside Lands (festival)|Outside Lands]] music festival and [[Hardly Strictly Bluegrass]]. Golden Gate Park is accessible by car and by public transportation.

Golden Gate Park earned the designation of [[National Historic Landmark]] and of [[California Register of Historical Resources|California Historic Resource]] in 2004. The park is administered by the [[San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department]], which began in 1871 to oversee the park's development. Golden Gate Park is over three miles ({{convert|3|mi|abbr=out|disp=output only}}) long east to west, and about half a mile ({{convert|0.5|mi|abbr=out|1|disp=output only}}) north to south.<ref>{{Citation |author=San Francisco Board of Park Commissioners |title=Third Biennial Report of the San Francisco Park Commissioners |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P2MdAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA55 |page=55 |year=1875 |location=San Francisco, California |publisher=Edward Bosqqui & Company}}.</ref>


[[File:Rainbow Falls in GGP.jpg|Rainbow Falls|thumb|300px]]
==History==
==History==
===Development===
[[Image:Conservatory of Flowers in GGP SF.jpg|right|thumb|The domed [[Conservatory of Flowers]] is one of the world's largest. It is built of traditional wood sash and glass pane construction. It has been extensively renovated several times since its construction.]]
{{OSM Location map
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|caption=Map of notable attractions at Golden Gate Park
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|mark-size1=15
|mark-coord1 = {{coord|37|46|12|N|122|27|41|W}}
|mark-title1 = [[AIDS Memorial Grove]]
|mark-coord2 = {{coord|37.7694596|-122.5102037}}
|mark-title2 = [[Beach Chalet]]
|mark-coord3 = {{coord|37.7682633|-122.4699716}}
|mark-title3 = [[San Francisco Botanical Garden|Botanical Garden]]
|mark-coord4 = {{coord|37.7701|-122.466407}}
|mark-title4 = [[California Academy of Sciences]]
|mark-coord5 = {{coord|37|46|19.2|N|122|27|36|W}}
|mark-title5 = [[Conservatory of Flowers]]
|mark-coord6 = {{coord|37.771389|-122.468611}}
|mark-title6 = [[de Young Museum]]
|mark-coord7 = {{coord|37.770732|-122.509403}}
|mark-title7 = [[Dutch Windmill (Golden Gate Park)|Dutch Windmill]]
|mark-coord8 = {{coord|37.770122|-122.470231}}
|mark-title8 = [[Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco)|Japanese Tea Garden]]
|mark-coord9 = {{coord|37.767|-122.456}}
|mark-title9 = [[Kezar Stadium]]
|mark-coord10 = {{coord|37|46|13|N|122|28|56|W}}
|mark-title10 = [[Lloyd Lake (San Francisco)|Lloyd Lake]]
|mark-coord11 = {{coord|37.77064|-122.46749}}
|mark-title11 = [[Music Concourse]]
|mark-coord12 = {{coord|37.764|-122.508}}
|mark-title12 = [[Murphy Windmill]]
|mark-coord13 = {{Coord|37.7684|-122.493}}
|mark-title13 = [[Polo Fields]]
|mark-coord14 = {{Coord|37.7711061|-122.4941872}}
|mark-title14 = [[Spreckels Lake]]
|mark-coord15 = {{coord|37.7685412|-122.4755271}}
|mark-title15 = [[Strawberry Hill (San Francisco)|Strawberry Hill]]
|mark-coord16 = {{coord|37.7706|-122.4771}}
|mark-title16 = [[Blue Heron Lake Boathouse]]
}}


In the 1860s, San Franciscans began to feel the need for a spacious public park similar to Central Park that was taking shape in New York. Golden Gate Park was carved out of unpromising sand and shore dunes that were known as the "outside lands" in an unincorporated area west of then-San Francisco's borders. Although the park was conceived under the guise of recreation, the underlying justification was to attract housing development and provide for the westward expansion of The City. The tireless field engineer [[William Hammond Hall]] prepared a survey and topographic map of the park site in 1870 and became commissioner in 1871. He was later named California's first State Engineer and developed an integrated [[flood control]] system for the [[Sacramento Valley]] when he was not working on Golden Gate Park.
In the 1860s, San Franciscans felt the need for a spacious public park similar to [[Central Park]], which was then taking shape in [[New York City]]. Golden Gate Park was carved out of unpromising sand and shore dunes that were known as the [[Outside Lands]], in an unincorporated area west of San Francisco's then-current borders. In 1865, [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] proposed a plan for a park using native species suited for San Francisco's dry climate; however, the proposal was rejected in favor of a Central Park-style park needing extensive irrigation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-young-olmsted-drought-golden-gate-park-20150920-story.html |title=Op-Ed: The great park San Francisco needed — but rejected |first=Terence |last=Young |date=September 20, 2015 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Conceived ostensibly for recreation, the underlying purpose of the park was housing development and the westward expansion of the city. Field engineer [[William Hammond Hall]] prepared a survey and topographic map of the park site in 1870 and became its commissioner in 1871. He was later named California's first state engineer and developed an integrated [[flood control]] system for the [[Sacramento Valley]]. The park drew its name from the nearby [[Golden Gate]] Strait.


The actual plan and planting were developed by Hall and his assistant, [[John McLaren (gardener)|John McLaren]], who had apprenticed in Scotland, the homeland of many of the nineteenth century's best professional gardeners. The initial plan called for grade separations of transverse roadways through the park, as [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] had provided for Central Park, but budget constraints and the positioning of the Arboretum and the Concourse ended the plan. In 1876, the plan was almost exchanged for a racetrack favored by "[[The Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)|the Big Four]]" millionaires, [[Leland Stanford]], [[Mark Hopkins]], [[Collis P. Huntington]], and [[Charles Crocker]]. Hall resigned and the remaining park commissioners followed him. The original plan, however, was back on track by 1886, when [[streetcars]] delivered over 47,000 people to Golden Gate Park on one weekend afternoon (the city's population at the time was about 250,000). Hall selected McLaren as his successor in 1887.
The plan and planting were developed by Hall and his assistant, [[John McLaren (gardener)|John McLaren]], who had apprenticed in Scotland, home of many of the 19th-century's best professional gardeners. John McLaren, when asked by the Park Commission if he could make Golden Gate Park "one of the beauty spots of the world," replied saying, "With your aid gentleman, and God be willing, that I shall do." He also promised that he'd "go out into the country and walk along a stream until he found a farm, and that he'd come back to the garden and recreate what nature had done."<ref name=":0" /> The initial plan called for grade separations of transverse roadways through the park, as [[Frederick Law Olmsted]] had provided for Central Park, but budget constraints and the positioning of the Arboretum and the Concourse ended the plan. In 1876, the plan was almost replaced by one for a racetrack, favored by "[[The Big Four (Central Pacific Railroad)|the Big Four]]" millionaires: [[Leland Stanford]], [[Mark Hopkins Jr.|Mark Hopkins]], [[Collis P. Huntington]], and [[Charles Crocker]]. Stanford, who was president of the [[Southern Pacific Railroad]], was also one of the owners of the Ocean Railroad Company, which ran from Haight Street across the park to its south border, then out to the beach and north to a point near Cliff House. It was Gus Mooney who claimed land adjacent to the park on Ocean Beach. Many of Mooney's friends also staked claims and built shanties on the beach to sell refreshments to the patrons of the park. Hall resigned, and the remaining park commissioners followed. In 1882 Governor [[George C. Perkins]] appointed [[Frank M. Pixley]], founder and editor of [[The Argonaut]], to the board of commissioners of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Pixley was adamant that the Mooney's shanties be eliminated, and he found support with the San Francisco Police for park security. Pixley favored Stanford's company by granting a fifty-year lease on the route that closed the park on three sides to competition.<ref>John L. Levinsohn, "Frank Morrison Pixley of The Argonaut," The Book club of San Francisco, 1989.</ref> The original plan, however, was back on track by 1886, when [[streetcars]] delivered over 47,000 people to Golden Gate Park on one weekend afternoon (out of a population of 250,000 in the city).


The first stage of the park's development centered on planting trees in order to stabilize the dunes that covered three-quarters of the park's area. In order to transform the sand dunes into Greenland, John McLaren grew bent grass seeds obtained from France for two years. Once the seeds were grown, he planted them over the sand to hold the ground together. After this success, McLaren introduced new species of plants to the land, and added over 700 new types of trees to California within the span of one year.<ref name=":12x">{{Cite book|title=The Immortal San Franciscans for Whom the Streets Were Named|last=Block|first=Eugene B.|publisher=Chronicle Books|pages=191–194|lccn=72161029|ol=OL5318097M|year=1971}}</ref> By 1875, about 60,000 trees, mostly [[Eucalyptus globulus]], [[Monterey pine]], and [[Monterey cypress]], had been planted. By 1879, that figure more than doubled to 155,000 trees over {{convert|1000 |acre|abbr=on}}. Within his lifetime, McLaren is credited to have planted over two million trees within northern California as a whole. Another accomplishment of John McLaren is his creation of an open walking space along the Pacific shoreline on the western boundary of the park. Despite obstacles such as heavy tides and winds that carried sand inland towards the park, McLaren was able to build an [[esplanade]] by stacking thousands of tree boughs over the course of 20 years.<ref name=":12x" />
[[File:GGParkNorthWindmill2.jpg|thumb|left|North Windmill in Golden Gate Park. Built in 1903, it was used to pump water throughout the park. The blades seen here were used to carry canvas sails.]]
The first stage stabilized the ocean dunes that covered three-quarters of the park area with tree plantings. By 1875, about 60,000 trees, mostly [[Blue Gum Eucalyptus]], [[Monterey pine]] and [[Monterey cypress]], were planted. By 1879, that figure more than doubled to 155,000 trees over 1,000 acres (4&nbsp;km²). Later McLaren scoured the world through his correspondents for trees. When McLaren refused to retire at age 60, as was customary, the San Francisco city government was bombarded with letters: when he reached 70, a charter amendment was passed to exempt him from forced retirement. He lived in [[McLaren Lodge]] in Golden Gate Park until he died at age 96, in 1943.


When he refused to retire at the customary age of 60 the San Francisco city government was bombarded with letters: when he reached 70, a charter amendment was passed to exempt him from forced retirement. On his 92nd birthday, two thousand San Franciscans attended a testimonial dinner that honored him as San Francisco's number one citizen. He lived in [[San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department|McLaren Lodge]] in Golden Gate Park until he died in 1943, aged 96. McLaren Avenue, <!-- San Francisco, CA 94121, --> in [[Sea Cliff, San Francisco, California|Sea Cliff]], near [[Lincoln Park (San Francisco)|Lincoln Park]] is named after him.<ref name=":12x" />
In 1903, a pair of Dutch-style [[windmill]]s were built at the extreme western end of the park. These pumped water throughout the park. The north windmill has been restored to its original appearance and is adjacent to a flower garden, a gift of [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina]] of the Netherlands. These are planted with [[tulip]] bulbs for winter display and other flowers in appropriate seasons. Murphy's Windmill in the south of the park is currently being restored.


In 1903, a pair of Dutch-style [[windmill]]s were built at the extreme western end of the park. These pumped water throughout the park. The north windmill was restored to its original appearance in 1981 and is adjacent to Queen Wilhelmina tulip garden, a gift of [[Wilhelmina of the Netherlands|Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.golden-gate-park.com/queen-wilhelmina-tulip-garden.html |title=Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden |website=Golden Gate Park.com |date=March 2011 |access-date=January 28, 2015 |archive-date=January 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120122739/http://www.golden-gate-park.com/queen-wilhelmina-tulip-garden.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> These are planted with [[tulip]] [[bulb]]s for winter display and other flowers in appropriate seasons. The Murphy Windmill in the southwest corner of the park was restored in September 2011.
Most of the water used for landscape watering and for various water features is now provided by groundwater from the City's Westside Basin Aquifer. However, the use of highly processed and recycled [[effluent]] from the city's sewage treatment plant, located at the beach some miles away to the south near the [[San Francisco Zoo]] is planned for the near future. In the 1950s the use of this effluent during cold weather caused some consternation, with the introduction of artificial detergents but before the advent of modern biodegradable products. These "hard" detergents would cause long-lasting billowing piles of foam to form on the creeks connecting the artificial lakes and could even be blown onto the roads, forming a traffic hazard.


=== 1906 earthquake relief ===
Golden Gate Park is adjacent to [[Haight-Ashbury]], and it was the site of the [[Human Be-In]] of 1967, preceding the [[Summer of Love]]. The tradition of large, free public gatherings in the park continues to the present, especially at [[Speedway Meadow]]. One of the largest events held annually at the park starting in 2001 has been the [[Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival]] (formerly the "Strictly Bluegrass Festival"), a free festival held in October. Speedway Meadow also plays host to a number of large-scale events such as the 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival held by musician and filmmaker Michael Franti with Guerrilla Management.
[[File:Camp in Golden Gate Park Under Military Control After the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake.jpg|thumb|upright=1|alt=San Francisco residents in temporary shelters in Golden Park after the 1906 earthquake|Temporary shelters after the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]].]]


After the great earthquake of San Francisco in 1906, Golden Gate Park became a site of refuge for many who found themselves without shelter. The undeveloped Outside Lands became a prime location to house these masses of people, and "earthquake shacks" popped up all throughout the area. Of the 26 official homeless encampments in the Golden Gate Park region, 21 were under the control of the United States Army.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/prsf/learn/historyculture/1906-earthquake-relief-efforts-living-accommodations.htm|title=1906 Earthquake: Refugee Camps – Presidio of San Francisco (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=December 5, 2017}}</ref>
==Major features==


The United States Army housed 20,000 people in military style encampments, and 16,000 of the 20,000 refugees were living at the [[Presidio of San Francisco|Presidio]].<ref name=":02" /> Within the Presidio were four major encampments including a camp exclusively for Chinese immigrants.<ref name=":02" /> Despite being simple lodgings, the army organized 3,000 tents into a geometric grid complete with streets and addresses.<ref name=":02" /> "The Army constructed a virtual town with large residential barracks [with temporary] tented housing, latrines and bathhouses, laundries, and other services."
===Kezar Stadium===
{{Main|Kezar Stadium}}


Not only was the standard of military organization high, but the social organization was also at an acceptable standard despite the aftermath of the earthquake and fires. Reports indicate that small communities formed within the tent neighborhoods. The children of the refugees established play areas, and the adults congregated in the mess halls to socialize.<ref name=":02" />
[[Kezar Stadium]] was built between 1922 and 1925 in the southeast corner of the park. It hosted various athletic competitions and became the home stadium of the [[San Francisco 49ers]] of the [[All-America Football Conference|AAFC]] and [[NFL]] from 1946 to 1970, also hosting the [[Oakland Raiders]] of the [[American Football League|AFL]] for one season in 1960. The old 59,000-seat stadium was demolished in 1989 and replaced with a modern 9,044-seat stadium, but includes a replica of the original concrete arch at the entryway. It has been used in recent years for soccer, lacrosse, and track and field and is the host of the annual city high school football championship.


In June 1906, the Presidio tent camps were shut down. To replace these tents the city of San Francisco built more permanent living quarters. As mentioned earlier these earthquake shacks were built to house those still homeless after the earthquake and subsequent fires. Army Union carpenters built the shacks, and residents paid off the cost of construction at a rate of two dollars a month for twenty-five months.<ref name=":02" />

===Early 20th century===
[[File:Kezar Stadium (3540115697) (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Kezar Stadium]] was the home of the [[San Francisco 49ers]] for two decades.]]
During the Great Depression, the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department ran out of public funds. Thus, the duties of the department were transferred to the [[Works Progress Administration|Works Progress Administration (WPA)]], a government program designed to provide employment and community improvements during the economic woes of the 1930s. Within the park, the WPA was responsible for the creation of several features such as the Arboretum, the archery field, and the model yacht club. In addition, the WPA reconstructed 13 miles of roads throughout the park and built the San Francisco Police Department's horse stables. Another WPA contribution, Anglers Lodge and the adjoining fly casting pools, is still in use today. It is home to the Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club (formerly known as the San Francisco Fly Casting Club). The horseshoe pits were also created by WPA employees.<ref name="FoundSF">{{cite web|last1=Keegan|first1=Timothy|title=W.P.A. Construction in San Francisco (1935–1942)|website=foundsf.org|url=http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=W.P.A._Construction_in_San_Francisco_(1935-1942)|date=Spring 2003|access-date=December 1, 2017}}</ref> The pits also came with two sculptures, one of a gentleman tossing a horse shoe and one of a white horse (which has since crumbled), both created by artist Jesse S. "Vet" Anderson.<ref>"Playing Horse Shoes in Golden Gate Park." Golden Gate Park, April 19, 2016, goldengatepark.com/horseshoe-pits.html.</ref>

Most of the water used for landscape watering and for various water features is now{{When|date=January 2015}} provided by groundwater from the city's Westside Basin Aquifer.<ref name=westside>{{cite news | url=http://cityparksurvey.tpl.org/reports/report_display.asp?rid=27 | publisher=San Francisco Public Utilities Commission | title=Groundwater | year=2011 | access-date=March 4, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203003753/http://cityparksurvey.tpl.org/reports/report_display.asp?rid=27 | archive-date=December 3, 2013 | url-status=dead }}</ref> In the 1950s, the use of this effluent during cold weather caused some consternation, with the introduction of artificial [[detergent]]s but before the advent of modern biodegradable products. These "hard" detergents would cause long-lasting billowing piles of foam to form on the creeks connecting the artificial lakes and could even be blown onto the roads, forming a traffic hazard.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}

===Summer of Love ===
{{main|Summer of Love }}
[[File:Bhaktivedanta Swami with Jagannath in Golden Gate Park, February 1967.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]] leader [[Bhaktivedanta Swami]] in Golden Gate Park, 1967.]]
Golden Gate Park is recognized as the birthplace of the [[Summer of Love]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Butler |first1=Kirstin |title=When the "Summer of Love" Took over San Francisco |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/when-summer-love-took-over-san-francisco/ |website=PBS |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> On January 14, 1967, the [[Human Be-In]] was held in the [[Polo Fields]]. Organized by artist [[Michael Bowen (artist)|Michael Bowen]], the event was attended by almost 30,000 people.<ref name="5 Groovy Sites">{{cite web |last1=Gupton |first1=Nancy |title=5 Groovy Sites From San Francisco's Summer of Love |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/summer-of-love |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412064213/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/summer-of-love |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 12, 2021 |website=National Geographic |date=July 26, 2017 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> Famous artists such as [[Gary Snyder]] and [[Allen Ginsberg]] were in attendance, as calls for alternative lifestyles and expanded consciousness reflected the [[countercultural]] attitudes of the period.<ref name="50 years ago">{{cite web |last1=Wünsch |first1=Silke |title=How the Summer of Love came to San Francisco 50 years ago |url=https://www.dw.com/en/how-the-summer-of-love-came-to-san-francisco-50-years-ago/a-40236165 |website=DW |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> At the event, psychologist [[Timothy Leary]] coined the phrase "[[Turn on, tune in, drop out]]."<ref name="50 years ago"/> Several months later, [[Scott McKenzie]]'s "[[San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)]]" became an anthem for the Summer of Love.<ref name="5 Groovy Sites"/> The eastern end of the Park was the epicenter of the Summer of Love, with an estimated 100,000 youth visiting the [[Haight-Ashbury]] district, where they embraced communal living and counter-establishment values.<ref>{{cite news |title=What was the summer of love? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2007/may/27/escape |newspaper=The Observer |date=May 26, 2007 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> [[Hippie Hill]] was a central meeting place, and renowned artists like [[Janis Joplin]], the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], and [[George Harrison]] performed free concerts there during the Summer of Love.<ref name="5 Groovy Sites"/><ref>{{Cite book|title=The Haight: Love, Rock, And Revolution|last=Selvin|first=Joel|publisher=Insight Editions|year=2014|location=San Rafael, California|pages=38, 70, 106}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Fong-Torres |first1=Ben |title=Harrison had love-Haight relationship with S.F. / Former Beatle bolstered Free Clinic, but found hippies 'hideous' |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/radiowaves/article/Harrison-had-love-Haight-relationship-with-S-F-2847011.php |website=SFGATE |date=December 2, 2001 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref>

=== Recent history ===
In 1983, [[Queen Elizabeth II]] visited Golden Gate Park during a tour of the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]. Her stop included a dinner at the [[De Young Museum]], attended by then-President [[Ronald Reagan]], [[Willie Mays]], [[George Lucas]], [[Joe DiMaggio]], and [[Steve Jobs]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ross |first1=Martha |title=Queen Elizabeth faced assassination threat during 1983 San Francisco visit, FBI reveals |url=https://www.mercurynews.com/2023/05/26/queen-elizabeth-faced-assassination-threat-during-1983-san-francisco-visit-fbi-reveals/ |website=The Mercury News |date=May 26, 2023 |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nemy |first1=Enid |title=REAGANS HOSTS AT BANQUET FOR QUEEN AT GLITTERING MUSEUM IN SAN FRANCISCO |work=The New York Times |date=March 4, 1983 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/04/us/reagans-hosts-at-banquet-for-queen-at-glittering-museum-in-san-francisco.html |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref> About three blocks away from the museum, 5,000 people protested the Queen's visit due to Britain's role in [[The Troubles]] in [[Northern Ireland]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chamings |first1=Andrew |title=Queen Elizabeth II's 'spectacular' 1983 San Francisco trip was marred by tragedy |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/Queen-Elizabeth-II-1983-sf-trip-17428346.php |website=SFGATE |date=September 8, 2022 |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref> In 2023, the [[FBI]] revealed an assassination plot against the Queen during her visit.<ref>{{cite web |title=Plot to kill Queen Elizabeth II during 1983 San Francisco visit revealed in FBI documents |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/queen-elizabeth-ii-fbi-san-francisco-1983-plot/ |website=CBS News |date=May 26, 2023 |access-date=8 September 2023}}</ref>

Today, Golden Gate Park is one of San Francisco's core attractions, drawing more than 24 million visitors each year.<ref>{{cite web |title=Getting to Golden Gate Park |url=https://sfrecpark.org/1159/Getting-to-Golden-Gate-Park |website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> It hosts several annual music and arts festivals, including [[Outside Lands (festival)|Outside Lands]] and [[Hardly Strictly Bluegrass]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Veronin |first1=Nick |title=New Plans Unveiled for More Live Music in Golden Gate Park |url=https://sfstandard.com/2023/05/12/another-planet-will-bring-more-live-music-to-golden-gate-park-if-mayors-plan-approved/ |website=The San Francisco Standard |date=May 12, 2023 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> Notable [[Outside Lands festival lineups|Outside Lands headliners]] have included [[Radiohead]], [[Paul McCartney]], [[Kendrick Lamar]], [[Elton John]], [[The Weeknd]], [[Billie Eilish]], [[Tyler, the Creator]], and [[SZA]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Vaziri |first1=Aidan |title=Outside Lands marks ten years |url=https://projects.sfchronicle.com/2017/outside-lands-timeline/ |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=25 August 2023}}</ref>

Following the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the San Francisco Bay Area|COVID-19 pandemic]], the Park became an epicenter of debate on which public city spaces should be made permanent [[Pedestrian zone|car-free zones]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Grabar |first1=Henry |title=What Happens When an Entire City Votes on Closing a Street to Cars |url=https://slate.com/business/2022/11/san-franciso-jfk-drive-cars-bicycles-proposition-j.html |journal=Slate |date=November 11, 2022 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> In 2022, the [[San Francisco Board of Supervisors|Board of Supervisors]] voted 7-4 to keep the eastern section of John F. Kennedy Drive permanently car-free,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Morris |first1=J.D. |title=Golden Gate Park's JFK Drive will stay permanently car-free after S.F. supes vote following marathon meeting |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/car-free-JFK-Drive-17126175.php |access-date=4 May 2024 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=27 April 2022 |ref=sfchron-jfk-apr2022}}</ref> a decision affirmed later that year by voters who defeated a ballot initiative which sought to revert the change.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wynkoop |first1=Olivia |title=Golden Gate Park's JFK Drive will stay closed to vehicle traffic as SF voters approve Prop. I |url=https://localnewsmatters.org/2022/11/09/golden-gate-parks-jfk-drive-will-stay-closed-to-vehicle-traffic-as-sf-voters-approve-prop-i/ |website=Local News Matters |date=November 9, 2022 |access-date=24 August 2023}}</ref> The section was subsequently renamed "JFK Promenade."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cano |first1=Ricardo |title=JFK Drive will remain car-free after S.F. voters reject Prop. I, pass Prop. J |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/election/article/JFK-Drive-will-remain-car-free-after-S-F-voters-17570182.php |access-date=4 May 2024 |work=San Francisco Chronicle |date=9 November 2022}}</ref>

{{clear}}
{{wide image|Golden gate park aerial.jpg|900px|Panoramic view of Golden Gate Park from an airplane|align-cap=center}}

==Music Concourse area==
{{main|Music Concourse}}
[[File:Golden Gate Park - Spreckels Temple of Music 02.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Spreckels Temple of Music]] on the [[Music Concourse]]]]

The [[Music Concourse]] is a sunken, oval-shaped open-air plaza originally excavated for the [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894]]. Its focal point is the [[Spreckels Temple of Music]], also called the "Bandshell", where numerous music performances have been staged. During the fall, spring, and summer seasons, various food trucks are often parked behind the Bandshell, providing local food options to visitors of the Music Concourse. Parkwide bicycle and surrey rentals are also available behind the bandshell and at Haight and Stanyan on the east edge of Golden Gate Park. The area also includes a number of statues of various historic figures, four fountains, and a regular grid array of heavily [[pollarded]] trees. Since 2003, the Music Concourse has undergone a series of improvements to include an underground 800-car parking garage and pedestrianization of the plaza itself. It is surrounded by various cultural attractions, including:

===De Young Museum===
{{Main|De Young (museum)}}
[[File:De young museum.JPG|thumb|upright=1|The new [[M. H. de Young Memorial Museum]] opened in 2005.]]
[[File:De Young sphinx.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The sphinx outside the De Young]]

Named after [[M. H. de Young]], the [[San Francisco]] newspaper magnate, the [[De Young Museum]] is a fine arts museum that was opened in January 1921. Its original building, the Fine Arts Building, was part of the [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894|1894 Midwinter Exposition]], of which Mr. de Young was the director. The Fine Arts Building featured several artists, twenty-eight of whom were female. One of these revolutionaries was [[Helen Hyde]], who is featured in the De Young Museum today. Once the fair ended, the Egyptian-styled building remained open "brimful and running over with art." Most of these pieces were paintings and sculptures purchased by De Young himself, and others were donations of household antiques from the older community, which were "more sentimental than artistic." By 1916, the Fine Arts Building's collection had grown to 1,000,000 items, and a more suitable museum was necessary.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Golden Gate: The Park of a Thousand Vistas|last = Wilson|first = Katherine|publisher = The Caxton Printers|year = 1950|location = Caldwell, Idaho|pages = 52–58}}</ref>

Construction to build a new museum began in 1917. With funds donated by De Young, and [[Louis Christian Mullgardt|Louis Mullgardt]] as head architect, the De Young Museum was completed in 1921 in a "sixteenth century [[Spanish Renaissance]] design, with pale salmon colored façades that were burdened with rococo ornamentation." At its center was a 134-foot tower from which its wings extended. At the entrance was the Pool of Enchantment, which consisted of the sculptured Indian boys created by [[Melvin Earl Cummings|M. Earl Cummings]]. The museum contained four wings: the East Wing (featuring ever-changing paintings, sculptures and photography by artists such as [[Vincent van Gogh|Vincent Van Gogh]]); the Central Wing (famous American and European work); the Northeast wing (Asian collections); and the West Wing (artistic history of San Francisco).<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title = San Francisco|last = Work Projects|first = Administration|publisher = Hastings House Publishing|year = 1947|location = New York, New York|pages = 338–342}}</ref>

The original De Young Memorial Museum stood for most of the twentieth century, until 2001 when it was completely rebuilt, reopening in 2005. The head-architects, [[Herzog & de Meuron|Jacques Herzog]] and [[Herzog & de Meuron|Pierre de Meuron]], when asked about their design, said they wanted to create a place "where the art would be less hierarchically presented – more like contemporary art than like bijoux."<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title = Architect: The Work of the Pritzker Prize Laureates in Their Own Words|last = Petalson|first = Ruth|publisher = Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers|year = 2010|location = New York, New York|pages = 118–121}}</ref> The building is mostly constructed of copper, and its unique design was created with the idea that the "building would be enhanced not only by sunlight but also by San Francisco's constant fog."<ref name=":5" /> Since the opening of the De Young in 1921, its galleries have mostly changed, but some of the art originally featured during the fair and in the early twentieth century still exists in the museum today. The galleries of [[Asian Art Museum of San Francisco|Asian art]] have since been relocated, but the De Young still features American art, Modern art, African art, textiles and sculptures, and special alternating exhibitions.

===Academy of Sciences===
{{Main|California Academy of Sciences}}
[[File:California Academy of Sciences (TK2).JPG|thumb|upright=1|The [[California Academy of Sciences]].]]

The California Academy of Sciences was founded in 1853, just three years after California was made a state, making it the oldest scientific institution in the western United States. Evolutionist [[Charles Darwin]] corresponded on the initial organization of the early institution.<ref>{{Cite book|title = San Francisco's Golden Gate Park|last = Pollock|first = Christopher|publisher = Graphic Arts Center Publishing Company|year = 2001|location = Portland, Oregon|pages = 59–61}}</ref> The original museum consisted of eleven buildings built between 1916 and 1976 located on the former site of the [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894|1894 Midwinter Fair]]'s Mechanical Arts Building in Golden Gate Park.<ref name=":8" /> The structure was largely destroyed in the 1989 earthquake and just three of the original buildings were conserved for the new construction: the African Hall, the North American Hall, and the [[Steinhart Aquarium]].<ref name=":8">{{Cite web|title = Renzo Piano Building Workshop – Projects – By Type – California Academy of Sciences|url = http://www.rpbw.com/project/68/california-academy-of-sciences/|website = www.rpbw.com|access-date = November 24, 2015|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151125123724/http://www.rpbw.com/project/68/california-academy-of-sciences/|archive-date = November 25, 2015|df = mdy-all}}</ref> The new building opened in 2008 at the same location in the park. The present building encompasses 37,000 square meters<ref name=":8" /> and includes exhibits of natural history, aquatic life, astronomy, gems and minerals, and earthquakes.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|title = California Academy of Sciences Museum|url = http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2707.html|website = www.u-s-history.com|access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref>

The academy also contains a 2.5-acre living roof with almost 1.7 million native California plants<ref name=":2" /> and domes that cover the planetarium and rainforest exhibitions. The soil of the roof is six inches deep, which reduces storm water runoff by more than 90%<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title = Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes|url = http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/cas.html|website = www.asla.org|access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref> and naturally cools the interior of the museum, thereby reducing the need for air-conditioning. The glass panels of the living roof also contain cells that collect more than 5% of the electricity needed to power the museum.<ref name=":8" /> Due to its eco-friendly materials and natural sources of energy, the California Academy of Sciences has been named the country's only LEED-platinum certified museum, granted by the [[U.S. Green Building Council]].<ref name=":2" />

===Japanese Tea Garden===
{{Main|Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco)}}
[[File:Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The [[Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco, California)|Japanese Tea Garden]] opened in 1894.]]
[[File:San Francisco - Golden Gate Park Japanese Tea Garden "Half Moon Bridge" (1106699894).jpg|thumb|upright=1|Moon bridge at the [[Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco)|Japanese Tea Garden]]]]

The [[Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco)|Japanese Tea Garden]] is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States and occupies five of the 1,017 acres (412 ha) of the Golden Gate Park.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Renzo Piano Building Workshop – Projects – By Type – California Academy of Sciences|url = http://www.rpbw.com/project/68/california-academy-of-sciences/|website = www.rpbw.com|accessdate = 2015-11-24|url-status=dead|archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20151125123724/http://www.rpbw.com/project/68/california-academy-of-sciences/|archivedate = November 25, 2015|df = mdy-all}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/812931558 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/812931479 cite #15 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref> It stands adjacent to the [[De Young (museum)|de Young Museum]] and is rumored to be the introduction site of the [[fortune cookie]] to America.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Designing Our Future: Sustainable Landscapes|url = http://www.asla.org/sustainablelandscapes/cas.html|website = www.asla.org|accessdate = 2015-11-24}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/812931558 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/812931479 cite #17 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref>

George Turner Marsh, an Australian immigrant, originally created the garden as a "Japanese Village" exhibit for the [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894|1894 Midwinter Exposition]].<ref name=":14">James R. Smith, "California Midwinter International Exposition-1894," from San Francisco's Lost Landmarks (Word Dancer Press, 2005): pp.111–126</ref> Following the fair, a handshake agreement with John McLaren would allow Japanese horticulturalist Makoto Hagiwara to take over the garden. Hagiwara would oversee modifications in the garden's transition from a temporary exhibit to a permanent installment within the park. Hagiwara and his family would continue to occupy the garden, maintaining the landscape and design of the garden until 1942.<ref name=":13x">{{Cite book|title=San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories|last=Pollock|first=Christopher|publisher=West Winds Press|year=2001|pages=76}}</ref>

Hagiwara himself died in 1925, leaving the garden in the hands of his daughter, Takano Hagiwara, and her children. They lived there until 1942, when they were evicted from the gardens and forced into internment camps by way of [[Executive Order 9066]]. During World War II, anti-Japanese sentiment led to the renaming of the garden as the "Oriental Tea Garden". After the war, a letter-writing campaign enabled the garden to be formally reinstated as the Japanese Tea Garden in 1952.<ref name=":13x" /> In January 1953, "a classical Zen garden was added to the Tea Garden" as well as the Lantern of Peace. The Lantern of Peace, weighing 9,000 pounds, was a gift from the Japanese Government as a way to mend the relationship between the U.S. and Japan that was damaged from World War II.<ref name=":13x" /> In addition, a plaque, designed by [[Ruth Asawa]], now stands at the entrance of the gardens as a tribute meant to honor Hagiwara and his family for their care-taking of the gardens.<ref name=":14" /> The garden also still has features such as the Drum Bridge and the [[Tea house|Tea House]] from the Midwinter Exposition.<ref>{{Cite web|title = California Academy of Sciences Museum|url = http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2707.html|website = www.u-s-history.com|accessdate = 2015-11-24}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/812931558 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/812931479 cite #16 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref>

As is typical among Japanese style tea gardens, the Golden Gate Park's tea garden has its own stepping stone pathways, stone lanterns, and variety of plants.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Japanese Tea Garden|last=Keane|first=Marc P.|publisher=Stone Bridge Press|year=2009|pages=201–236}}</ref> In the mix there are dwarf trees, bamboo, and azaleas adorning the gardens.

The Japanese Tea Garden serves as a spot of tranquility in the middle of the various activities that take place at the Golden Gate Park<ref>{{Cite web|title = Golden Gate Park Guide {{!}} San Francisco Recreation and Park|url = http://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/golden-gate-park-guide/|website = sfrecpark.org|accessdate = 2015-11-24}} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/812931558 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/812931479 cite #18 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref> and provides visitors "a place in which it is possible to be at one with nature, its rhythms, and changing beauties."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Kendall H. |title=Rashômo: The Multiple Histories of the Japanese Tea Garden at Golden Gate Park |publisher=Studies in the History of Gardens & Designed Landscapes |year=1998 |isbn= |location= |pages= |language=en-us}}{{verify source|date=September 2023|reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/812931558 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/812931479 cite #19 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref> The Japanese Tea Garden brings in more than $1 million to the Golden Gate Park and the city annually. There is a constant debate whether or not changes should be made to the garden. Adding souvenir shops and a diversity of food options at the garden historically brings in more money to the organization monitoring the Golden Gate Park, the Recreation and Park Commission. Selling products that share knowledge about Japanese gardens and culture also helps maintain the Japanese Tea Garden's authenticity.<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://0-infoweb.newsbank.com.ignacio.usfca.edu/resources/doc/nb/news/123DB8A64FCB1B28?p=WORLDNEWS|title = Commission tells bidders for lease to focus on authenticity-S.F. wants more of Japan in Tea Garden|last = |first = |date = October 16, 2008|work = San Francisco Chronicle Section: Metro Page: A1|access-date = |via = }} {{verify source |date=September 2023 |reason=This ref was deleted Special:Diff/812931558 by a bug in VisualEditor and later restored by a bot from the original cite located at Special:Permalink/812931479 cite #20 - verify the cite is accurate and delete this template. [[User:GreenC_bot/Job_18]]}}</ref>

== Structures and buildings ==
===Conservatory of Flowers===
===Conservatory of Flowers===
{{Main|Conservatory of Flowers}}
{{Main|Conservatory of Flowers}}
The Conservatory of Flowers is one of the world's largest conservatories built of traditional wood and glass panes. It was prefabricated for local entrepreneur [[James Lick]] for his [[Santa Clara, California]], estate but was still in its crates when he died in 1876. A group of San Franciscans bought it and offered it to the city, and it was erected in Golden Gate Park and opened to the public in 1879. In 1883, a boiler exploded and the main dome caught fire. A restoration was undertaken by [[Southern Pacific Railroad|Southern Pacific]] magnate [[Charles Crocker]]. It survived the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|earthquake of 1906]] only to suffer another fire in 1918. In 1933 it was declared unsound and closed to the public, only to be reopened in 1946. In 1995, after a severe storm with 100 mph (160&nbsp;km/h) winds damaged the structure, shattering 40% of the glass, the conservatory had to be closed again. It was cautiously dissected for repairs and finally reopened in September 2003.


===AIDS Memorial Grove===
==== History ====
[[File:Conservatory of Flowers - panoramio - harley photo.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The [[Conservatory of Flowers]] opened in 1879.]]
{{Main|AIDS Memorial Grove}}


The Conservatory of Flowers opened in 1879 and stands today as the oldest building in Golden Gate Park.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|title = Conservatory of Flowers {{!}} San Francisco Recreation and Park|url = http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/conservatory-of-flowers/|website = sfrecpark.org|access-date = November 30, 2015|archive-date = December 8, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208141315/http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/conservatory-of-flowers/|url-status = dead}}</ref> The Conservatory of Flowers is one of the largest conservatories in the US, as well as one of few large Victorian greenhouses in the United States.<ref name="wmf.org">{{Cite web|title = Golden Gate Park Conservatory of Flowers {{!}} World Monuments Fund|url = https://www.wmf.org/project/golden-gate-park-conservatory-flowers|website = www.wmf.org|access-date = November 30, 2015}}</ref> Built of traditional wood and glass panes, the Conservatory stands at 12,000 square feet<ref name="sfparksalliance.org">{{Cite web|title = Conservatory of Flowers {{!}} San Francisco Parks Alliance|url = http://www.sfparksalliance.org/our-parks/parks/conservatory-flowers|website = www.sfparksalliance.org|date = May 30, 2012|access-date = November 30, 2015}}</ref> and houses 1,700 species of tropical, rare and aquatic plants.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Though it was not originally constructed, William Hammond Hall included the idea of a conservatory in his original concept for the design of the park.<ref name="wmf.org"/> The idea was later realized with the help of twenty-seven of the wealthiest business owners in San Francisco.<ref name="sfparksalliance.org"/>
The [[AIDS Memorial Grove]] has been in progress since 1988. In 1996, it was designated a [[national memorial]] by an act of Congress, becoming an [[List of areas in the United States National Park System#National Memorials|affiliated area]] of the National Park System. The Grove's executive director, Thom Weyand, has said that "part of the beauty of the grove is that as a memorial which receives no federal money, it is blessedly removed from the fight over the controversy of AIDS."


In 1883, a boiler exploded and the main dome caught fire. A restoration was undertaken by Southern Pacific magnate Charles Crocker. It survived the earthquake of 1906, only to suffer another fire in 1918. In 1933 it was declared unsound and closed to the public, only to be reopened in 1946. In 1995, after a severe storm with {{convert|100|mph|0|abbr=on}} winds damaged the structure, shattering 40% of the glass, the conservatory was closed again. It was cautiously dissected for repairs and reopened in September 2003.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}
===The Music Concourse Area===
The [[Music Concourse]] is a sunken, oval-shaped open-air plaza originally excavated for the [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894]]. Its focal point is the Spreckels Temple of Music, also called the "Bandshell" where numerous music performance have been staged. It includes a number of statues of various historic figures, four fountains, and a regular grid array of heavily [[pollarded]] trees. Since 2003, the Music Concourse underwent a series improvements to include an underground 800-car parking garage, and pedestrianization of the plaza itself. It is surrounded by various cultural attractions, including:


====De Young Museum====
==== Rooms within the Conservatory ====
*The ''Potted Plants Gallery'' follows Victorian architecture and the 19th century idea of displaying tropical plants in non-tropical parts of the world.<ref name=":0x">{{Cite web|date=July 2014|title=Potted Plants Gallery|url=http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Potted%20Plants%20Gallery.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151218165717/http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Potted%20Plants%20Gallery.pdf|archive-date=December 18, 2015|website=Conservatory of Flowers}}</ref>
{{Main|M. H. de Young Memorial Museum}}
*The ''Lowlands Gallery'' contains plants from the tropics of South America (near the equator).<ref name=":1c">{{Cite web|url = http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Lowland%20Tropics%20Gallery.pdf|title = Lowlands Gallery|date = July 2014|website = Conservatory of Flowers|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151218165705/http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Lowland%20Tropics%20Gallery.pdf|archive-date = December 18, 2015|url-status = dead|df = mdy-all}}</ref>
* The ''Highlands Gallery'' contains native plants from South to Central America.<ref name=":2x">{{Cite web|url = http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Highland%20Tropics%20Gallery.pdf|title = Highlands Gallery|date = July 2014|website = Conservatory of Flowers|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151218165633/http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Highland%20Tropics%20Gallery.pdf|archive-date = December 18, 2015|url-status = dead|df = mdy-all}}</ref>
* The ''Aquatic Plants'' room is similar in conditions as those near the Amazon River.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url = http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Aquatics%20Gallery.pdf|title = Aquatics Gallery|date = July 2014|website = Conservatory of Flowers|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151218165645/http://www.conservatoryofflowers.org/sites/default/files/Aquatics%20Gallery.pdf|archive-date = December 18, 2015|url-status = dead|df = mdy-all}}</ref>


=== Beach Chalet ===
Named for [[M. H. de Young]], the San Francisco newspaper magnate, the [[De Young Museum]] was opened January 1921. Its original building had been part of The [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894]], of which Mr. de Young was the director. The de Young was completely rebuilt and the new building opened in 2005.
{{main|Beach Chalet}}
The two-story Beach Chalet faces the [[Great Highway]] and [[Ocean Beach, San Francisco|Ocean Beach]] at the far western end of the park. It contains two restaurants and murals from the 1930s.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/beach-chalet/ |title=Beach Chalet |website=[[San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department|SF Rec & Park]] |access-date=January 25, 2015 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903073412/http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/beach-chalet/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>


====Academy of Sciences====
=== Windmills ===
{{main|Golden Gate Park windmills}}
{{Main|California Academy of Sciences}}
[[File:Dutch-style windmills, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California LCCN2013630742.tif|thumb|upright=1|[[Dutch Windmill (Golden Gate Park)|North Windmill]] in Golden Gate Park]]
[[File:Murphy windmill.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The [[Murphy Windmill|South Windmill]]]]

Before the construction of its windmills, Golden Gate Park paid the [[Spring Valley Water Works]] up to 40 cents per 1000 gallons of water.<ref name="Pamphlets on Silviculture">{{Cite book|title = Pamphlets on Silviculture|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=W8JDAAAAIAAJ|date = January 1, 1912}}</ref> To avoid this expense the North (Dutch) Windmill was commissioned in 1902 when Superintendent John McLaren deemed the park's pumping plant insufficient to supply the additional water essential to the life of the park. A survey and inspection of the vast area west of Strawberry Hill revealed a large flow of water toward the ocean. The North windmill was constructed to reclaim the drainage towards the Pacific Ocean and direct fresh well water back into the park.<ref name="Pamphlets on Silviculture"/> Alpheus Bull Jr., a prominent San Franciscan, designed the North Windmill. The Fulton Engineering Company received the bid for the ironwork, and Pope and Talbot Lumber Company donated sails ("spars") of Oregon pine. The North Windmill was installed, standing 75 feet tall with 102-footlong sails. The windmill pumps water an elevation of 200 feet with a capacity of 30,000 gallons of water per pump per hour, supplying and replenishing Lloyd Lake, Metson Lake, Spreckels Lake, and Lincoln Park.<ref name="Windmill">{{Cite web
|title=Windmill Power for Golden Gate Park – 1914
|url=http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/wmill.html
|website=www.sfmuseum.org
|access-date=December 2, 2015
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304053910/http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/wmill.html
|archive-date=March 4, 2016
}}</ref> The water is pumped from the valley into a reservoir on Strawberry Hill. From there the water runs downhill into Falls and Blue Heron Lake.<ref name="Windmill"/> The North Windmill was successful, causing another system of wells and a second windmill at the southwestern corner of the park to be recommended. Samuel G. Murphy provided $20,000 to erect the windmill. The South Windmill (Murphy Windmill) stands as the largest in the world, having the longest sails in the world since its construction, with the ability to lift 40,000 gallons of water per hour.{{Citation needed|date=April 2020}}

=== Sculpture ===
[[File:Golden Gate Park - Apple Press Monument 02-2.jpg|thumb|upright=1|''[[The Cider Press]]'' is a sculpture by [[Thomas Shields Clarke]], installed in Golden Gate Park.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sfrichmondreview.com/2021/10/27/looking-back-the-cider-press/|title='Looking Back': The Cider Press|date=October 27, 2021}}</ref>]]

A statue of longtime park superintendent [[John McLaren (horticulturist)|John McLaren]] stands in the Rhododendron Dell. McLaren had this statue hidden and it was only placed in the dell after his death.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=esY90CkrXbYC |title=Time Out San Francisco |date=2011 |publisher=Time Out Guides |isbn=9781846702204 |language=en-us}}</ref> Other statues of historical figures are also located throughout the park, including [[Francis Scott Key]], [[Robert Emmet]], [[Robert Burns]], the [[Goethe–Schiller monuments|double monument]] to [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Johann Goethe]] and [[Friedrich Schiller]], [[John J. Pershing|General Pershing]], [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]], [[Giuseppe Verdi]], [[James A. Garfield|President Garfield]], and [[Thomas Starr King]]. A bronze statue of [[Don Quixote]] and his companion, [[Sancho Panza]] kneeling to honor their creator, [[Miguel de Cervantes|Cervantes]], combines historical and fictitious characters. At the [[Horseshoes (game)|Horseshoe Court]] in the northeast corner of the park near Fulton and Stanyan, there is a concrete bas-relief of ''The Horseshoe Pitcher'' by Jesse "Vet" Anderson, a member of the Horseshoe Club. Across from the Conservatory of Flowers is Douglas Tilden's ''The Baseball Player''.<ref name="FoundSF"/>

During the [[George Floyd protests in California|George Floyd protests]], on June 19, 2020, demonstrators toppled or otherwise vandalized the statues of Catholic missionary [[Statue of Junípero Serra (San Francisco)|Junípero Serra]], [[Francis Scott Key]] (author of the lyrics to ''[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]''), [[Bust of Ulysses S. Grant (San Francisco)|Ulysses S. Grant]], Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 20, 2020|title=Historical statues toppled as rage spills into San Francisco's Golden Gate Park|url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Historical-statues-toppled-as-rage-spills-into-15354412.php|access-date=June 24, 2020|work=San Francisco Chronicle|first1=Steve|last1= Rubenstein|first2=Rachel |last2=Swan|language=en-US}}</ref> The archbishop of San Francisco, [[Salvatore Cordileone]], described the toppling of the saint's statue as "an act of [[sacrilege]] [and] an act of [[Satan|the evil one]]", and on June 27 performed an [[Exorcism in the Catholic Church|exorcism]] at the site using the [[Prayer to Saint Michael]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Barmann|first=Jay|date=July 1, 2020|title=Eyeroll: SF Archbishop Holds Exorcism, Asks For God's Mercy For Toppled Junipero Serra Statue|url=https://sfist.com/2020/06/30/eyeroll-sf-archbishop-holds-exorcism/|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=[[SFist]]|language=en|archive-date=October 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025174959/https://sfist.com/2020/06/30/eyeroll-sf-archbishop-holds-exorcism/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 29, 2020|title=After St. Junípero Serra statue torn down, Archbishop Cordileone offers exorcism prayers|url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/45012/after-st-junipero-serra-statue-torn-down-archbishop-cordileone-offers-exorcism-prayers|access-date=July 2, 2020|website=[[Catholic News Agency]]|language=en}}</ref>

In the northwest corner of the park, near the Beach Chalet, is a monument to explorer [[Roald Amundsen]] and the ''[[Gjøa]]'', the first vessel to transit the [[Northwest Passage]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-welcomed-1st-Northwest-Passage-sailor-but-6252181.php |title=S.F. welcomed 1st Northwest Passage sailor but mistreated sloop |first=Gary |last=Kamiya |date=May 8, 2015 |work=San Francisco Chronicle}}</ref> Following the expedition, ''Gjøa'' was donated to the city in 1906 and put on display for decades near Ocean Beach. After falling into disrepair, ''Gjøa'' was returned to Norway in 1972.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/gjoa-monument |title=Gjoa Monument |magazine=Atlas Obscura}}</ref>

=== Prayer Book Cross ===
The [[Prayer Book Cross]], also known as Drake's Cross, is a sandstone [[Celtic cross|Celtic-style cross]] measuring 60 feet tall. Erected by Episcopalians in 1894, it commemorates Sir [[Francis Drake]]'s [[New Albion|first landing]] on the West Coast in 1579,<ref name=":12">{{Cite news|last=White|first=Richard|date=June 23, 2020|title=Opinion {{!}} This Monument to White Supremacy Hides in Plain Sight|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/23/opinion/drakes-cross-white-supremacy.html|access-date=June 24, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> the first use of the [[Book of Common Prayer]] in California and (from the inscription) the "First Christian service in the English tongue on our coast." It is located near Rainbow Falls on Crossover Drive between the John F. Kennedy Promenade and Park Presidio Drive.<ref>Golden Gate Park [https://goldengatepark.com/prayerbook-cross.html Attractions: Prayerbook Cross.] (Retrieved May 4, 2010.)</ref> The cross was meant to be visible to ships at sea but has since been overgrown by trees.<ref name=":12" /> A gift of [[George W. Childs]], it was designed by the architectural firm [[Ernest Coxhead|Coxhead & Coxhead]] of San Francisco.<ref>Nichols, Rev. William F. (January 21, 1894) “Prayer-Book Cross.” ''Los Angeles Times.'' Page 13. (Retrieved May 4, 2020.)</ref>

=== Carousel ===
[[File:Golden Gate Park carousel 01.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The carousel building in Golden Gate Park]]

[[William Hammond Hall]] persuaded officials to build the Children's House and Play Ground, designed by [[Percy & Hamilton]], finished in 1888, and funded by [[William Sharon]]{{'}}s bequest.<ref name="sfgate/Sharon-ggp-children"/> It was the first public children's playground in the United States,<ref name="sfgate/Sharon-ggp-children"/> for children and their mothers, offering swings, indoor enclosures, open sitting areas and a steam-powered carousel.<ref name="sfgate/Sharon-ggp-children"/> The two-story Sharon Children's House now houses the Sharon Art Studio.<ref name="sfgate/Sharon-ggp-children">{{cite news |last1=Keraghosian |first1=Greg |title=How notorious tycoon William Sharon left SF's children a still-popular landmark |url=https://www.sfgate.com/sfhistory/article/William-Sharon-golden-gate-park-landmarks-16188509.php |access-date=15 September 2024 |work=[[SFGATE]] |date=May 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Olmsted |first=Frederick Law |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5gq5BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA446 |title=The Papers of Frederick Law Olmsted: The Last Great Projects, 1890–1895 |date=January 20, 2015 |publisher=JHU Press |isbn=978-1-4214-1603-8 |page=316 |language=en-us}}</ref>

In 1888, a steam-powered carousel was installed in a circular building near the Children's House and Play Ground. The carousel building was occupied by two more carousels before the 1914 Herschell-Spillman Company carousel was purchased by [[Herbert Fleishhacker]] from the [[Golden Gate International Exposition]] in 1941.<ref>{{cite web |title=Golden Gate Park Carousel |url=http://www.golden-gate-park.com/golden-gate-park-carousel.html |website=Golden Gate Park.com |date=March 19, 2012 |access-date=January 15, 2015 |archive-date=June 30, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630064646/http://www.golden-gate-park.com/golden-gate-park-carousel.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The 1914 carousel has undergone several major renovations, the first, a transition from steam to electric power with the assistance of the [[Pacific Gas and Electric Company|PG&E]] Company.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Koret Playground & Carousel|url = http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/koret-childrens-quarter/|website = sfrecpark.org {{!}} San Francisco Recreation and Park|access-date = December 2, 2015}}</ref>

In 1977, the carousel closed for safety concerns and The San Francisco Arts Commission hired local artist Ruby Newman<ref>{{Cite web|title = Ruby Newman Fine Arts Studio|url = http://www.rubynewman.com/main/carousel.html|website = www.rubynewman.com|access-date = December 2, 2015|archive-date = March 4, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304002509/http://www.rubynewman.com/main/carousel.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> to oversee the artistic restoration. Her crew of craftspeople restored the badly deteriorated carousel and hand painted all animals, chariots, painted landscapes of the bay area and decorative housing (she holds the copyright),{{cn|date=September 2024}} re-opening in 1984. Presently, the carousel includes sixty two animals, and a German Band Organ. Two of the animals, a goat and an ''Outside Row Stander Carousel Horse'',<ref name="pafa/orsCh">{{cite web |title=D.C. Muller & Bros., "Outside Row Stander Carousel Horse" (ca. 1912) {{!}} PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts |url=https://www.pafa.org/museum/collection/item/outside-row-stander-carousel-horse |website=[[Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts]] |language=en |date=20 December 2019}}</ref><ref name="tJm/orsCh">{{cite web |title=Outside Row Stander Carousel Horse |url=https://thejewishmuseum.org/collection/37248-outside-row-stander-horse-carousel-horse |website=The Jewish Museum |access-date=16 September 2024}}</ref> are by the [[Dentzel Carousel Company|Dentzel Wooden Carousel Company]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = National Carousel Association – Census of Classic Wood Carousels (Condensed)|url = http://carousels.org/USACensus/stdqueries/census-cCLA.html|website = carousels.org|access-date = December 2, 2015}}</ref>

In 2007, the [[Koret Foundation]] funded a $3.8 million renovation, later called the Koret Playground/Children’s Quarter.<ref name="sfgate/Sharon-ggp-children"/>

== Transportation ==
===Public transport===
[[File:Outbound train at 9th Avenue and Irving, September 2019.JPG|thumb|upright=1|alt=Metro stop a block away from Golden Gate Park|[[Muni Metro|Metro]] stopped at the [[Irving and 8th Avenue / 9th Avenue and Irving stations|9th Avenue and Irving station]], half a mile from the [[California Academy of Sciences]].]]


The San Francisco [[Muni Metro]] runs along the southern edge of the park. Access to the park on the westbound [[N Judah]] line begins at the [[Carl and Stanyan station]], located one block from [[Kezar Stadium]]. The line continues along the entirety of the park, and includes access to the [[California Academy of Sciences]] and [[De Young Museum]] at the [[Irving and 8th Avenue / 9th Avenue and Irving stations|9th Avenue and Irving station]]; [[Blue Heron Lake Boathouse|Blue Heron Lake]] at the [[Judah and 19th Avenue station]]; [[Polo Fields]] at the [[Judah and Sunset station]]; and the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields at the line's western terminus at the [[Judah and La Playa station]].
The [[California Academy of Sciences]] is one of the largest natural history museums in the world {{Citation needed|date=March 2009}}, and also houses the Steinhart Aquarium and the Morrison Planetarium. The Academy of Sciences carries exhibits of reptiles and amphibians, astronomy, prehistoric life, various gems and minerals, earthquakes, and aquatic life. A completely new building for the Museum opened in September 2008 designed by [[Renzo Piano]].


Various bus routes pass through Golden Gate Park or stop along its boundaries. The 18 bus stops along the [[Great Highway]] on the western end of the park. The [[5 Fulton]] runs along the northern boundary of the park along Fulton Street. The [[33 Ashbury/18th Street]] stops along the eastern edge of the park in [[Haight-Ashbury]]. The [[7 Haight/Noriega]] also stops in the Haight, running about halfway along the southern end of the park. The [[43 Masonic]] stops near the [[Panhandle (San Francisco)|Pandhandle]] on the far eastern end of the park. The 44 and 28 both run through the park.
====Japanese Tea Garden====
{{Main|Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco, California)}}
[[Image:Japaneseteagardensf.jpg|150px|thumb|left|In the Japanese Tea Garden]]


== Natural features ==
The five acre (20,000 m²) [[Japanese tea garden at Golden Gate Park]] is the oldest public [[Japanese garden]] in the United States. The garden was designed by [[Makoto Hagiwara]] for the [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894]], including still-standing features such as the Drum Bridge and the tea house. Subsequent additions included a [[pagoda]] and [[Zen garden]]. It is reputedly the birthplace of the [[fortune cookie]].


===San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum===
===San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum===
{{Main|San Francisco Botanical Garden}}
{{main|San Francisco Botanical Garden}}
[[File:Strybing Arboretum trail.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1|Redwood trail through the [[San Francisco Botanical Garden]]]]


The [[San Francisco Botanical Garden]] was laid out in the 1890s, but funding was insufficient until Helene Strybing willed funds in 1926. Planting began in 1937 with [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] funds supplemented by local donations. This {{convert|55|acre|abbr=on}} [[arboretum]] contains more than 7,500 plant species.<ref name=arboretum>{{cite web | last=McKechnie | first=Michael | date=April 2009 | access-date=March 4, 2013 | url=http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/mailings/atg-09-04/director.html | title=Collection | publisher=San Francisco Botanical Garden | archive-date=December 10, 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141210140902/http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/mailings/atg-09-04/director.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> The arboretum also houses the Helen Crocker Russell Library, northern California's largest horticultural library.<ref>{{cite web| title=Helen Crocker Russell Library of Horticulture | url=http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/library/| publisher=San Francisco Botanical Garden| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027153705/http://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/library/| archive-date=October 27, 2007| access-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref>
[[Image:Strybing Arboretum trail.jpg|right|thumb|A trail through the redwood forest section of the arboretum.]]
The [[San Francisco Botanical Garden|San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum]] was laid out in the 1890s, but funding was insufficient until Helene Strybing willed funds in 1926. Planting was begun in 1937 with [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] funds supplemented by local donations. This 55 acre (222,500 m²) [[arboretum]] contains more than 7,500 plant species.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} The arboretum also houses the Helen Crocker Russell Library, northern California's largest horticultural library.{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}}


Due to the unique climate of San Francisco and Golden Gate Park,<ref>{{Cite web |title=About – San Francisco Botanical Garden |url=http://sfbotanicalgarden.org/about/index.html |access-date=November 15, 2015 |website=San Francisco Botanical Garden}}</ref> the plants in the San Francisco Botanical Garden range from a variety of different national origins, some of them no longer existing in their natural habitats. Areas of origin include but are not limited to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Central and South America.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/A-world-of-plants-at-San-Francisco-Botanical-6522808.php|title = A World of Plants at San Francisco Botanical Garden|date = September 23, 2015|access-date = November 15, 2015|website = SF Gate|last = Hession|first = Stephanie}}</ref> These regions of origin go from desert to tropical. In addition, some native California species are housed in the garden as well, such as Redwood trees.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Rough Guide to San Francisco and the Bay Area|last = Edwards|first = Nick|publisher = Rough Guides|year = 2012}}</ref> Overall, the tradition of these diverse gardens that eventually served to inspire the San Francisco Botanical Garden comes originally from China, Europe, and Mexico.<ref>{{Cite journal|jstor = 2990033|title = History and Functions of Botanical Gardens|last = Hill|first = Arthur|date = February 1915|journal = Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden|volume = 2|issue = 1/2|pages = 185–240|doi = 10.2307/2990033|hdl = 2027/hvd.32044102800596|url = https://www.archive.org/download/historyfunctions00hilluoft/historyfunctions00hilluoft.pdf}}</ref>
===Stow Lake===
[[Image:Crepuscular rays in ggp 2.jpg|thumb|150px|left|[[Crepuscular rays]] at Stow Lake, the largest of the manmade lakes in Golden Gate Park, offers boat rentals]]
[[Image:San-francisco-strawberry-hill.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Downtown [[San Francisco]] from Strawberry Hill]]
'''Stow Lake''' surrounds the prominent [[Strawberry_Hill,_San_Francisco|Strawberry Hill]], now an island with an electrically pumped [[waterfall]]. Rowboats, pedalboats, and electrically powered boats can be rented at the boathouse. Much of the western portion of San Francisco can be seen from the top of this hill, which at its top contains one of the reservoirs that supply a network of high-pressure water mains that exclusively supply specialized fire hydrants throughout the city.


===Spreckels Lake===
===Lakes===
[[File:Crepuscular rays in ggp 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Blue Heron Lake, the largest of the manmade lakes in Golden Gate Park, offers boat rentals.]]
[[Image:ModelYachtUpwind5861.jpg|thumb|150px|right|San Francisco Model Yacht Club boat on Spreckels Lake]]
Spreckels Lake is located on the northern side of the park near 36<sup>th</sup> Avenue. As the home waters of the San Francisco Model Yacht Club, one can usually find [[Model yachting|model yachts]] sailing on Spreckels Lake. Many of these are of the 'free-sail' type used before the advent of the modern [[radio controlled model]]. The yachts are set up by their owners, and most include either an auxiliary wind vane or main sheet linkage to control the rudder in response to varying wind conditions. The yachts are then released, and pole handlers will walk down each side of the lake with a padded pole to prevent the yachts from colliding with the lake edge. The lake has been specifically designed for this type of operation, as it has a vertical edging (allowing the yachts to closely approach the shore) and a paved walkway around the entire edge. At one location near a grassy area, "duckling ramps" allow young wildlife to leave the pond safely.


'''Blue Heron Lake''', formerly known as '''Stow Lake''', surrounds the prominent [[Strawberry Hill (San Francisco)|Strawberry Hill]], now an island with an electrically pumped [[waterfall]]. The lake was originally named for [[William W. Stow]], a known [[anti-Semite]],<ref>{{cite news |title=Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park renamed Blue Heron Lake |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/sanfrancisco/news/stow-lake-golden-gate-park-renamed-blue-heron-lake/ |access-date=16 September 2024 |work=cbsnews.com - CBS San Francisco |date=18 January 2024}}</ref> who gave $60,000 for its construction. Strawberry Hills' waterfall was named Huntington Falls after its benefactor Collis P. Huntington. Blue Heron Lake was the first artificial lake constructed in the park and Huntington was the park's first artificial waterfall.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Aikman|first1=Tom Girvan|title=Boss Gardener The Life and Times of John McLaren|date=1988|publisher=Don't Call It Frisco Press|isbn=0-917583-18-3|pages=58, 59|edition=1st}}</ref> The falls are fed by a reservoir located atop Strawberry Hill. Water is pumped into the reservoir from Elk Glen Lake, the South Windmill, wells, and the city's water supply to keep the system of lakes flowing eastward from Blue Heron Lake.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite book|last1=Mallick|first1=George J.|title=The Artificial Lakes of the Golden Gate Park, the Water Reclamation Plant, and the Auxiliary Water Sources: The Existing Irrigation System|date=1973|pages=31}}</ref>
===Golden Gate Park Stadium===

Golden Gate Park Stadium, also known as the "Polo Field", in the western section of the park was opened in 1906, originally envisioned as a 60,000 seat amphitheater with a mile-long circumference. The plan did not come to fruition, but the stadium did eventually incorporate bicycle and harness-racing tracks as well as a polo field. In 1967, stadium was the site of the [[Human Be-In]] which launched the [[Summer of Love]] and where [[Timothy Leary]] urged fellow [[hippies]] to "tune in, turn on, and drop out". Today, the stadium is marked by its raised perimeter and a small grandstand.
Rowboats and pedalboats can be rented at the boathouse. Much of the western portion of San Francisco can be seen from the top of this hill. The reservoir at its top also supplies a network of high-pressure water mains that exclusively supply specialized fire hydrants throughout the city. The lake itself also serves as a reservoir from which water is pumped to irrigate the rest of the park should other pumps stop operating.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

In the past the Hill was also topped by Sweeny Observatory, but the building was ruined by the 1906 earthquake and plans to replace it were not approved by park commissioners.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pollock |first1=Christopher |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rel1swFUAAoC&q=observatory&pg=PP1 |title=Golden Gate Park: San Francisco's Urban Oasis in Vintage Postcards |date=2003 |publisher=Arcadia Publishing |isbn=0-7385-2853-6 |location=Charleston, South Carolina |pages=62, 121 |language=en-us |access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref>

Two bridges connect the inner island to the surrounding mainland: the Roman Bridge and the Stone (or Rustic) Bridge. The Stone Bridge is a prominent background feature in the 1915 American [[Silent film|silent]] comedy [[Short subject|short]] ''[[Wished on Mabel]]'', starring [[Mabel Normand]] and [[Roscoe Arbuckle|Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]].<ref name="Wished on Mabel">[https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NqMshjccUNY "''Wished on Mabel'' (1915) – Mabel Normand & Fatty Arbuckle"], American comedy filmed at Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, 1915. Complete 12-minute short available for free viewing at the video-streaming service [[YouTube]], a subsidiary of [[Alphabet, Inc.]], Mountain View, California. Retrieved September 8, 2017.</ref>

In October 2022, three San Francisco city supervisors introduced a resolution urging the Recreation and Park Commission to rename the lake due to William Stow's outspoken antisemitism, as part of an effort to rename various landmarks across the San Francisco Bay Area.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mishanec |first=Nova |date=October 25, 2022 |title=This popular Golden Gate Park spot honoring antisemitic politician could be renamed |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/this-iconic-golden-gate-park-spot-honoring-17523313.php |work=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref> In January 2024, the Commission decided on the new name of "Blue Heron Lake", in honor of the [[great blue heron|blue heron]]s that nest along the lake.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fan Munce |first=Megan |date=January 18, 2024 |title=A Golden Gate Park lake is getting a new name, shedding antisemitic legacy |url=https://www.sfchronicle.com/sf/article/beloved-golden-gate-park-lake-getting-new-name-18615660.php |work=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Chamings |first=Andrew |date=January 18, 2024 |title=San Francisco reveals new name for Golden Gate Park's Stow Lake |url=https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/san-francisco-stow-lake-renamed-18615650.php |work=SFGATE |access-date=January 21, 2024}}</ref>

'''Spreckels Lake'''
{{Main|Spreckels Lake}}
[[File:ModelYachtUpwind5861.jpg|thumb|upright=1|right|San Francisco Model Yacht Club boat on Spreckels Lake]]

Spreckels Lake is an artificial [[reservoir]] behind a small [[Embankment dam|earthen dam]] that lies on the north side of the Golden Gate Park between Spreckels Lake Drive and Fulton Street to the north, and John F. Kennedy Drive to the south. It is named after sugar-fortune heir and then San Francisco Parks Commissioner [[Adolph B. Spreckels]].<ref>{{cite book | title=Press Reference Library (Southwest Edition): Notables of the Southwest | chapter=Adolph B. Spreckels | location=Los Angeles |work=The Los Angeles Examiner | page=341 | year=1912 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hy_aN5xSCisC&q=adolph+spreckels&pg=PA340 |oclc=365099589 }}</ref> Built between 1902 and 1904 at the request of the [[San Francisco Model Yacht Club]] specifically as a model boating facility, the lake was first filled in February 1904 and opened March 20, 1904. One can usually find both [[Model yachting#Sail.E2.80.93driven yachts|'sail driven,' self-guided Yachts]] and electric or gas/nitro powered [[Radio-controlled boat|radio-controlled model boats]] of many types and designs plying the lake's waters most times of year.

'''Alvord Lake''' is located at the eastern end of the park near the intersection of Haight and Stanyan streets. It was named for [[William Alvord]], Park Commissioner in the 1870s, and Mayor of San Francisco from 1871 to 1873, who financed its construction in 1882.<ref>{{cite news|title='Looking Back': Alvord Lake|url=https://sfrichmondreview.com/2022/08/03/looking-back-alford-lake/|newspaper=Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon|location=San Francisco|date=August 3, 2022|access-date=May 13, 2023}}</ref> A few yards west of the lake is the [[Alvord Lake Bridge]], the oldest known reinforced concrete bridge built in the United States.

'''Elk Glen Lake''' is the park's deepest ornamental lake, measuring over 6&nbsp;ft. deep on average. The lake acts as a reservoir for water from the Reclamation Plant before it is pumped to either Blue Heron Lake or the reservoir atop Strawberry Hill.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite book|last1=Mallick|first1=George J.|title=The Artificial Lakes of the Golden Gate Park, the Water Reclamation Plant, and the Auxiliary Water Sources: The Existing Irrigation System|date=1973|pages=32}}</ref>

'''Mallard Lake''' is landlocked and not a part of the park's irrigation system.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

'''Metson Lake''' lies west of Mallard Lake and east of the Chain of Lakes. This body of water has a capacity of over 1.1 million gallons that overflow into South Lake or can be redirected elsewhere for irrigation purposes.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>

'''Chain of Lakes''' Many naturalistically landscaped lakes are placed throughout the park: several are linked together into chains, with pumped water creating flowing creeks. Out of the original 14 natural marshy lakes within the sand dunes Golden Gate Park was built in, only 5 remain, three of which are the Chain of Lakes. The three lakes, North, Middle, and South Lake, are located along the Chain of Lakes Drive.

'''North Lake''' is the largest of the three, and is known for its water birds that often live on the small islands within the lake.<ref name="Golden Gate Park Lakes">{{Cite web|title = Golden Gate Park Lakes|url = https://goldengatepark.com/golden-gate-park-lakes.html|website = Golden Gate Park|date = February 6, 2013|access-date = November 24, 2015|language = en-US}}</ref> Some of the birds spotted are [[egret]]s, belted kingfishers, [[duck]]s, and [[great blue heron]]s. It is surrounded by a paved walkway that is often used by families, joggers, and dog walkers.<ref name="sfrecpark.org">{{Cite web|title = Chain of Lakes {{!}} San Francisco Recreation and Park|url = http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/chain-of-lakes/|website = sfrecpark.org|access-date = November 24, 2015|archive-date = December 11, 2018|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181211120911/https://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/chain-of-lakes/|url-status = dead}}</ref>

In 1898, [[John McLaren (horticulturist)|McLaren]] started a landscaping project, inspired by Andrew Jackson Downing's teachings on building with nature. Seven islands were planted within the North Lake in 1899, using different species of shrubs and trees. A gazebo was built, and wooden footbridges were used to connect the different islands within the lake. Both the gazebo and the bridges were removed in order to conserve nesting birds on the islands.<ref>{{Cite book|title = San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories.|last = Katz|first = Erica|publisher = Westwiinds Press|year = 2001|isbn = 978-1558685451|location = Portland, Oregon|url-access = registration|url = https://archive.org/details/sanfranciscosgol0000poll}}</ref>

North Lake is the final of the Chain of Lakes that flow into each other south to north, making it the final destination of the lakes' water pumped in from the Water Reclamation Plant. Should the plant's water not meet the lake's needs the water level is maintained by well water pumped from the North Windmill.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Mallick|first1=George J.|title=The Artificial Lakes of the Golden Gate Park, the Water Reclamation Plant, and the Auxiliary Water Sources: The Existing Irrigation System|date=1973|pages=33}}</ref>

'''Middle Lake''' is particularly known for bird-watching due to the visits of migrant species of birds like [[tanager]]s, [[warbler]]s and [[vireo]]s. It is surrounded by a dirt trail and vegetation.<ref name="sfrecpark.org"/> The lake resembles the [[marsh]]es that existed before Golden Gate Park, and is known for being a more remote and romantic setting.<ref name="Golden Gate Park Lakes"/>

'''South Lake''' is the smallest of the three lakes, and borders Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.<ref name="Golden Gate Park Lakes"/> This lake is the smallest in the Chain of Lakes. Its water is sourced from either a direct flow from Metson Lake, or by Blue Heron Lake water released by a valve. It does not contribute to irrigation in the park but it does feed into Middle Lake. Its noteworthy bird population is its ducks.<ref name="ReferenceC"/>


===Bison Paddock===
===Bison Paddock===
[[File:San Francisco Bison.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Bison Paddock, Golden Gate Park]]
[[Bison]] have been kept in Golden Gate Park since 1891, when a small herd was purchased by the park commission. At the time, the animal's population in North America had dwindled to an all-time low and San Francisco made a successful effort to breed them in captivity. In 1899, the paddock in the western section of the park was created. The animals today are cared for by staff from the [[San Francisco Zoo]].


[[American bison|Bison]] (''Bison bison'') have been kept in Golden Gate Park since 1891, when a small herd was purchased by the park commission.<ref>{{cite web | first=David |last=Gardner | title=Bison Paddock | url=http://www.lightight.com/GGP/act_images/Act1P07.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071122232954/http://www.lightight.com/GGP/act_images/Act1P07.html| publisher=Lightight Photography | date=September 16, 2003 | archive-date=November 22, 2007 | access-date=January 5, 2011}}</ref> At the time, the animal's population in North America had dwindled to an all-time low, and San Francisco made a successful effort to breed them in captivity. In 1899, the paddock in the western section of the park was created. At its peak and through a successful captive breeding program, more than 100 calves were produced at Golden Gate Park, helping preserve the iconic bison population numbers in North America, which has been critical to the culture and livelihood of Native Americans.
===Windmills===
In 1902, the parks commission authorized construction of two windmills to pump subterranean water to supply the park. The first one, on the north side of the park facing the Pacific Ocean, was completed in 1903 and became known first as the North Windmill and later as the Dutch Windmill; it is now paired with the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden. The second, Murphy's Windmill, on the south side of the park, began operation in 1908. They operated for several decades, but fell into disrepair after the park switched to electric water pumps. The Dutch Windmill was restored in 1981, but, as of 2009, Murphy's Windmill's restoration is still in progress.


In 1984, Mayor [[Dianne Feinstein]]'s husband, [[Richard C. Blum]], purchased a new herd as a birthday present for his wife.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Morain |first=Dan |date=June 24, 1991 |title=Where Buffalo Roam: Bison, With Names Like King Lear and Lady Macbeth, Have Home in Golden Gate Park |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-06-24-mn-791-story.html |access-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref> The older bison in the paddock today are descendants of this herd.
===Beach Chalet===
The two-story Beach Chalet faces the [[Great Highway]] and [[Ocean Beach, San Francisco|Ocean Beach]] at the far western end of the park. It was opened in 1925 in [[Spanish Colonial Revival Style architecture|Spanish colonial revival style]] as a city-run restaurant and included changing rooms for beach visitors. Elaborate murals were added to the first floor as a 1936 [[Works Progress Administration]] project. After several years of closure and following a renovation completed in 1996, the building now houses the Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant on the second floor. Its sister restaurant, the Park Chalet, is an open-air dining room facing the park.


In December 2011, after the number of bison in the paddock had dwindled to three, Assemblywoman [[Fiona Ma]]'s office led another preservation effort. With donations from the Theodore Rosen Charitable Foundation, [[Richard C. Blum]], and the Garen Wimer Ranch, Assemblywoman Ma's office worked with the [[San Francisco Zoo]] and San Francisco Recreation and Parks to add seven new bison to the existing herd. The paddock is open to the public for viewing.{{Citation needed|date=June 2020}}
===Roadways===
[[John F. Kennedy]] Memorial Drive, formerly North Drive, winds from the East end of the park to the [[Great Highway]]. It was renamed after the [[Kennedy Assassination]]. The portion east of the 19th Avenue park crossing is closed to motor traffic on Sundays and holidays, providing an oasis for pedestrians, bicyclists, and skaters. The other major east-west road is [[Martin Luther King Jr.]] Drive., renamed from South Drive in 1983. [[California State Highway 1]] crosses the park north-to-south as Crossover Drive.


==Minor features==
=== Hippie Hill ===
{{main|Hippie Hill}}
There are also a number of more naturalistically landscaped lakes throughout the park, several linked together into chains, with pumped water creating flowing creeks. There is a short trail lined with large [[tree fern]]s adjacent to a small lake near the Conservatory of Flowers. The [[hippies]] called this area ''[[Mescaline]] Grove'' and used to often go there to take [[psychedelic drug]]s. [[Image:Tree ferns Golden Gate Park, San Francisco.JPG|thumb|left|300px|[[Tree fern]]s in Golden Gate Park]]
[[File:10, Hippie Hill.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Crowd on Hippie Hill, February 2005]]


Nestled in the trees between the [[Conservatory of Flowers]] and [[Haight Street]], [[Hippie Hill]] displays a lifestyle unique to [[San Francisco]]. East of the Golden Gate Park tennis courts, the green space known as Hippie Hill is a gentle sloping lawn just off of Kezar Drive and overlooking Robin Williams Meadow,<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=September 14, 2018 |title=Robin Williams Meadow sign unveiled in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park |work=ABC 7 News |location=San Francisco, California |url=https://abc7news.com/society/watch-live-robin-williams-meadow-sign-unveiled-in-golden-gate-park/4245959/ |access-date=September 20, 2018}}</ref> with Eucalyptus and Oak on either side.<ref>{{Cite book|title = The Summer of Love: Haight-Ashbury at Its Highest|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=acPHXpbzQ_AC|publisher = John Libbey Eurotext|date = January 1, 1995|isbn = 9780867194210|first = Gene|last = Anthony}}</ref> Additionally, the hill contains several uncommon trees: coast banksia, [[Alectryon excelsus|titoki]], turpentine, and [[Campsis radicans|cow-itch]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=McClintock |first=Elizabeth |title=The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco |publisher=Publishers Press |year=2001 |location=Salt Lake City, Utah |page=191 |language=en-us}}</ref>
A notable bronze statue of [[Don Quixote]] and his companion, [[Sancho Panza]], both kneeling in honor of their creator [[Cervantes]], may be found in one of the many walks in the park.


Hippie Hill has been a part of San Francisco's history, namely the [[Summer of Love]], in 1967, a large counterculture movement that partially took place on the hill. With its close proximity to Haight Street, the main site of the Summer of Love, the movement often overflowed onto the hill. During this era, people gathered in the area to connect with one another through many activities, including the playing of music, consumption of [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]] and [[Marijuana (word)|marijuana]], and expression of [[hippie]] ideals. With time, area residents began to complain of the flower children's open sexuality, nude dancing, panhandling, and excess litter.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories|last=Pollock|first=Christopher|publisher=West Winds Press|pages=36}}</ref>
A paddock corrals a small herd of [[American Bison|bison]], captive in the Park since 1892.[http://www.lightight.com/GGP/act_images/Act1P07.html]


Through this movement, music came to have its own history on the hill as well. Musicians and bands such as [[Janis Joplin]], the [[Grateful Dead]], [[Jefferson Airplane]], and [[George Harrison]] all played free shows for the public near by.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Haight: Love, Rock, And Revolution|last=Selvin|first=Joel|publisher=Insight Editions|year=2014|location=San Rafael, California|pages=38, 70, 106}}</ref> Today, improvised drum circles form on the weekends where people come together and fill the hill with a constant beat for hours on end.<ref name=":13" /> A space filled with their culture, the hill played a major part in the hippies' ability to openly use drugs and express themselves as the police adopted a policy of looking the other way.<ref name=":92">{{Cite web|url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Park-4-20-pot-festivities-a-hit-with-5416678.php|title=Golden Gate Park 4/20 Pot Festivities A Hit With Happy Horde|website=SFGate|date=April 20, 2014|access-date=November 19, 2015}}</ref>
Many statues of famous people are located throughout the park, including [[Francis Scott Key]], [[Robert Emmet]], [[Robert Burns]], [[Goethe]] and [[Schiller]] (sharing a single pedestal), [[John J. Pershing|General Pershing]], [[Beethoven]], [[Giuseppe Verdi]], [[James A. Garfield|President Garfield]], and [[Thomas Starr King]]. At the [[horseshoes|Horseshoe Court]] in the northeast corner of the park near Fulton and Stanyan, there is a concrete bas-relief of "The Horseshoe Pitcher" by Jesse "Vet" Anderson, a member of the Horseshoe Club.


Though the police have been known to crack down on certain occurrences in the park, the [[San Francisco Police Department|SFPD]] are lenient with activity on the hill.<ref name=":13" /> Starting from the Summer of Love when the police were unable to address the enormity of the situation, some activity is overlooked.<ref name=":13"/> As supervisor [[London Breed]] stated, "smoking anything in any city park is illegal, but San Francisco has a tradition of turning a blind eye to infractions for official or unofficial events."<ref name=":92" /> The police department has stated that they are not naïve enough to attempt to catch all the people smoking marijuana on the hill, but as Police Chief Greg Suhr said, "There are plenty of other things that come with it that we will not have."<ref>{{Cite web|title = 'Hippie Hill' Crackdown Expected At SF's Golden Gate Park, 4/20 Festivities|date = April 16, 2014|url = http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/04/16/hippie-hill-crackdown-expected-at-sfs-golden-gate-park-420-festivities/|access-date = November 19, 2015}}</ref>
Also, the "Janis Joplin Tree" is a favorite site for many tourists and locals. Located on the edge of ''Hippie Hill'', a small hill at the western end of Golden Gate Park where the [[hippies]] often gathered to smoke [[marijuana]] during the [[Summer of Love]] and people often gather today, is it said to have just enough room in its branches for a girl and her guitar.


=== Plants ===
==Chronic homeless controversy==
[[File:Uncle John's Tree at Golden Gate Park June 2022.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Large Monterey cypress nicknamed Norton or Uncle John's Tree, located in Golden Gate Park (June 2022)]]
The large chronic homeless population living in Golden Gate Park has often resulted in police "sweeps" aimed at clearing homeless encampments from the park. Some visitors and nearby residents argue that such encampments bring unsafe and unsanitary conditions, e.g. areas strewn with used needles and syringes, garbage, and human excrement.<ref>[http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/07/29/NEWSOM.TMP Not a place to call home anymore / Major push in place to clean 'crown jewel'<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Critics of the crackdown on homeless encampments in the park argue that the situation has not worsened in recent years, and that campaigns against homeless people have often been undertaken by mayors of the city for symbolic, political reasons.<ref>[http://www.sfbg.com/entry.php?entry_id=4227&catid=4 San Francisco Bay Guardian<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In 2006, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] brought a lawsuit against the city government on behalf of ten homeless people alleging property violations by the City during sweeps in Golden Gate Park the year before.<ref>[http://www.aclunc.org/news/press_releases/homeless_people_sue_san_francisco_for_property_rights_violations.shtml ].</ref>


A diverse collection of plants, from all over the world, can be found in Golden Gate Park. Acacias, like the [[Sydney golden wattle]] from Australia, were some of the first planted in the park by William Hammond Hall to stabilize the sand dunes. They still play that role in the western portion of the park and are common all around the park.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McClintock|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco|date=2001|publisher=Heyday Books|location=Berkeley, California|pages=25–27}}</ref>
==Golden Gate Park in film==
[[Image:Jitney06.jpg|right|thumb|A scene from the [[Charlie Chaplin]] film ''[[A Jitney Elopement]]'', filmed in Golden Gate Park]]
Charlie Chaplin filmed scenes for at least two movies there (''[[A Jitney Elopement]]'' and ''[[In the Park]]'', both from 1915).[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=San+Francisco+%22Golden+Gate+Park%22+site%3Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.filminamerica.com%2FMovies%2F&btnG=Search]. A scene in [[Orson Welles]]' ''[[The Lady from Shanghai]]'' was shot in the [[Steinhart Aquarium]] in the old [[California Academy of Sciences]] building, and the [[Conservatory of Flowers]] was filmed in ''[[Harold and Maude]]''.


While ninety-six percent of the park is considered not a natural area, four out of the thirty-two San Francisco locations designated as natural areas by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department's Natural Areas Program are found in Golden Gate Park. These are the Oak Woodlands, the Lily Pond, Strawberry Hill, and Whiskey Hill.<ref>{{cite web|title=Natural Resources Management Plan|url=http://sfrecpark.org/wpcontent/uploads/SNRAMP_LocationMap.pdf|website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Natural Areas FAQs|url=http://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/natural-areas-program/natural-areas-faqs/|website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref>
The starship in ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' is said to land in the park, but the scene was actually filmed at [[Will Rogers State Historic Park]] near Los Angeles.

The [[California live oak]] is the only tree native to the park.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McClintock|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco|date=2001|publisher=Heyday Books|location=Berkeley, California|pages=176–177}}</ref> Some of the oldest plants in the park are the coast live oaks in the Oak Woodlands in the northeastern portion of the park which are hundreds of years old.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Maloof|first1=Joan|title=CA: Oak Woodlands of Golden Gate Park|url=http://www.oldgrowthforest.net/oak-woodlands-of-golden-gate-park|website=Old-Growth Forest Network|access-date=November 27, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201031123/http://www.oldgrowthforest.net/oak-woodlands-of-golden-gate-park|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Nature in the City: San Francisco's Natural Heritage|url=http://sfrecpark.org/wp-content/uploads/nature_in_city_map.pdf|website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department}}</ref> Oaks also grow on Strawberry Hill and in the AIDS Memorial Grove. Acorns from the oak trees were an important food source to Native American groups in San Francisco.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Dreyfus|first1=Philip J.|title=Our better nature: environment and the making of San Francisco|date=2008|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press: Norman|location=Norman, Oklahoma|page=17}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department|title=Oak Woodlands Natural Areas|url=http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/oak-woodlands-natural-areas/|website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201035057/http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/oak-woodlands-natural-areas/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Other than the oak trees, the plants that are currently in the park are non-native, some of which are considered invasive species. Many have disrupted the ecosystem and harm birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects in the park. Volunteers with the Strawberry Hill Butterfly Habitat Restoration Project are removing and replacing invasive plant species to help restore the butterfly population on Strawberry Hill. Under the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan, the city will remove many invasive species and replace them with native plants.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Beatley|first1=Timothy|title=Handbook of Biophilic City Planning & Design|publisher=Island Press|location=Washington, DC|page=109}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Forestry Restoration|url=http://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/natural-areas-program/forestry-restoration/|website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-date=December 1, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201041536/http://sfrecpark.org/parks-open-spaces/natural-areas-program/forestry-restoration/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Holt|first1=Tim|title=Special attention for Golden Gate Park butterflies|url=http://www.sfgate.com/outdoors/article/Special-attention-for-Golden-Gate-Park-butterflies-4965860.php|website=SFGate|date=November 8, 2013|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref>

[[Eucalyptus globulus|Blue gum eucalyptus]], [[Monterey pine]], and [[Monterey cypress]] were the most commonly planted trees in the park during the late 1800s. Blue gum continued to grow and spread and is now one of the most important trees found in the park. They can be found near McLaren Lodge, on Hippie Hill, and in a eucalyptus forest near Middle Lake. Monterey pines are also prevalent today and can found in the Strybing Arboretum, the Japanese Tea Garden, and in the western portions of the park around the Buffalo Paddock.<ref name="Heyday Books">{{cite book|last1=McClintock|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco|date=2001|publisher=Heyday Books|location=Berkeley, California|pages=75–76,89,156–157}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Chain of Lakes|url=http://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/chain-of-lakes/|website=San Francisco Recreation and Parks|access-date=November 28, 2017|archive-date=December 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211120911/https://sfrecpark.org/destination/golden-gate-park/chain-of-lakes/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[Redwoods]] were planted in the park during the 1880s and can be found all around the park, most notably in Heroes Grove, Redwood Memorial Grove, AIDS Memorial Grove, Stanyan Meadows, on top of Hippie Hill, and in the Panhandle.<ref name="Heyday Books"/><ref>{{cite web|title=Redwoods: The Original San Francisco Giants|url=https://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/garden/redwoods-2012.html|website=San Francisco Botanical Garden|access-date=November 28, 2017}}</ref>

Tree ferns were planted early on by McLaren and continue to thrive in the park. Many can be found in the Tree Fern Dell, near the Conservatory of Flowers, which is made up of mostly [[Tasmanian tree fern]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=McClintock|first1=Elizabeth|title=The Trees of Golden Gate Park and San Francisco|date=2001|publisher=Heyday Books|location=Berkeley, California|pages=80–81}}</ref>

=== Wild animals ===
In 2013, San Francisco photographer David Cruz shot pictures of [[coyote]] pups in Golden Gate Park.<ref>{{Cite news|title = Adorable Coyote Pups In San Francisco!|url = https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/20/san-francisco-coyotes_n_3474123.html|website = The Huffington Post|access-date = December 3, 2015}}</ref> It is estimated that over 100 coyotes live in San Francisco, and there have been more sightings in Golden Gate Park than any other spot in the city.<ref>{{Cite web|title = San Francisco's Latest Fortune-Hunters: The Coyotes of Golden Gate Park {{!}} Hoodline|url = http://hoodline.com/2015/01/san-francisco-s-latest-fortune-hunters-the-coyotes-of-golden-gate-park|website = hoodline.com|date = January 25, 2015|access-date = December 3, 2015}}</ref> Coyotes have proven adaptive in the city, as they live primarily in open prairies and deserts.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Coyotes, Coyote Pictures, Coyote Facts – National Geographic|url = http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/coyote/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100112142255/http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/coyote|url-status = dead|archive-date = January 12, 2010|website = National Geographic|date = May 10, 2011|access-date = December 3, 2015}}</ref> [[Mountain lion]]s occasionally roam the park.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/10022261-181/mountain-lion-spotted-at-san|title=Mountain lion spotted in San Francisco|agency=Associated Press|date=September 9, 2019|via=Santa Rosa Press Democrat|language=en|access-date=September 9, 2019}}</ref> The first colony of [[great blue heron]]s to nest in San Francisco was discovered at Blue Heron Lake in Golden Gate Park in 1993 by [[Nancy DeStefanis|Nancy DeStefani]] and has been continuously returning to the park during the breeding season since then.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bergamin |first=Alessandra |title=Great blue herons at Stow Lake, San Francisco |url=https://baynature.org/article/back-again-great-blue-herons-nest-at-stow-lake/ |access-date=February 20, 2020 |website=Bay Nature |language=en-US}}</ref> The heronry features in ''Heron Island'' (1998), a short documentary directed by filmmaker [[Judy Irving]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Heron Island |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8jvUa0f5tg |access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211118/U8jvUa0f5tg |url-status=live |language=en |archive-date=November 18, 2021}}{{cbignore}}.</ref>

==Dedicated areas and memorials==

=== National AIDS Memorial Grove ===
{{main|National AIDS Memorial Grove}}
[[File:National AIDS Memorial Grove.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The National AIDS Memorial Grove]]

In the decades following the first reports of [[HIV/AIDS|AIDS]] in the United States in 1981, some Americans were overwhelmed with the devastation of the AIDS epidemic.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = Thirty Years Of AIDS in America: A Story of Infinite Hope|last = Valdiserri|first = Ronald|date = 2011}}</ref> In 1988 a few San Franciscans belonging to communities hit hard by the AIDS epidemic envisioned a place of remembrance for those who had died from AIDS. They imagined a serene AIDS memorial where people could go to heal.<ref>{{Cite web|title = AIDS Memorial Grove|url = https://goldengatepark.com/aids-memorial-grove.html|website = Golden Gate Park|date = February 23, 2011|access-date = November 19, 2015|language = en-US|archive-date = January 27, 2022|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220127112806/https://goldengatepark.com/aids-memorial-grove.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> Renovation for the [[National AIDS Memorial Grove|National Aids Memorial Grove]] began in September 1991 and continues today as communities are constantly working to improve it.<ref name="About The Grove">{{Cite web|title = About The Grove|url = http://www.aidsmemorial.org/about|website = National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco|access-date = November 19, 2015}}</ref> Located at 856 Stanyan Street, in the eastern portion of Golden Gate Park, the Grove stretches across seven acres of land. In 1996, due to Nancy [[Nancy Pelosi|Pelosi's]] efforts, the "National AIDS Memorial Grove Act" was passed by Congress and the President of the United States, [[Bill Clinton]], which officially made those seven acres of Golden Gate Park the first AIDS memorial in the United States. Then in 1999, it earned the Rudy Bruner Silver Medal [[Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence|Award]] for excellence in the urban environment.<ref name="About The Grove"/>

Due to its serene environment of redwoods, maples, ferns, benches, logs, and boulders, this memorial remains a place where people go to grieve, hope, heal, and remember.<ref name=":8y">{{Cite book |last=Pollock |first=Christopher |title=San Francisco's Golden Gate Park – A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories |publisher=West Wind Press |language=en-us}}</ref> {{page needed|date=October 2017}} Located at the Dogwood Crescent the Circle of Friends is the heart of the grove.<ref>{{Cite web|title = AIDS Memorial Grove|url = http://www.aidsmemorial.org/about|website = AIDS memorial|access-date = November 19, 2015|language = en-US}}</ref> The Circle of Friends has over 1,500 names inscribed on its flagstone ground which represent lives lost to AIDS.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knight |first=Heather |date=November 29, 2011 |title=National AIDS grove has 20th anniversary |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/National-AIDS-grove-has-20th-anniversary-2303221.php |access-date=November 19, 2015 |website=SFGate}}</ref> If one wishes to inscribe a name into the Circle of Friends they must donate $1,000 to the memorial and the name will be inscribed before the Worlds AIDS day commemoration on December 1.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Circle of Friends|url = http://www.aidsmemorial.org/circle-of-friends|website = National AIDS Memorial Grove in San Francisco|access-date = November 19, 2015}}</ref> Funded privately and tended by over 500 of volunteers, The National AIDS Memorial Grove remains a sanctuary for remembrance.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Knight |first=Heather |date=November 29, 2011 |title=National AIDS grove has 20th anniversary |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/National-AIDS-grove-has-20th-anniversary-2303221.php |access-date=November 19, 2015 |website=SFGate}}</ref>

On November 30 an annual Light in the Grove fundraising gala is held in the Grove. This event, held on the eve of Worlds Aids Day, sells out each year and was voted "Best Bay Area LGBT Fundraiser" by ''Bay Area Reporter'' readers in 2015.<ref>{{Cite web|title = San Francisco: "Light in the Grove" – San Francisco Bay Events|url = http://franciscobay.events/san-francisco-light-in-the-grove-2/60164|website = franciscobay.events|access-date = December 7, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151208195825/http://franciscobay.events/san-francisco-light-in-the-grove-2/60164|archive-date = December 8, 2015|url-status = dead|df = mdy-all}}</ref>

=== Shakespeare Garden ===
[[File:In shakespeare garden 14.JPG|thumb|upright=1|The gate to the Shakespeare Garden]]

The Shakespeare Garden is a relatively small{{Clarify|reason=vague|date=August 2016}} "17th century classical garden"<ref name="kalw.org">{{Cite web|title = An Afternoon with the Bard in Golden Gate Park|url = http://kalw.org/post/afternoon-bard-golden-gate-park-0#stream/0|website = kalw.org|access-date = December 2, 2015}}</ref> located directly southwest of the California Academy of Sciences. It is a tribute to William Shakespeare and his works, decorated with flowers and plants that are mentioned in his plays. The entrance is an ornate metal gate that says "Shakespeare Garden" intertwined with vines. Directly past the entrance is a walkway overarched with trees and lined with small flowers and a sundial in the center. The main area has a large moss tree and benches. At the end of the garden there is a wooden padlocked shelf containing a bust of William Shakespeare. The cast was made and given to the garden by George Bullock in 1918 and has remained behind locked doors since around 1950 to prevent people from cutting off pieces of the bronze statue to melt down.<ref name="Garden of Shakespeare's Flowers">{{Cite web|title = Garden of Shakespeare's Flowers|url = https://goldengatepark.com/garden-of-shakespeares-flowers.html|website = Golden Gate Park|date = February 23, 2011|access-date = November 19, 2015|language = en-US}}</ref> Around the bust, there are four plaques, originally six, with quotes from Shakespeare. The missing two were stolen and most likely sold and melted down so the thieves could make a profit from the bronze the plaques were made from.<ref name="kalw.org"/>

[[Alice Eastwood]], the director of botany from the California Academy of Sciences at the time, came up with the idea for the garden in 1928, and it was carried out by [[Katherine Agnes Chandler]]. It however is not unique, as there are several Shakespeare gardens around the world, including "Cleveland, Manhattan, Vienna, and Johannesburg."<ref name="kalw.org"/> The garden is a popular spot for weddings.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Golden Gate Park – Shakespeare Garden {{!}} San Francisco Recreation and Park|url = http://sfrecpark.org/reservablefacility/golden-gate-park-shakespeare-garden-wedding-site/|website = sfrecpark.org|access-date = November 19, 2015|archive-date = November 20, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151120081752/http://sfrecpark.org/reservablefacility/golden-gate-park-shakespeare-garden-wedding-site/|url-status = dead}}</ref> There are over 200 plants mentioned in Shakespeare's works.<ref name="Garden of Shakespeare's Flowers"/>

===Rose Garden===
The Rose Garden is found between the John F. Kennedy Promenade and [[Park Presidio Boulevard]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://goldengatepark.com/rose-garden.html|title = Rose Garden|date = February 23, 2011}}</ref>

===Dahlia Garden===
The Dahlia Garden is found just to the East of the Conservatory of Flowers, and is maintained by volunteers from the Dahlia Society of California, founded in 1917.<ref>https://sfdahlias.org.html {{Dead link|date=March 2022}}</ref>

== Sports and recreation ==
Golden Gate park contains many areas for sports and recreation including tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, lawn bowling fields, an angling and casting club, a [[Golden Gate Park Disc Golf Course|disc golf course]], horseshoe pits, an archery range, the polo field, and Kezar Stadium. Golden Gate park formed the first Lawn Bowling Club in the United States in 1901, with an Edwardian style clubhouse constructed in 1915.<ref>{{Cite news|title = 13 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Golden Gate Park|url = https://www.thrillist.com/entertainment/san-francisco/things-you-didn-t-know-about-golden-gate-park-sf|website = thrillist|access-date = December 3, 2015}}</ref>

=== Kezar Stadium ===
{{Main|Kezar Stadium}}
[[File:Renovated Kezar Stadium.jpg|thumb|upright=1|[[Kezar Stadium]] was home to the [[San Francisco 49ers]] from 1946 to 1970.]]

[[Kezar Stadium]] was built between 1922 and 1925 in the southeast corner of the park. It hosted various athletic competitions throughout its existence. It served as the home stadium of the [[San Francisco 49ers]] of the [[All-America Football Conference|AAFC]] and [[NFL]] from 1946 to 1970, and for one season in 1960, it hosted the [[Oakland Raiders]] of the [[American Football League|AFL]]

The 59,000-seat stadium was demolished in 1989 and replaced with a modern 9,044-seat stadium, which includes a replica of the original concrete arch at the entryway.

The stadium has been used in recent years for soccer, lacrosse, and track and field. The stadium also holds the annual city high school football championship, the Turkey Bowl. The Turkey Bowl dates to 1924 and is played each Thanksgiving. The game was held at Lowell High School in 2014 because Kezar was closed due to renovation of the running track. [[Galileo High School]] has the most overall wins in the game (16) after breaking [[Abraham Lincoln High School (San Francisco, California)|Lincoln High School]]'s record four-game winning streak in 2009.<ref name=":6">{{cite news|last = Drumwright|first = Steve|date = November 27, 2008|title = Turkey Day game to decide San Francisco high school football champion|newspaper = [[The San Francisco Examiner]]}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{cite news|date = November 26, 2009|last = Winegarner|first = Beth|title = Galileo defeats Lincoln 35-0|url = http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/galileo-defeats-lincoln-35-0/Content?oid=213966|newspaper = [[The San Francisco Examiner]]|access-date = January 25, 2015|archive-date = January 28, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150128132332/http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/galileo-defeats-lincoln-35-0/Content?oid=213966|url-status = dead}}</ref>

The stadium also hosts the football game in the three-part [[Bruce-Mahoney Trophy]] competition between [[Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory]] and [[Saint Ignatius College Preparatory]], two [[Catholic]] [[high schools]] in San Francisco, in addition to serving as the home field for Sacred Heart Cathedral's football program.{{citation needed|date=January 2021}}

=== The Polo Field ===
{{Main|Polo Fields}}
[[File:Golden gate park polo field.jpg|thumb|upright=1|The Polo Field in Golden Gate Park]]
[[File:Polo Fields Track Cycling 20th century.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Early 1900s track cycling race in the Polo Fields]]

The sport of polo came to California in 1876, when the California Polo Club was established with help of [[San Francisco Bay Area|Bay Area]] native, Captain Nell Mowry.<ref name=":10">Starr, Kevin. The Dream Endures: California Enters the 1940s. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print.</ref> By the late 1800s, polo in San Francisco was dominated by the Golden Gate Driving Club and the San Francisco Driving Club. In 1906, the Golden Gate Park Stadium was built by private subscription from the driving clubs<ref name=":11">Kipen, David. ''San Francisco in the 1930s: The WPA Guide to the City by the Bay''. Berkeley, California: University of California, 2011. Print.</ref> which contained both a polo field<ref name=":4" /> and a cycling velodrome.<ref>{{Cite web|title = License to Race: Cycling on the Golden Gate Park Polo Field 1930s–1950s|url = http://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/license-race-cycling-golden-gate-park-polo-field-1930s%E2%80%931950s|website = www.flysfo.com|access-date = November 19, 2015}}</ref> Later on, the stadium was renamed simply the Polo Field. In the mid-1930s, the City and County of San Francisco used [[Public Works Administration|PWA]] and [[Works Progress Administration|WPA]] funds to renovate the polo field.<ref name=":10" /> In 1939, additional WPA funds were used to build polo sheds, replacing already-standing horse stables.<ref name=":11" /> Polo continued being played through the 1940s<ref>San Francisco, the Bay and Its Cities. New York: Hastings House, 1947. Print.</ref> but by the 1950s polo stopped being played on the Polo Field because the sport had largely migrated to other bay area cities where land more suitable for polo was available.<ref name=":4">"Polo and Horse Show in Golden Gate Park." Sunset, September 1986: 55. Print</ref> In 1985 and 1986, polo was brought back to the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park for the second<ref>"Equestrian Festival At the Polo Fields – Local Sports." The San Francisco Chronicle, August 3, 1985, Final, Sports: 48. NewsBank. Web. November 19, 2015.</ref> and third annual San Francisco Grand Prix and Equestrian Festival.<ref name=":4" /> Today, polo is not regularly played on the Polo Field, but from 2006 to 2010 Polo in the Park was hosted annually.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Polo in the Park|url = http://sfpolointhepark.com|website = Polo in the Park|access-date = November 19, 2015}}</ref>

The Polo Fields has a history of cycling lasting from 1906 to the 21st century. The Polo Fields were originally created for track cycling in 1906, as track cycling was a popular sport in the early 1900s.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Exhibitions |url = http://www.flysfo.com/museum/exhibitions/license-race-cycling-golden-gate-park-polo-field-1930s%25E2%2580%25931950s|website = www.flysfo.com|access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref> Despite a down-surge of popularity in the mid-1900s, track cycling has seen a rebirth ever since the introduction of more track cycling programs in the Olympics in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.olympic.org/Assets/OSC%20Section/pdf/QR_sports_summer/Sports_olympiques_cyclisme_sur_piste_eng.pdf|title = CYCLING: History of Cycling Track at the Olympic Games|website = olympic.org|publisher = International Olympic Committee}}</ref> San Francisco has seen a surge in cycling popularity, and groups such as "Friends of the Polo Field Cycling Track" have recently{{When|date=June 2020}} formed.<ref>{{Cite web|title = About The Friends|url = http://friendsofthepolofield.com/about|website = Friends of the Polo Field Cycling Track|access-date = November 24, 2015|archive-date = November 25, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151125122110/http://friendsofthepolofield.com/about|url-status = dead}}</ref>

The field has an extensive history with music and events. Because of the location and size of the Polo Fields, various events are commonly held on the field. Historically, many major music festivals took place in the park, including the Human Be-In, which featured bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.<ref>{{Cite book|title = California Babylon|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=PXSzAAAAQBAJ|publisher = St. Martin's Griffin|date = September 24, 2013|isbn = 9781466854147|first1 = Kristan|last1 = Lawson|first2 = Anneli|last2 = Rufus}}</ref> More contemporary music festivals such as the Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass also take place on or nearby the Polo Fields.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Hardly Strictly Bluegrass 13 – Fri Oct 4, Sat Oct 5, & Sun Oct 6, 2013|url = http://www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com/2012/|website = www.hardlystrictlybluegrass.com|access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref> One of the largest public gatherings in San Francisco took place in the Polo Fields—a public Rosary in 1961 with 550,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Paul Street Evangelization – San Francisco, CA |url=http://streetevangelization.com/sanfrancisco/ |access-date=November 24, 2015 |website=St. Paul Street Evangelization – San Francisco, California |language=en-US}}</ref> Public political events were also held at the field, such as the anti-Vietnam War rally in 1969 and the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1996.<ref>{{Cite web|title = From Freeing Tibet to Rebooting Judaism – Q&A|url = http://forward.com/culture/qa/11482/from-fighting-for-a-free-tibet-to-rebooting-judais-00377/|website = The Forward| date=August 29, 2007 |access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref>

Now in the 21st century, the Polo Field is split into two divisions: the inner soccer field, and the flat-style cycling velodrome found around the field itself. Today many sports are played in the polo fields, including soccer, cross country running, and various types of cycling. The cycling track is still alive, with a large number of time-trial races held every cycling season.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Polo Field Smack Down|url = http://polofieldsmackdown.com/|website = Polo Field Smack Down|access-date = November 24, 2015|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151125095018/http://polofieldsmackdown.com/|archive-date = November 25, 2015|url-status = dead|df = mdy-all}}</ref> A cyclist in 2013 set a record in the park by riding a total of 188.5 miles on the Polo Field velodrome, circling it 279 times in just over twelve hours.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.strava.com/activities/63951434|title = Polo Fields 300k|date = June 30, 2013|website = Strava.com|publisher = Strava, Inc.|last = Moyer|first = Fred}}</ref> In 2023 a new cycling track distance record was set at 201.0 miles over 296 laps in 11 hours 6 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://www.strava.com/activities/9365682360|title = Polo Fields 200 Miles|date = June 30, 2023|website = Strava.com|publisher = Strava, Inc.|last = Perrie|first = Tony}}</ref>

=== Archery range ===
Archery was first organized in Golden Gate Park in 1881.<ref name=":8y" /> However, there was not a devoted range specifically for archery until around 1933. In 1936, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, many parts of Golden Gate Park, including the archery range, were improved as part of the [[Works Progress Administration]] (WPA).<ref>{{Cite web|title = W.P.A. Construction in San Francisco (1935–1942) – FoundSF|url = http://foundsf.org/index.php?title=W.P.A._Construction_in_San_Francisco_(1935-1942)|website = foundsf.org|access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref> With WPA support, the archery range was increased in size and the adjacent hill was carved to serve as a backdrop for stray arrows. Bales of hay are used as targets and are provided by the Golden Gate Joad Archery Club as well as donations from other donors.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Where We Teach Archery – Golden Gate Park Archery Range {{!}} Golden Gate Junior Olympic Archery Development|url = http://www.goldengatejoad.com/learn-archery-2/where-we-teach-archery/#.VlSo9Hh-k5h|website = www.goldengatejoad.com|access-date = November 24, 2015}}</ref> The Golden Gate Park Archery Range is located right inside the park off of 47th Street and Fulton Street. It is open whenever the park is open and is free to use by anyone. There is no staff and equipment is not offered to be rented at the range, however there are archery stores nearby for rentals and there are multiple groups that offer training and lessons.

== Golden Gate Park Nursery ==
[[File:Green Houses.jpg|thumb|upright=1|Green houses inside of Golden Gate Park Nursery]]

Established in 1870, the Golden Gate Park Nursery has remained one of the few places in the park restricted to the public. This nursery began with donated plants from around the world and expanded over the years with the care of past Golden Gate Park gardeners.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pollock |first=Chris |title=San Francisco's Golden Gate Park: A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories |publisher=WestWinds |year=2001 |location=Portland, Oregon |pages=89 |language=en-us}}</ref> The nursery has moved around the park thrice; first to where McLaren Lodge stands today, then to where Kezar Stadium is currently located and finally to its current location of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://fromthethicket.com|title = Golden Gate Park: Views from the Thicket|date = January 2011|last = Schenker|first = Heath}}</ref> This Nursery houses over 800 species of plants, some of which are exclusive to the nursery, and are sold to the public on the third Saturday of the month.<ref>{{Cite web|url = https://sfbotanicalgarden.org/plant-sales/index.html|title = San Francisco Botanical Garden : Plant Sales|publisher = San Francisco Botanical Garden Society}}</ref> Every week over 3,000 plants are dispersed within the city and park.<ref name=":0" />

==Homeless population==
In 2017, there were approximately 7,500 homeless people living in San Francisco.<ref name=":'1">{{cite web|last1=Placzek|first1=Jessica|title=Homelessness: You've got questions, we've got answers|url=https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/06/22/homelessness-youve-got-questions-weve-got-answers/|website=KQED News|date=June 23, 2017 |publisher=KQED|access-date=November 30, 2017}}</ref> Around 40 to 200 of these people were estimated to reside in the park as of 2013.<ref name=":sfgov">{{cite web|title=Golden Gate Park's Homeless Population|url=http://civilgrandjury.sfgov.org/2012_2013/Golden_Gate_Park's_Homeless_Population_Final_06-12-13.pdf|website=SFGov.org|publisher=City and County of San Francisco|ref=SFGOV|date=June 2013|pages= 9, 10}}</ref> Around half of the homeless population in Golden Gate Park are short-term residents that leave after a certain amount of time, and the other half are more long-term residents. Short-term residents tend to be younger, while permanent residents tend to be older, military veterans. Most of the homeless population is male. It is estimated that around 60% of the population may have a mental disability. However, it is hard to gather data about the population due to its variability.<ref name=":sfgov" />

The city government of San Francisco has attempted to establish various outreach programs in order to help the homeless population. The city's government stated in 2013 that "current outreach efforts to inform park dwellers about support services are limited, and efforts that do take place are not documented in a way that makes it possible to analyze their efficiency or success".<ref name=":sfgov" />

The City of San Francisco has grappled with what to do about camps of homeless people living in Golden Gate Park, which have been criticized as unsanitary, and "demoralizing" for park users and workers.<ref>{{cite news|last=Levy|first=Dan|title=Campers Get 3 Days to Vacate Golden Gate Park / Mayor reveals homeless sweep plan|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Campers-Get-3-Days-to-Vacate-Golden-Gate-Park-3026472.php|access-date=September 11, 2011|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=August 24, 1995}}</ref> The camps have been described by journalists as full of garbage, broken glass, hypodermic needles, and human excrement, and the people in them are described as suffering from serious addictions and often behaving aggressively with police and park gardeners.<ref>{{cite news|last=Garcia|first=Ken|title=Ken Garcia: Homeless in Golden Gate Park: An old story that never ends|url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/ken-garcia-homeless-in-golden-gate-park-an-old-story-that-never-ends/Content?oid=2158186|access-date=January 25, 2015|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|date=May 6, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| last=Buchanan| first=Wyatt| title=the Situation at Golden Gate Park | url=http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/THE-SITUATION-AT-GOLDEN-GATE-PARK-Not-a-place-2579045.php | work=[[San Francisco Chronicle|SF Gate]] | date=July 29, 2007 | access-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Nevius |first=C. W. |date=September 23, 2007 |title=Golden Gate Park update – fewer needles, homeless campsites |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Golden-Gate-Park-update-fewer-needles-homeless-2539158.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120714040010/http://articles.sfgate.com/2007-09-23/bay-area/17263512_1_homeless-campers-golden-gate-park-police-sweeps |url-status=live |archive-date=July 14, 2012 |access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref> There have been occasional incidents of violence against homeless people in the park, including the 2010 park beating to death of a homeless man and an attack on park visitors by dogs owned by a park resident, also in 2010.<ref>{{cite news|last=Aldax|first=Mike|title=Crackdown on midnight mayhem|url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfrancisco/crackdown-on-midnight-mayhem/Content?oid=2161308|access-date=January 25, 2015|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|date=September 2, 2010}}</ref> In the 1990s, then-Mayor Willie Brown sought unsuccessfully to borrow the Oakland Police Department's helicopters in order to find homeless people's camps.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Roschelle|first1=Anne|last2=Wright|first2=Talmadge|editor1-last=Hall|editor1-first=Tim|editor2-last=Miles|editor2-first=Malcolm|title=Urban Futures: Critical Commentaries on Shaping Cities|year=2003|publisher=Routledge|page=156}}</ref>

Starting in 1988 under then-mayor [[Art Agnos]], and continuing under the direction of subsequent mayors including [[Frank Jordan]], [[Willie Brown (politician)|Willie Brown]], and [[Gavin Newsom]], San Francisco police have conducted intermittent sweeps of the park aimed at eliminating the camps.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vega |first1=Cecilia |last2=Knight |first2=Heather |date=September 29, 2006 |title=SAN FRANCISCO / Crackdown in Golden Gate Park / Few homeless leave on deadline; city wants to offer help, services |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SAN-FRANCISCO-Crackdown-in-Golden-Gate-Park-2488402.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100106070438/http://articles.sfgate.com/2006-09-29/bay-area/17311145_1_golden-gate-park-homeless-people-central-park |url-status=live |archive-date=January 6, 2010 |access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Marinucci |first1=Carla |last2=Barnum |first2=Alex |last3=Van Derbeken |first3=Jaxon |date=November 7, 1997 |title=Brown Intensifies Hard-Line Tactics to Rid Park of Encampments / Nighttime copter checks ordered |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Brown-Intensifies-Hard-Line-Tactics-to-Rid-Park-2797177.php |access-date=September 11, 2011}}</ref> Tactics have included information campaigns designed to inform homeless residents about city services available to help them; waking sleeping homeless people and making them leave the park; issuing citations for infractions and misdemeanors such as camping, trespassing, or public intoxication, which carry penalties of $75 to $100;<ref>{{cite news|last=Kelkar|first=Kamala|title=Golden Gate Park homeless ignore outreach efforts|url=http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/golden-gate-park-homeless-ignore-outreach-efforts|access-date=September 11, 2011|newspaper=[[The San Francisco Examiner]]|date=November 5, 2009}}</ref> and the seizure and removal from the park of homeless people's possessions. During the night, police urge visitors to Golden Gate Park to be careful around homeless people.

The crackdowns have been criticized by anti-poverty activists and civil liberties groups, who say the measures attack only the symptoms of homelessness, while ignoring its root causes, and criminalize the poor for their poverty while ignoring their property rights and constitutional rights.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wilson|first=Yumi|title=Homeless Sue S.F. Over Golden Gate Park Sweeps|url=https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Homeless-Sue-S-F-Over-Golden-Gate-Park-Sweeps-3003435.php|access-date=September 11, 2011|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|date=June 18, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Curtius|first=Mary|title=Brown Joins Push to Retake, Restore Golden Gate Park|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-01-mn-59443-story.html|access-date=September 11, 2011|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=December 1, 1997}}</ref> In 2006, the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] brought a lawsuit against the city government on behalf of 10 homeless people, alleging property violations by the city during sweeps in Golden Gate Park the year before.<ref>{{cite press release | title=Homeless People Sue San Francisco for Property Rights Violations | url=http://www.aclunc.org/news/press_releases/homeless_people_sue_san_francisco_for_property_rights_violations.shtml | publisher=ACLU of Northern California | date=June 17, 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120214115709/http://www.aclunc.org/news/press_releases/homeless_people_sue_san_francisco_for_property_rights_violations.shtml |archive-date=February 14, 2012 |access-date=January 5, 2011}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
;Books
*A book, titled ''Five Thousand Concerts in the Park'', lists and describes the long history with music of Hellman Hollow, originally called Speedway Meadow and renamed in 2011 in honor of [[Warren Hellman]].<ref name="The San Francisco Chronicle">{{cite news| url=http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2011/12/15/warren-hellman-honored-with-golden-gate-park-meadow-renaming/ | work=The San Francisco Chronicle | title=Warren Hellman honored with Golden Gate Park meadow renaming | date=December 15, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title = Five Thousand Concerts in the Park: The History of the Golden Gate Park Band|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=h2AqcgAACAAJ|publisher = Blurb|date = January 1, 2010|isbn = 9780978997953}}</ref>

;Events
The tradition of large, free public gatherings in the park continues to the present, especially at Hellman Hollow.<ref name="The San Francisco Chronicle"/> Since the park's conception, over 5,000 concerts have been held in the park.
*In 2001, Hellman founded the [[Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival]] (formerly the "Strictly Bluegrass Festival"), a free music festival held in October.
*Hellman Hollow also plays host to a number of large-scale events, such as the [http://www.powertothepeaceful.org/ 911 Power to the Peaceful Festival] held by musician and filmmaker Michael Franti with Guerrilla Management.
*Since 2008, the [[Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival]] has been hosted every August in the park's [[Polo Fields]].

;Films
[[File:Jitney06.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1|A scene from the [[Charlie Chaplin]] film ''[[A Jitney Elopement]]'', filmed in Golden Gate Park]]

* [[Charlie Chaplin]] filmed scenes in the park for at least two 1915 movies, including ''[[A Jitney Elopement]]''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/AJitneyElopement/ |title=A Jitney Elopement |website=Film in America |access-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref> and ''[[In the Park]]''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.filminamerica.com/Movies/InThePark/ |title=In The Park |website=Film in America |access-date=January 28, 2015}}</ref>
* Another silent comedy short was filmed in the park, ''[[Wished on Mabel]]'' (1915), starring [[Mabel Normand]] and [[Roscoe Arbuckle|Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]]; various early features of the park can be seen in this 12-minute film, including several views of Stone Bridge<ref>{{cite book|date=1915|title=Wished on Mabel}}</ref>
*A sequence in the [[lost film | lost]] [[Sessue Hayakawa]] film, ''[[A Heart in Pawn]]'' was filmed at the [[Japanese Tea Garden (San Francisco) | Japanese Tea Garden]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/2015-A-HEARTINPAWN |title=A Heart in Pawn |work=afi.com |access-date=March 21, 2024}}</ref>
* A scene in [[Orson Welles]]' ''[[The Lady from Shanghai]]'' (1947) was shot in the [[Steinhart Aquarium]] in the old [[California Academy of Sciences]] building
* In the [[Bugs Bunny]] cartoon ''Bushy Hare'' (1950), Bugs pops up in Golden Gate Park at Portals of the Past, Lloyd Lake, and the remains of the A. E. Towne mansion after the 1906 earthquake<ref name="CSL/12136550080005115">{{cite web |last1=Dobbin |first1=Hamilton Henry |author1-link=Hamilton Henry Dobbin |title=Two views of 'Portals of the Past' |url=https://csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/view/delivery/01CSL_INST/12136550080005115 |website=csl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com |access-date=19 July 2023 |quote=Two views of "Portals of the Past," the doorway of the former Towne Mansion at the southwest corner of California and Taylor. The photo at the top of page 435 looks southeast through the portals right after the 1906 disaster, with the ruins of the City Hall framed between the columns. The photo at the bottom of page 435 depicts the portals after they had been assembled on the north side of Lloyd Lake in Golden Gate Park. An auto is parked in front of it. A man is in the driver's seat looking towards the lake. A woman is in the back with the door open and hanging over the edge, seemingly looking at her reflection. The reflection of the portals can be seen in the lake. A poem about Portals of the Past from an unknown newspaper is pasted onto the left of the page. Description: Text written on right side of page: "All that remained of the Towne Home after fire of 1906. These columns were part of the main entrance fronting on Calif. St. at Taylor. Later they were taken to Golden Gate Park at the Spreckles [?] Lake where they now stand-and are the admiration of visitors."}}</ref>
* ''[[Scaramouche (1952 film)|Scaramouche]]'' (1952) includes scenes of duels looking west into the fog at Speedway Meadows, and interiors in De Young Museum's old period rooms
* In ''[[The Lineup (film)|The Lineup]]'' (1958), scenes were shot inside the Steinhart Aquarium<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051866/locations |title=The Lineup – Filming Locations |website=[[IMDb]] |access-date=February 4, 2015}}</ref>
* ''[[At Golden Gate Park]]'' is a live recording of the concert given on May 7, 1969, by the [[Jefferson Airplane]] in Golden Gate Park
* ''[[Dirty Harry]]'' (1971) scenes were filmed in Kezar Stadium<ref>{{cite news |last=Turbow |first=Jason |date=January 12, 2012 |title=West Coast Brew Gave Kezar Stadium Its Color |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/21/sports/football/colorful-history-of-kezar-stadium-49ers-former-home.html |newspaper=[[New York Times]] |access-date=February 3, 2015 }}</ref>
* The [[Conservatory of Flowers]] was filmed in ''[[Harold and Maude]]'' (1971)
* The opening scene of the 1978 version of [[Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978 film)|Invasion of the Bodysnatchers]] was filmed on the outskirts of Golden Gate Park
* In the film ''[[Time After Time (1979 film)|Time After Time]]'' (1979), Malcolm McDowell can be seen exiting the park near 6th Avenue in the Richmond District<ref>{{Cite web|title = Time After Time (1979)|url = https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080025/locations?ref_=ttfc_ql_6|website = IMDb|access-date = December 3, 2015}}</ref>
* The [[Spock]] casket scene near the end of ''[[Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan]]'' (1982) was filmed in an overgrown corner of the park, using smoke machines to add a primal atmosphere<ref name="ralston-1052">{{cite journal |author=Ralston, Ken |date=October 1982 |title=Special Effects for 'Star Trek II': Mama eel and the nebula |journal=[[American Cinematographer]] }}</ref>
*In ''[[Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home]]'' (1986), a Klingon Bird-of-Prey is said to land in the park, but the scene was actually filmed at [[Will Rogers State Historic Park]] near Los Angeles due to heavy rainfall<ref>{{cite book |last=Gordon |first=William A. |url=https://archive.org/details/shotonthissitetr00gord |title=Shot on this site : a traveler's guide to the places and locations used to film famous movies and television shows |date=1995 |publisher=Carol Publishing Group |isbn=9780806516479 |location=Secaucus, New Jersey |page=[https://archive.org/details/shotonthissitetr00gord/page/40 40] |language=en-us |quote=Golden Gate Park. |access-date=February 3, 2015 |url-access=registration}}</ref>
* One of a number of scenes of characters playing [[American football|football]] in ''[[The Room]]'' (2003) is shot in Golden Gate Park's Hellman Hollow<ref>{{Cite web|last=Brinklow|first=Adam|date=December 7, 2017|title='The Room' filming locations in San Francisco, mapped|url=https://sf.curbed.com/maps/the-room-movie-locations-sf-film-wiseau|access-date=February 5, 2021|website=Curbed SF|language=en}}</ref>
* A scene from ''[[The Pursuit of Happyness]]'' (2006) was shot in the Children's Playground
* ''[[Contagion (2011 film)|Contagion]]'' (2011) includes a scene filmed at the Music Concourse
*The film ''[[The Diary of a Teenage Girl|The Diary Of A Teenage Girl]]'' (2015) filmed its opening scene in Golden Gate Park<ref>{{Cite news|title = On Screen, 'Diary Of A Teenage Girl' Packs The Punch Of A Good Graphic Novel|url = https://www.npr.org/2015/08/13/432065489/on-screen-diary-of-a-teenage-girl-packs-the-punch-of-a-good-graphic-novel|website = NPR.org|access-date = December 3, 2015|first = David|last = Edelstein}}</ref>
* Several scenes in ''[[Always Be My Maybe (2019 film)|Always Be My Maybe]]'' (2019) are set in Golden Gate Park.<ref>{{cite web |last1=de Guzman |first1=Dianne |title=Here are the San Francisco locations, cameos we spotted in 'Always Be My Maybe' |url=https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Always-Be-My-Maybe-San-Francisco-locations-cameos-13916366.php |website=SFGATE |access-date=28 December 2023}}</ref>
;
;Television
* In the ''[[Eli Stone]]'' TV episode, "Waiting for that Day" (2008), some citizens of San Francisco seek refuge in the park during a 6.8 earthquake; they later witness the destruction of the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] from the park, though in reality, the bridge isn't visible from the park


==See also==
==See also==
*[[List of parks in San Francisco]]
{{Portal|San Francisco Bay Area|SF From Marin Highlands3.jpg}}
* [[Kezar Pavilion]]
*[[Panhandle (San Francisco)]]
* [[California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894|1894 California Midwinter Exposition]]
*[[Conservatory of Flowers]]


==Notes==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.golden-gate-park.com Golden Gate Park unofficial site]
*[http://www.tpl.org/content_documents/ccpe_MostVisitedParks.pdf America's Most Visited Parks]
*[http://www.sfgov.org/site/uploadedfiles/recpark/Capital_Improvement_Division_New/ParkHistory.pdf Park History with maps from San Francisco Recreation and Park Department]
*[http://www.sfgate.com/traveler/graphics/maps/golden_gate_park_large.gif Park Map]
*[http://maps.google.com/maps?q=San+Francisco&ll=37.770986,-122.481079&spn=0.054850,0.074527&t=h&hl=en Google map including satellite image ca. early 2004]
*[http://www.musicconcourse.org/ Friends of the Music Concourse - local preservation and advocacy group]
*[http://www.news.water.ca.gov/2000.sedition/pstsdbr2.html Another capsule biography of Hall]
*[http://www.sfhistoryencyclopedia.com/articles/g/goldenGate-park.html Park history from San Francisco Historical Society]
*[http://www.retrocrush.com/archive2003/teagarden/ Article regarding Golden Gate Park Playground]
*[http://www.goldengateparkconcourse.org/golden_gate/default.asp Golden Gate Park Concourse Authority] redevelopment program
*[http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/pugsley/McLaren.htm Brief ''vita'' of John McLaren, the park superintendent]
*[http://www.artamble.com/art/beach_chalet History and Photos of Beach Chalet]
*[http://www.sunsetdistrict.org Events Calendar for Golden Gate Park and the Sunset District]
{{Coord|37.768|-122.482|region:US_type:landmark|display=title}}


==External links==
{{commons category|Golden Gate Park}}
{{Wikivoyage|Golden Gate Park}}
*[https://sfrecpark.org/770/Golden-Gate-Park Golden Gate Park official website]
*[http://www.sfparksalliance.org/ San Francisco Parks Alliance]
*[http://sfrecpark.org/ San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department]
*[https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~24679~940020:Plat-58--San-Francisco-?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no&qvq=q:Golden%20Gate%20Park;sort:pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=2&trs=58 Map of Golden Gate Park (1) 1876]
*[https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~24679~940020:Plat-58--San-Francisco-?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no&qvq=q:Golden%20Gate%20Park;sort:pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=2&trs=58 Map of Golden Gate Park (2) 1876]
*[https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~1576~170034:Map-of-the-Golden-Gate-Park-?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no&qvq=q:Golden%20Gate%20Park;sort:pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=31&trs=58 Map of Golden Gate Park, 1896]
*[https://www.davidrumsey.com/luna/servlet/detail/RUMSEY~8~1~272100~90045901:Map-of-Golden-Gate-Park-and-Panhand?sort=pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no&qvq=q:Golden%20Gate%20Ferry;sort:pub_list_no_initialsort%2Cpub_date%2Cpub_list_no%2Cseries_no;lc:RUMSEY~8~1&mi=9&trs=11 Map of Golden Gate Park, 1940]
{{Golden Gate Park}}
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Latest revision as of 18:48, 14 November 2024

Golden Gate Park
Spreckels Temple of Music and Music Concourse as seen from the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park
Map
TypeUrban Park
LocationSan Francisco, California, United States
Coordinates37°46′11″N 122°28′37″W / 37.76972°N 122.47694°W / 37.76972; -122.47694
Area1,017 acres (4.12 km2)
OpenedApril 4, 1870; 154 years ago (April 4, 1870)
Owned byGovernment of San Francisco
Operated bySF Parks
Visitorsabout 24 million annually
Open24 hours
Public transit access
ArchitectWilliam Hammond Hall
John McLaren
Architectural styleOlmsted, Vaux & Co.-influenced
NRHP reference No.04001137[1]
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 2004

Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond and Sunset districts of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the second-largest park in the city, containing 1,017 acres (412 ha), and the third-most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated 24 million visitors annually.

The creation of a large park in San Francisco was first proposed in the 1860s. In 1865, landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted proposed a park designed with species native to San Francisco. The plan was rejected for a Central Park-style park designed by engineer William Hammond Hall. The park was built atop shore and sand dunes in an unincorporated area known as the Outside Lands. Construction centered on planting trees and non-native grasses to stabilize the dunes that covered three-quarters of the park. The park opened in 1870.

Main attractions include cultural institutions such as the De Young Museum, California Academy of Sciences, and the Japanese Tea Garden; attractions such as the Conservatory of Flowers, the San Francisco Botanical Garden, the Beach Chalet, the Golden Gate Park windmills, and the National AIDS Memorial Grove. Recreational activities include bicycling, pedal boating, and concerts and events such as Outside Lands music festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass. Golden Gate Park is accessible by car and by public transportation.

Golden Gate Park earned the designation of National Historic Landmark and of California Historic Resource in 2004. The park is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the park's development. Golden Gate Park is over three miles (4.8 km) long east to west, and about half a mile (0.8 km) north to south.[2]

History

[edit]

Development

[edit]

In the 1860s, San Franciscans felt the need for a spacious public park similar to Central Park, which was then taking shape in New York City. Golden Gate Park was carved out of unpromising sand and shore dunes that were known as the Outside Lands, in an unincorporated area west of San Francisco's then-current borders. In 1865, Frederick Law Olmsted proposed a plan for a park using native species suited for San Francisco's dry climate; however, the proposal was rejected in favor of a Central Park-style park needing extensive irrigation.[3] Conceived ostensibly for recreation, the underlying purpose of the park was housing development and the westward expansion of the city. Field engineer William Hammond Hall prepared a survey and topographic map of the park site in 1870 and became its commissioner in 1871. He was later named California's first state engineer and developed an integrated flood control system for the Sacramento Valley. The park drew its name from the nearby Golden Gate Strait.

The plan and planting were developed by Hall and his assistant, John McLaren, who had apprenticed in Scotland, home of many of the 19th-century's best professional gardeners. John McLaren, when asked by the Park Commission if he could make Golden Gate Park "one of the beauty spots of the world," replied saying, "With your aid gentleman, and God be willing, that I shall do." He also promised that he'd "go out into the country and walk along a stream until he found a farm, and that he'd come back to the garden and recreate what nature had done."[4] The initial plan called for grade separations of transverse roadways through the park, as Frederick Law Olmsted had provided for Central Park, but budget constraints and the positioning of the Arboretum and the Concourse ended the plan. In 1876, the plan was almost replaced by one for a racetrack, favored by "the Big Four" millionaires: Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, Collis P. Huntington, and Charles Crocker. Stanford, who was president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, was also one of the owners of the Ocean Railroad Company, which ran from Haight Street across the park to its south border, then out to the beach and north to a point near Cliff House. It was Gus Mooney who claimed land adjacent to the park on Ocean Beach. Many of Mooney's friends also staked claims and built shanties on the beach to sell refreshments to the patrons of the park. Hall resigned, and the remaining park commissioners followed. In 1882 Governor George C. Perkins appointed Frank M. Pixley, founder and editor of The Argonaut, to the board of commissioners of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Pixley was adamant that the Mooney's shanties be eliminated, and he found support with the San Francisco Police for park security. Pixley favored Stanford's company by granting a fifty-year lease on the route that closed the park on three sides to competition.[5] The original plan, however, was back on track by 1886, when streetcars delivered over 47,000 people to Golden Gate Park on one weekend afternoon (out of a population of 250,000 in the city).

The first stage of the park's development centered on planting trees in order to stabilize the dunes that covered three-quarters of the park's area. In order to transform the sand dunes into Greenland, John McLaren grew bent grass seeds obtained from France for two years. Once the seeds were grown, he planted them over the sand to hold the ground together. After this success, McLaren introduced new species of plants to the land, and added over 700 new types of trees to California within the span of one year.[6] By 1875, about 60,000 trees, mostly Eucalyptus globulus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress, had been planted. By 1879, that figure more than doubled to 155,000 trees over 1,000 acres (400 ha). Within his lifetime, McLaren is credited to have planted over two million trees within northern California as a whole. Another accomplishment of John McLaren is his creation of an open walking space along the Pacific shoreline on the western boundary of the park. Despite obstacles such as heavy tides and winds that carried sand inland towards the park, McLaren was able to build an esplanade by stacking thousands of tree boughs over the course of 20 years.[6]

When he refused to retire at the customary age of 60 the San Francisco city government was bombarded with letters: when he reached 70, a charter amendment was passed to exempt him from forced retirement. On his 92nd birthday, two thousand San Franciscans attended a testimonial dinner that honored him as San Francisco's number one citizen. He lived in McLaren Lodge in Golden Gate Park until he died in 1943, aged 96. McLaren Avenue, in Sea Cliff, near Lincoln Park is named after him.[6]

In 1903, a pair of Dutch-style windmills were built at the extreme western end of the park. These pumped water throughout the park. The north windmill was restored to its original appearance in 1981 and is adjacent to Queen Wilhelmina tulip garden, a gift of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands.[7] These are planted with tulip bulbs for winter display and other flowers in appropriate seasons. The Murphy Windmill in the southwest corner of the park was restored in September 2011.

1906 earthquake relief

[edit]
San Francisco residents in temporary shelters in Golden Park after the 1906 earthquake
Temporary shelters after the 1906 earthquake.

After the great earthquake of San Francisco in 1906, Golden Gate Park became a site of refuge for many who found themselves without shelter. The undeveloped Outside Lands became a prime location to house these masses of people, and "earthquake shacks" popped up all throughout the area. Of the 26 official homeless encampments in the Golden Gate Park region, 21 were under the control of the United States Army.[8]

The United States Army housed 20,000 people in military style encampments, and 16,000 of the 20,000 refugees were living at the Presidio.[8] Within the Presidio were four major encampments including a camp exclusively for Chinese immigrants.[8] Despite being simple lodgings, the army organized 3,000 tents into a geometric grid complete with streets and addresses.[8] "The Army constructed a virtual town with large residential barracks [with temporary] tented housing, latrines and bathhouses, laundries, and other services."

Not only was the standard of military organization high, but the social organization was also at an acceptable standard despite the aftermath of the earthquake and fires. Reports indicate that small communities formed within the tent neighborhoods. The children of the refugees established play areas, and the adults congregated in the mess halls to socialize.[8]

In June 1906, the Presidio tent camps were shut down. To replace these tents the city of San Francisco built more permanent living quarters. As mentioned earlier these earthquake shacks were built to house those still homeless after the earthquake and subsequent fires. Army Union carpenters built the shacks, and residents paid off the cost of construction at a rate of two dollars a month for twenty-five months.[8]

Early 20th century

[edit]
Kezar Stadium was the home of the San Francisco 49ers for two decades.

During the Great Depression, the San Francisco Parks and Recreation Department ran out of public funds. Thus, the duties of the department were transferred to the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a government program designed to provide employment and community improvements during the economic woes of the 1930s. Within the park, the WPA was responsible for the creation of several features such as the Arboretum, the archery field, and the model yacht club. In addition, the WPA reconstructed 13 miles of roads throughout the park and built the San Francisco Police Department's horse stables. Another WPA contribution, Anglers Lodge and the adjoining fly casting pools, is still in use today. It is home to the Golden Gate Angling & Casting Club (formerly known as the San Francisco Fly Casting Club). The horseshoe pits were also created by WPA employees.[9] The pits also came with two sculptures, one of a gentleman tossing a horse shoe and one of a white horse (which has since crumbled), both created by artist Jesse S. "Vet" Anderson.[10]

Most of the water used for landscape watering and for various water features is now[when?] provided by groundwater from the city's Westside Basin Aquifer.[11] In the 1950s, the use of this effluent during cold weather caused some consternation, with the introduction of artificial detergents but before the advent of modern biodegradable products. These "hard" detergents would cause long-lasting billowing piles of foam to form on the creeks connecting the artificial lakes and could even be blown onto the roads, forming a traffic hazard.[citation needed]

Summer of Love

[edit]
Hare Krishna leader Bhaktivedanta Swami in Golden Gate Park, 1967.

Golden Gate Park is recognized as the birthplace of the Summer of Love.[12] On January 14, 1967, the Human Be-In was held in the Polo Fields. Organized by artist Michael Bowen, the event was attended by almost 30,000 people.[13] Famous artists such as Gary Snyder and Allen Ginsberg were in attendance, as calls for alternative lifestyles and expanded consciousness reflected the countercultural attitudes of the period.[14] At the event, psychologist Timothy Leary coined the phrase "Turn on, tune in, drop out."[14] Several months later, Scott McKenzie's "San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair)" became an anthem for the Summer of Love.[13] The eastern end of the Park was the epicenter of the Summer of Love, with an estimated 100,000 youth visiting the Haight-Ashbury district, where they embraced communal living and counter-establishment values.[15] Hippie Hill was a central meeting place, and renowned artists like Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and George Harrison performed free concerts there during the Summer of Love.[13][16][17]

Recent history

[edit]

In 1983, Queen Elizabeth II visited Golden Gate Park during a tour of the West Coast. Her stop included a dinner at the De Young Museum, attended by then-President Ronald Reagan, Willie Mays, George Lucas, Joe DiMaggio, and Steve Jobs.[18][19] About three blocks away from the museum, 5,000 people protested the Queen's visit due to Britain's role in The Troubles in Northern Ireland.[20] In 2023, the FBI revealed an assassination plot against the Queen during her visit.[21]

Today, Golden Gate Park is one of San Francisco's core attractions, drawing more than 24 million visitors each year.[22] It hosts several annual music and arts festivals, including Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.[23] Notable Outside Lands headliners have included Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar, Elton John, The Weeknd, Billie Eilish, Tyler, the Creator, and SZA.[24]

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Park became an epicenter of debate on which public city spaces should be made permanent car-free zones.[25] In 2022, the Board of Supervisors voted 7-4 to keep the eastern section of John F. Kennedy Drive permanently car-free,[26] a decision affirmed later that year by voters who defeated a ballot initiative which sought to revert the change.[27] The section was subsequently renamed "JFK Promenade."[28]

Panoramic view of Golden Gate Park from an airplane

Music Concourse area

[edit]
Spreckels Temple of Music on the Music Concourse

The Music Concourse is a sunken, oval-shaped open-air plaza originally excavated for the California Midwinter International Exposition of 1894. Its focal point is the Spreckels Temple of Music, also called the "Bandshell", where numerous music performances have been staged. During the fall, spring, and summer seasons, various food trucks are often parked behind the Bandshell, providing local food options to visitors of the Music Concourse. Parkwide bicycle and surrey rentals are also available behind the bandshell and at Haight and Stanyan on the east edge of Golden Gate Park. The area also includes a number of statues of various historic figures, four fountains, and a regular grid array of heavily pollarded trees. Since 2003, the Music Concourse has undergone a series of improvements to include an underground 800-car parking garage and pedestrianization of the plaza itself. It is surrounded by various cultural attractions, including:

De Young Museum

[edit]
The new M. H. de Young Memorial Museum opened in 2005.
The sphinx outside the De Young

Named after M. H. de Young, the San Francisco newspaper magnate, the De Young Museum is a fine arts museum that was opened in January 1921. Its original building, the Fine Arts Building, was part of the 1894 Midwinter Exposition, of which Mr. de Young was the director. The Fine Arts Building featured several artists, twenty-eight of whom were female. One of these revolutionaries was Helen Hyde, who is featured in the De Young Museum today. Once the fair ended, the Egyptian-styled building remained open "brimful and running over with art." Most of these pieces were paintings and sculptures purchased by De Young himself, and others were donations of household antiques from the older community, which were "more sentimental than artistic." By 1916, the Fine Arts Building's collection had grown to 1,000,000 items, and a more suitable museum was necessary.[4]

Construction to build a new museum began in 1917. With funds donated by De Young, and Louis Mullgardt as head architect, the De Young Museum was completed in 1921 in a "sixteenth century Spanish Renaissance design, with pale salmon colored façades that were burdened with rococo ornamentation." At its center was a 134-foot tower from which its wings extended. At the entrance was the Pool of Enchantment, which consisted of the sculptured Indian boys created by M. Earl Cummings. The museum contained four wings: the East Wing (featuring ever-changing paintings, sculptures and photography by artists such as Vincent Van Gogh); the Central Wing (famous American and European work); the Northeast wing (Asian collections); and the West Wing (artistic history of San Francisco).[29]

The original De Young Memorial Museum stood for most of the twentieth century, until 2001 when it was completely rebuilt, reopening in 2005. The head-architects, Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron, when asked about their design, said they wanted to create a place "where the art would be less hierarchically presented – more like contemporary art than like bijoux."[30] The building is mostly constructed of copper, and its unique design was created with the idea that the "building would be enhanced not only by sunlight but also by San Francisco's constant fog."[30] Since the opening of the De Young in 1921, its galleries have mostly changed, but some of the art originally featured during the fair and in the early twentieth century still exists in the museum today. The galleries of Asian art have since been relocated, but the De Young still features American art, Modern art, African art, textiles and sculptures, and special alternating exhibitions.

Academy of Sciences

[edit]
The California Academy of Sciences.

The California Academy of Sciences was founded in 1853, just three years after California was made a state, making it the oldest scientific institution in the western United States. Evolutionist Charles Darwin corresponded on the initial organization of the early institution.[31] The original museum consisted of eleven buildings built between 1916 and 1976 located on the former site of the 1894 Midwinter Fair's Mechanical Arts Building in Golden Gate Park.[32] The structure was largely destroyed in the 1989 earthquake and just three of the original buildings were conserved for the new construction: the African Hall, the North American Hall, and the Steinhart Aquarium.[32] The new building opened in 2008 at the same location in the park. The present building encompasses 37,000 square meters[32] and includes exhibits of natural history, aquatic life, astronomy, gems and minerals, and earthquakes.[33]

The academy also contains a 2.5-acre living roof with almost 1.7 million native California plants[34] and domes that cover the planetarium and rainforest exhibitions. The soil of the roof is six inches deep, which reduces storm water runoff by more than 90%[34] and naturally cools the interior of the museum, thereby reducing the need for air-conditioning. The glass panels of the living roof also contain cells that collect more than 5% of the electricity needed to power the museum.[32] Due to its eco-friendly materials and natural sources of energy, the California Academy of Sciences has been named the country's only LEED-platinum certified museum, granted by the U.S. Green Building Council.[34]

Japanese Tea Garden

[edit]
The Japanese Tea Garden opened in 1894.
Moon bridge at the Japanese Tea Garden

The Japanese Tea Garden is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States and occupies five of the 1,017 acres (412 ha) of the Golden Gate Park.[35] It stands adjacent to the de Young Museum and is rumored to be the introduction site of the fortune cookie to America.[36]

George Turner Marsh, an Australian immigrant, originally created the garden as a "Japanese Village" exhibit for the 1894 Midwinter Exposition.[37] Following the fair, a handshake agreement with John McLaren would allow Japanese horticulturalist Makoto Hagiwara to take over the garden. Hagiwara would oversee modifications in the garden's transition from a temporary exhibit to a permanent installment within the park. Hagiwara and his family would continue to occupy the garden, maintaining the landscape and design of the garden until 1942.[38]

Hagiwara himself died in 1925, leaving the garden in the hands of his daughter, Takano Hagiwara, and her children. They lived there until 1942, when they were evicted from the gardens and forced into internment camps by way of Executive Order 9066. During World War II, anti-Japanese sentiment led to the renaming of the garden as the "Oriental Tea Garden". After the war, a letter-writing campaign enabled the garden to be formally reinstated as the Japanese Tea Garden in 1952.[38] In January 1953, "a classical Zen garden was added to the Tea Garden" as well as the Lantern of Peace. The Lantern of Peace, weighing 9,000 pounds, was a gift from the Japanese Government as a way to mend the relationship between the U.S. and Japan that was damaged from World War II.[38] In addition, a plaque, designed by Ruth Asawa, now stands at the entrance of the gardens as a tribute meant to honor Hagiwara and his family for their care-taking of the gardens.[37] The garden also still has features such as the Drum Bridge and the Tea House from the Midwinter Exposition.[39]

As is typical among Japanese style tea gardens, the Golden Gate Park's tea garden has its own stepping stone pathways, stone lanterns, and variety of plants.[40] In the mix there are dwarf trees, bamboo, and azaleas adorning the gardens.

The Japanese Tea Garden serves as a spot of tranquility in the middle of the various activities that take place at the Golden Gate Park[41] and provides visitors "a place in which it is possible to be at one with nature, its rhythms, and changing beauties."[42] The Japanese Tea Garden brings in more than $1 million to the Golden Gate Park and the city annually. There is a constant debate whether or not changes should be made to the garden. Adding souvenir shops and a diversity of food options at the garden historically brings in more money to the organization monitoring the Golden Gate Park, the Recreation and Park Commission. Selling products that share knowledge about Japanese gardens and culture also helps maintain the Japanese Tea Garden's authenticity.[43]

Structures and buildings

[edit]

Conservatory of Flowers

[edit]

History

[edit]
The Conservatory of Flowers opened in 1879.

The Conservatory of Flowers opened in 1879 and stands today as the oldest building in Golden Gate Park.[44] The Conservatory of Flowers is one of the largest conservatories in the US, as well as one of few large Victorian greenhouses in the United States.[45] Built of traditional wood and glass panes, the Conservatory stands at 12,000 square feet[46] and houses 1,700 species of tropical, rare and aquatic plants.[44] Though it was not originally constructed, William Hammond Hall included the idea of a conservatory in his original concept for the design of the park.[45] The idea was later realized with the help of twenty-seven of the wealthiest business owners in San Francisco.[46]

In 1883, a boiler exploded and the main dome caught fire. A restoration was undertaken by Southern Pacific magnate Charles Crocker. It survived the earthquake of 1906, only to suffer another fire in 1918. In 1933 it was declared unsound and closed to the public, only to be reopened in 1946. In 1995, after a severe storm with 100 mph (161 km/h) winds damaged the structure, shattering 40% of the glass, the conservatory was closed again. It was cautiously dissected for repairs and reopened in September 2003.[citation needed]

Rooms within the Conservatory

[edit]
  • The Potted Plants Gallery follows Victorian architecture and the 19th century idea of displaying tropical plants in non-tropical parts of the world.[47]
  • The Lowlands Gallery contains plants from the tropics of South America (near the equator).[48]
  • The Highlands Gallery contains native plants from South to Central America.[49]
  • The Aquatic Plants room is similar in conditions as those near the Amazon River.[50]

Beach Chalet

[edit]

The two-story Beach Chalet faces the Great Highway and Ocean Beach at the far western end of the park. It contains two restaurants and murals from the 1930s.[51]

Windmills

[edit]
North Windmill in Golden Gate Park
The South Windmill

Before the construction of its windmills, Golden Gate Park paid the Spring Valley Water Works up to 40 cents per 1000 gallons of water.[52] To avoid this expense the North (Dutch) Windmill was commissioned in 1902 when Superintendent John McLaren deemed the park's pumping plant insufficient to supply the additional water essential to the life of the park. A survey and inspection of the vast area west of Strawberry Hill revealed a large flow of water toward the ocean. The North windmill was constructed to reclaim the drainage towards the Pacific Ocean and direct fresh well water back into the park.[52] Alpheus Bull Jr., a prominent San Franciscan, designed the North Windmill. The Fulton Engineering Company received the bid for the ironwork, and Pope and Talbot Lumber Company donated sails ("spars") of Oregon pine. The North Windmill was installed, standing 75 feet tall with 102-footlong sails. The windmill pumps water an elevation of 200 feet with a capacity of 30,000 gallons of water per pump per hour, supplying and replenishing Lloyd Lake, Metson Lake, Spreckels Lake, and Lincoln Park.[53] The water is pumped from the valley into a reservoir on Strawberry Hill. From there the water runs downhill into Falls and Blue Heron Lake.[53] The North Windmill was successful, causing another system of wells and a second windmill at the southwestern corner of the park to be recommended. Samuel G. Murphy provided $20,000 to erect the windmill. The South Windmill (Murphy Windmill) stands as the largest in the world, having the longest sails in the world since its construction, with the ability to lift 40,000 gallons of water per hour.[citation needed]

Sculpture

[edit]
The Cider Press is a sculpture by Thomas Shields Clarke, installed in Golden Gate Park.[54]

A statue of longtime park superintendent John McLaren stands in the Rhododendron Dell. McLaren had this statue hidden and it was only placed in the dell after his death.[55] Other statues of historical figures are also located throughout the park, including Francis Scott Key, Robert Emmet, Robert Burns, the double monument to Johann Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, General Pershing, Beethoven, Giuseppe Verdi, President Garfield, and Thomas Starr King. A bronze statue of Don Quixote and his companion, Sancho Panza kneeling to honor their creator, Cervantes, combines historical and fictitious characters. At the Horseshoe Court in the northeast corner of the park near Fulton and Stanyan, there is a concrete bas-relief of The Horseshoe Pitcher by Jesse "Vet" Anderson, a member of the Horseshoe Club. Across from the Conservatory of Flowers is Douglas Tilden's The Baseball Player.[9]

During the George Floyd protests, on June 19, 2020, demonstrators toppled or otherwise vandalized the statues of Catholic missionary Junípero Serra, Francis Scott Key (author of the lyrics to The Star-Spangled Banner), Ulysses S. Grant, Cervantes, Don Quixote and Sancho Panza.[56] The archbishop of San Francisco, Salvatore Cordileone, described the toppling of the saint's statue as "an act of sacrilege [and] an act of the evil one", and on June 27 performed an exorcism at the site using the Prayer to Saint Michael.[57][58]

In the northwest corner of the park, near the Beach Chalet, is a monument to explorer Roald Amundsen and the Gjøa, the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage.[59] Following the expedition, Gjøa was donated to the city in 1906 and put on display for decades near Ocean Beach. After falling into disrepair, Gjøa was returned to Norway in 1972.[60]

Prayer Book Cross

[edit]

The Prayer Book Cross, also known as Drake's Cross, is a sandstone Celtic-style cross measuring 60 feet tall. Erected by Episcopalians in 1894, it commemorates Sir Francis Drake's first landing on the West Coast in 1579,[61] the first use of the Book of Common Prayer in California and (from the inscription) the "First Christian service in the English tongue on our coast." It is located near Rainbow Falls on Crossover Drive between the John F. Kennedy Promenade and Park Presidio Drive.[62] The cross was meant to be visible to ships at sea but has since been overgrown by trees.[61] A gift of George W. Childs, it was designed by the architectural firm Coxhead & Coxhead of San Francisco.[63]

[edit]
The carousel building in Golden Gate Park

William Hammond Hall persuaded officials to build the Children's House and Play Ground, designed by Percy & Hamilton, finished in 1888, and funded by William Sharon's bequest.[64] It was the first public children's playground in the United States,[64] for children and their mothers, offering swings, indoor enclosures, open sitting areas and a steam-powered carousel.[64] The two-story Sharon Children's House now houses the Sharon Art Studio.[64][65]

In 1888, a steam-powered carousel was installed in a circular building near the Children's House and Play Ground. The carousel building was occupied by two more carousels before the 1914 Herschell-Spillman Company carousel was purchased by Herbert Fleishhacker from the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1941.[66] The 1914 carousel has undergone several major renovations, the first, a transition from steam to electric power with the assistance of the PG&E Company.[67]

In 1977, the carousel closed for safety concerns and The San Francisco Arts Commission hired local artist Ruby Newman[68] to oversee the artistic restoration. Her crew of craftspeople restored the badly deteriorated carousel and hand painted all animals, chariots, painted landscapes of the bay area and decorative housing (she holds the copyright),[citation needed] re-opening in 1984. Presently, the carousel includes sixty two animals, and a German Band Organ. Two of the animals, a goat and an Outside Row Stander Carousel Horse,[69][70] are by the Dentzel Wooden Carousel Company.[71]

In 2007, the Koret Foundation funded a $3.8 million renovation, later called the Koret Playground/Children’s Quarter.[64]

Transportation

[edit]

Public transport

[edit]
Metro stop a block away from Golden Gate Park
Metro stopped at the 9th Avenue and Irving station, half a mile from the California Academy of Sciences.

The San Francisco Muni Metro runs along the southern edge of the park. Access to the park on the westbound N Judah line begins at the Carl and Stanyan station, located one block from Kezar Stadium. The line continues along the entirety of the park, and includes access to the California Academy of Sciences and De Young Museum at the 9th Avenue and Irving station; Blue Heron Lake at the Judah and 19th Avenue station; Polo Fields at the Judah and Sunset station; and the Beach Chalet Soccer Fields at the line's western terminus at the Judah and La Playa station.

Various bus routes pass through Golden Gate Park or stop along its boundaries. The 18 bus stops along the Great Highway on the western end of the park. The 5 Fulton runs along the northern boundary of the park along Fulton Street. The 33 Ashbury/18th Street stops along the eastern edge of the park in Haight-Ashbury. The 7 Haight/Noriega also stops in the Haight, running about halfway along the southern end of the park. The 43 Masonic stops near the Pandhandle on the far eastern end of the park. The 44 and 28 both run through the park.

Natural features

[edit]

San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum

[edit]
Redwood trail through the San Francisco Botanical Garden

The San Francisco Botanical Garden was laid out in the 1890s, but funding was insufficient until Helene Strybing willed funds in 1926. Planting began in 1937 with WPA funds supplemented by local donations. This 55 acres (22 ha) arboretum contains more than 7,500 plant species.[72] The arboretum also houses the Helen Crocker Russell Library, northern California's largest horticultural library.[73]

Due to the unique climate of San Francisco and Golden Gate Park,[74] the plants in the San Francisco Botanical Garden range from a variety of different national origins, some of them no longer existing in their natural habitats. Areas of origin include but are not limited to Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and Central and South America.[75] These regions of origin go from desert to tropical. In addition, some native California species are housed in the garden as well, such as Redwood trees.[76] Overall, the tradition of these diverse gardens that eventually served to inspire the San Francisco Botanical Garden comes originally from China, Europe, and Mexico.[77]

Lakes

[edit]
Blue Heron Lake, the largest of the manmade lakes in Golden Gate Park, offers boat rentals.

Blue Heron Lake, formerly known as Stow Lake, surrounds the prominent Strawberry Hill, now an island with an electrically pumped waterfall. The lake was originally named for William W. Stow, a known anti-Semite,[78] who gave $60,000 for its construction. Strawberry Hills' waterfall was named Huntington Falls after its benefactor Collis P. Huntington. Blue Heron Lake was the first artificial lake constructed in the park and Huntington was the park's first artificial waterfall.[79] The falls are fed by a reservoir located atop Strawberry Hill. Water is pumped into the reservoir from Elk Glen Lake, the South Windmill, wells, and the city's water supply to keep the system of lakes flowing eastward from Blue Heron Lake.[80]

Rowboats and pedalboats can be rented at the boathouse. Much of the western portion of San Francisco can be seen from the top of this hill. The reservoir at its top also supplies a network of high-pressure water mains that exclusively supply specialized fire hydrants throughout the city. The lake itself also serves as a reservoir from which water is pumped to irrigate the rest of the park should other pumps stop operating.[80]

In the past the Hill was also topped by Sweeny Observatory, but the building was ruined by the 1906 earthquake and plans to replace it were not approved by park commissioners.[81]

Two bridges connect the inner island to the surrounding mainland: the Roman Bridge and the Stone (or Rustic) Bridge. The Stone Bridge is a prominent background feature in the 1915 American silent comedy short Wished on Mabel, starring Mabel Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.[82]

In October 2022, three San Francisco city supervisors introduced a resolution urging the Recreation and Park Commission to rename the lake due to William Stow's outspoken antisemitism, as part of an effort to rename various landmarks across the San Francisco Bay Area.[83] In January 2024, the Commission decided on the new name of "Blue Heron Lake", in honor of the blue herons that nest along the lake.[84][85]

Spreckels Lake

San Francisco Model Yacht Club boat on Spreckels Lake

Spreckels Lake is an artificial reservoir behind a small earthen dam that lies on the north side of the Golden Gate Park between Spreckels Lake Drive and Fulton Street to the north, and John F. Kennedy Drive to the south. It is named after sugar-fortune heir and then San Francisco Parks Commissioner Adolph B. Spreckels.[86] Built between 1902 and 1904 at the request of the San Francisco Model Yacht Club specifically as a model boating facility, the lake was first filled in February 1904 and opened March 20, 1904. One can usually find both 'sail driven,' self-guided Yachts and electric or gas/nitro powered radio-controlled model boats of many types and designs plying the lake's waters most times of year.

Alvord Lake is located at the eastern end of the park near the intersection of Haight and Stanyan streets. It was named for William Alvord, Park Commissioner in the 1870s, and Mayor of San Francisco from 1871 to 1873, who financed its construction in 1882.[87] A few yards west of the lake is the Alvord Lake Bridge, the oldest known reinforced concrete bridge built in the United States.

Elk Glen Lake is the park's deepest ornamental lake, measuring over 6 ft. deep on average. The lake acts as a reservoir for water from the Reclamation Plant before it is pumped to either Blue Heron Lake or the reservoir atop Strawberry Hill.[88]

Mallard Lake is landlocked and not a part of the park's irrigation system.[88]

Metson Lake lies west of Mallard Lake and east of the Chain of Lakes. This body of water has a capacity of over 1.1 million gallons that overflow into South Lake or can be redirected elsewhere for irrigation purposes.[88]

Chain of Lakes Many naturalistically landscaped lakes are placed throughout the park: several are linked together into chains, with pumped water creating flowing creeks. Out of the original 14 natural marshy lakes within the sand dunes Golden Gate Park was built in, only 5 remain, three of which are the Chain of Lakes. The three lakes, North, Middle, and South Lake, are located along the Chain of Lakes Drive.

North Lake is the largest of the three, and is known for its water birds that often live on the small islands within the lake.[89] Some of the birds spotted are egrets, belted kingfishers, ducks, and great blue herons. It is surrounded by a paved walkway that is often used by families, joggers, and dog walkers.[90]

In 1898, McLaren started a landscaping project, inspired by Andrew Jackson Downing's teachings on building with nature. Seven islands were planted within the North Lake in 1899, using different species of shrubs and trees. A gazebo was built, and wooden footbridges were used to connect the different islands within the lake. Both the gazebo and the bridges were removed in order to conserve nesting birds on the islands.[91]

North Lake is the final of the Chain of Lakes that flow into each other south to north, making it the final destination of the lakes' water pumped in from the Water Reclamation Plant. Should the plant's water not meet the lake's needs the water level is maintained by well water pumped from the North Windmill.[92]

Middle Lake is particularly known for bird-watching due to the visits of migrant species of birds like tanagers, warblers and vireos. It is surrounded by a dirt trail and vegetation.[90] The lake resembles the marshes that existed before Golden Gate Park, and is known for being a more remote and romantic setting.[89]

South Lake is the smallest of the three lakes, and borders Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.[89] This lake is the smallest in the Chain of Lakes. Its water is sourced from either a direct flow from Metson Lake, or by Blue Heron Lake water released by a valve. It does not contribute to irrigation in the park but it does feed into Middle Lake. Its noteworthy bird population is its ducks.[88]

Bison Paddock

[edit]
Bison Paddock, Golden Gate Park

Bison (Bison bison) have been kept in Golden Gate Park since 1891, when a small herd was purchased by the park commission.[93] At the time, the animal's population in North America had dwindled to an all-time low, and San Francisco made a successful effort to breed them in captivity. In 1899, the paddock in the western section of the park was created. At its peak and through a successful captive breeding program, more than 100 calves were produced at Golden Gate Park, helping preserve the iconic bison population numbers in North America, which has been critical to the culture and livelihood of Native Americans.

In 1984, Mayor Dianne Feinstein's husband, Richard C. Blum, purchased a new herd as a birthday present for his wife.[94] The older bison in the paddock today are descendants of this herd.

In December 2011, after the number of bison in the paddock had dwindled to three, Assemblywoman Fiona Ma's office led another preservation effort. With donations from the Theodore Rosen Charitable Foundation, Richard C. Blum, and the Garen Wimer Ranch, Assemblywoman Ma's office worked with the San Francisco Zoo and San Francisco Recreation and Parks to add seven new bison to the existing herd. The paddock is open to the public for viewing.[citation needed]

Hippie Hill

[edit]
Crowd on Hippie Hill, February 2005

Nestled in the trees between the Conservatory of Flowers and Haight Street, Hippie Hill displays a lifestyle unique to San Francisco. East of the Golden Gate Park tennis courts, the green space known as Hippie Hill is a gentle sloping lawn just off of Kezar Drive and overlooking Robin Williams Meadow,[95] with Eucalyptus and Oak on either side.[96] Additionally, the hill contains several uncommon trees: coast banksia, titoki, turpentine, and cow-itch.[97]

Hippie Hill has been a part of San Francisco's history, namely the Summer of Love, in 1967, a large counterculture movement that partially took place on the hill. With its close proximity to Haight Street, the main site of the Summer of Love, the movement often overflowed onto the hill. During this era, people gathered in the area to connect with one another through many activities, including the playing of music, consumption of LSD and marijuana, and expression of hippie ideals. With time, area residents began to complain of the flower children's open sexuality, nude dancing, panhandling, and excess litter.[98]

Through this movement, music came to have its own history on the hill as well. Musicians and bands such as Janis Joplin, the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and George Harrison all played free shows for the public near by.[99] Today, improvised drum circles form on the weekends where people come together and fill the hill with a constant beat for hours on end.[98] A space filled with their culture, the hill played a major part in the hippies' ability to openly use drugs and express themselves as the police adopted a policy of looking the other way.[100]

Though the police have been known to crack down on certain occurrences in the park, the SFPD are lenient with activity on the hill.[98] Starting from the Summer of Love when the police were unable to address the enormity of the situation, some activity is overlooked.[98] As supervisor London Breed stated, "smoking anything in any city park is illegal, but San Francisco has a tradition of turning a blind eye to infractions for official or unofficial events."[100] The police department has stated that they are not naïve enough to attempt to catch all the people smoking marijuana on the hill, but as Police Chief Greg Suhr said, "There are plenty of other things that come with it that we will not have."[101]

Plants

[edit]
Large Monterey cypress nicknamed Norton or Uncle John's Tree, located in Golden Gate Park (June 2022)

A diverse collection of plants, from all over the world, can be found in Golden Gate Park. Acacias, like the Sydney golden wattle from Australia, were some of the first planted in the park by William Hammond Hall to stabilize the sand dunes. They still play that role in the western portion of the park and are common all around the park.[102]

While ninety-six percent of the park is considered not a natural area, four out of the thirty-two San Francisco locations designated as natural areas by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department's Natural Areas Program are found in Golden Gate Park. These are the Oak Woodlands, the Lily Pond, Strawberry Hill, and Whiskey Hill.[103][104]

The California live oak is the only tree native to the park.[105] Some of the oldest plants in the park are the coast live oaks in the Oak Woodlands in the northeastern portion of the park which are hundreds of years old.[106][107] Oaks also grow on Strawberry Hill and in the AIDS Memorial Grove. Acorns from the oak trees were an important food source to Native American groups in San Francisco.[108][109]

Other than the oak trees, the plants that are currently in the park are non-native, some of which are considered invasive species. Many have disrupted the ecosystem and harm birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects in the park. Volunteers with the Strawberry Hill Butterfly Habitat Restoration Project are removing and replacing invasive plant species to help restore the butterfly population on Strawberry Hill. Under the Significant Natural Resource Areas Management Plan, the city will remove many invasive species and replace them with native plants.[110][111][112]

Blue gum eucalyptus, Monterey pine, and Monterey cypress were the most commonly planted trees in the park during the late 1800s. Blue gum continued to grow and spread and is now one of the most important trees found in the park. They can be found near McLaren Lodge, on Hippie Hill, and in a eucalyptus forest near Middle Lake. Monterey pines are also prevalent today and can found in the Strybing Arboretum, the Japanese Tea Garden, and in the western portions of the park around the Buffalo Paddock.[113][114]

Redwoods were planted in the park during the 1880s and can be found all around the park, most notably in Heroes Grove, Redwood Memorial Grove, AIDS Memorial Grove, Stanyan Meadows, on top of Hippie Hill, and in the Panhandle.[113][115]

Tree ferns were planted early on by McLaren and continue to thrive in the park. Many can be found in the Tree Fern Dell, near the Conservatory of Flowers, which is made up of mostly Tasmanian tree fern.[116]

Wild animals

[edit]

In 2013, San Francisco photographer David Cruz shot pictures of coyote pups in Golden Gate Park.[117] It is estimated that over 100 coyotes live in San Francisco, and there have been more sightings in Golden Gate Park than any other spot in the city.[118] Coyotes have proven adaptive in the city, as they live primarily in open prairies and deserts.[119] Mountain lions occasionally roam the park.[120] The first colony of great blue herons to nest in San Francisco was discovered at Blue Heron Lake in Golden Gate Park in 1993 by Nancy DeStefani and has been continuously returning to the park during the breeding season since then.[121] The heronry features in Heron Island (1998), a short documentary directed by filmmaker Judy Irving.[122]

Dedicated areas and memorials

[edit]

National AIDS Memorial Grove

[edit]
The National AIDS Memorial Grove

In the decades following the first reports of AIDS in the United States in 1981, some Americans were overwhelmed with the devastation of the AIDS epidemic.[123] In 1988 a few San Franciscans belonging to communities hit hard by the AIDS epidemic envisioned a place of remembrance for those who had died from AIDS. They imagined a serene AIDS memorial where people could go to heal.[124] Renovation for the National Aids Memorial Grove began in September 1991 and continues today as communities are constantly working to improve it.[125] Located at 856 Stanyan Street, in the eastern portion of Golden Gate Park, the Grove stretches across seven acres of land. In 1996, due to Nancy Pelosi's efforts, the "National AIDS Memorial Grove Act" was passed by Congress and the President of the United States, Bill Clinton, which officially made those seven acres of Golden Gate Park the first AIDS memorial in the United States. Then in 1999, it earned the Rudy Bruner Silver Medal Award for excellence in the urban environment.[125]

Due to its serene environment of redwoods, maples, ferns, benches, logs, and boulders, this memorial remains a place where people go to grieve, hope, heal, and remember.[126] [page needed] Located at the Dogwood Crescent the Circle of Friends is the heart of the grove.[127] The Circle of Friends has over 1,500 names inscribed on its flagstone ground which represent lives lost to AIDS.[128] If one wishes to inscribe a name into the Circle of Friends they must donate $1,000 to the memorial and the name will be inscribed before the Worlds AIDS day commemoration on December 1.[129] Funded privately and tended by over 500 of volunteers, The National AIDS Memorial Grove remains a sanctuary for remembrance.[130]

On November 30 an annual Light in the Grove fundraising gala is held in the Grove. This event, held on the eve of Worlds Aids Day, sells out each year and was voted "Best Bay Area LGBT Fundraiser" by Bay Area Reporter readers in 2015.[131]

Shakespeare Garden

[edit]
The gate to the Shakespeare Garden

The Shakespeare Garden is a relatively small[clarification needed] "17th century classical garden"[132] located directly southwest of the California Academy of Sciences. It is a tribute to William Shakespeare and his works, decorated with flowers and plants that are mentioned in his plays. The entrance is an ornate metal gate that says "Shakespeare Garden" intertwined with vines. Directly past the entrance is a walkway overarched with trees and lined with small flowers and a sundial in the center. The main area has a large moss tree and benches. At the end of the garden there is a wooden padlocked shelf containing a bust of William Shakespeare. The cast was made and given to the garden by George Bullock in 1918 and has remained behind locked doors since around 1950 to prevent people from cutting off pieces of the bronze statue to melt down.[133] Around the bust, there are four plaques, originally six, with quotes from Shakespeare. The missing two were stolen and most likely sold and melted down so the thieves could make a profit from the bronze the plaques were made from.[132]

Alice Eastwood, the director of botany from the California Academy of Sciences at the time, came up with the idea for the garden in 1928, and it was carried out by Katherine Agnes Chandler. It however is not unique, as there are several Shakespeare gardens around the world, including "Cleveland, Manhattan, Vienna, and Johannesburg."[132] The garden is a popular spot for weddings.[134] There are over 200 plants mentioned in Shakespeare's works.[133]

Rose Garden

[edit]

The Rose Garden is found between the John F. Kennedy Promenade and Park Presidio Boulevard.[135]

Dahlia Garden

[edit]

The Dahlia Garden is found just to the East of the Conservatory of Flowers, and is maintained by volunteers from the Dahlia Society of California, founded in 1917.[136]

Sports and recreation

[edit]

Golden Gate park contains many areas for sports and recreation including tennis courts, soccer fields, baseball fields, lawn bowling fields, an angling and casting club, a disc golf course, horseshoe pits, an archery range, the polo field, and Kezar Stadium. Golden Gate park formed the first Lawn Bowling Club in the United States in 1901, with an Edwardian style clubhouse constructed in 1915.[137]

Kezar Stadium

[edit]
Kezar Stadium was home to the San Francisco 49ers from 1946 to 1970.

Kezar Stadium was built between 1922 and 1925 in the southeast corner of the park. It hosted various athletic competitions throughout its existence. It served as the home stadium of the San Francisco 49ers of the AAFC and NFL from 1946 to 1970, and for one season in 1960, it hosted the Oakland Raiders of the AFL

The 59,000-seat stadium was demolished in 1989 and replaced with a modern 9,044-seat stadium, which includes a replica of the original concrete arch at the entryway.

The stadium has been used in recent years for soccer, lacrosse, and track and field. The stadium also holds the annual city high school football championship, the Turkey Bowl. The Turkey Bowl dates to 1924 and is played each Thanksgiving. The game was held at Lowell High School in 2014 because Kezar was closed due to renovation of the running track. Galileo High School has the most overall wins in the game (16) after breaking Lincoln High School's record four-game winning streak in 2009.[138][139]

The stadium also hosts the football game in the three-part Bruce-Mahoney Trophy competition between Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory and Saint Ignatius College Preparatory, two Catholic high schools in San Francisco, in addition to serving as the home field for Sacred Heart Cathedral's football program.[citation needed]

The Polo Field

[edit]
The Polo Field in Golden Gate Park
Early 1900s track cycling race in the Polo Fields

The sport of polo came to California in 1876, when the California Polo Club was established with help of Bay Area native, Captain Nell Mowry.[140] By the late 1800s, polo in San Francisco was dominated by the Golden Gate Driving Club and the San Francisco Driving Club. In 1906, the Golden Gate Park Stadium was built by private subscription from the driving clubs[141] which contained both a polo field[142] and a cycling velodrome.[143] Later on, the stadium was renamed simply the Polo Field. In the mid-1930s, the City and County of San Francisco used PWA and WPA funds to renovate the polo field.[140] In 1939, additional WPA funds were used to build polo sheds, replacing already-standing horse stables.[141] Polo continued being played through the 1940s[144] but by the 1950s polo stopped being played on the Polo Field because the sport had largely migrated to other bay area cities where land more suitable for polo was available.[142] In 1985 and 1986, polo was brought back to the Polo Field in Golden Gate Park for the second[145] and third annual San Francisco Grand Prix and Equestrian Festival.[142] Today, polo is not regularly played on the Polo Field, but from 2006 to 2010 Polo in the Park was hosted annually.[146]

The Polo Fields has a history of cycling lasting from 1906 to the 21st century. The Polo Fields were originally created for track cycling in 1906, as track cycling was a popular sport in the early 1900s.[147] Despite a down-surge of popularity in the mid-1900s, track cycling has seen a rebirth ever since the introduction of more track cycling programs in the Olympics in 2003.[148] San Francisco has seen a surge in cycling popularity, and groups such as "Friends of the Polo Field Cycling Track" have recently[when?] formed.[149]

The field has an extensive history with music and events. Because of the location and size of the Polo Fields, various events are commonly held on the field. Historically, many major music festivals took place in the park, including the Human Be-In, which featured bands like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane.[150] More contemporary music festivals such as the Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass also take place on or nearby the Polo Fields.[151] One of the largest public gatherings in San Francisco took place in the Polo Fields—a public Rosary in 1961 with 550,000 people.[152] Public political events were also held at the field, such as the anti-Vietnam War rally in 1969 and the Tibetan Freedom Concert in 1996.[153]

Now in the 21st century, the Polo Field is split into two divisions: the inner soccer field, and the flat-style cycling velodrome found around the field itself. Today many sports are played in the polo fields, including soccer, cross country running, and various types of cycling. The cycling track is still alive, with a large number of time-trial races held every cycling season.[154] A cyclist in 2013 set a record in the park by riding a total of 188.5 miles on the Polo Field velodrome, circling it 279 times in just over twelve hours.[155] In 2023 a new cycling track distance record was set at 201.0 miles over 296 laps in 11 hours 6 minutes.[156]

Archery range

[edit]

Archery was first organized in Golden Gate Park in 1881.[126] However, there was not a devoted range specifically for archery until around 1933. In 1936, during Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, many parts of Golden Gate Park, including the archery range, were improved as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA).[157] With WPA support, the archery range was increased in size and the adjacent hill was carved to serve as a backdrop for stray arrows. Bales of hay are used as targets and are provided by the Golden Gate Joad Archery Club as well as donations from other donors.[158] The Golden Gate Park Archery Range is located right inside the park off of 47th Street and Fulton Street. It is open whenever the park is open and is free to use by anyone. There is no staff and equipment is not offered to be rented at the range, however there are archery stores nearby for rentals and there are multiple groups that offer training and lessons.

Golden Gate Park Nursery

[edit]
Green houses inside of Golden Gate Park Nursery

Established in 1870, the Golden Gate Park Nursery has remained one of the few places in the park restricted to the public. This nursery began with donated plants from around the world and expanded over the years with the care of past Golden Gate Park gardeners.[159] The nursery has moved around the park thrice; first to where McLaren Lodge stands today, then to where Kezar Stadium is currently located and finally to its current location of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.[160] This Nursery houses over 800 species of plants, some of which are exclusive to the nursery, and are sold to the public on the third Saturday of the month.[161] Every week over 3,000 plants are dispersed within the city and park.[4]

Homeless population

[edit]

In 2017, there were approximately 7,500 homeless people living in San Francisco.[162] Around 40 to 200 of these people were estimated to reside in the park as of 2013.[163] Around half of the homeless population in Golden Gate Park are short-term residents that leave after a certain amount of time, and the other half are more long-term residents. Short-term residents tend to be younger, while permanent residents tend to be older, military veterans. Most of the homeless population is male. It is estimated that around 60% of the population may have a mental disability. However, it is hard to gather data about the population due to its variability.[163]

The city government of San Francisco has attempted to establish various outreach programs in order to help the homeless population. The city's government stated in 2013 that "current outreach efforts to inform park dwellers about support services are limited, and efforts that do take place are not documented in a way that makes it possible to analyze their efficiency or success".[163]

The City of San Francisco has grappled with what to do about camps of homeless people living in Golden Gate Park, which have been criticized as unsanitary, and "demoralizing" for park users and workers.[164] The camps have been described by journalists as full of garbage, broken glass, hypodermic needles, and human excrement, and the people in them are described as suffering from serious addictions and often behaving aggressively with police and park gardeners.[165][166][167] There have been occasional incidents of violence against homeless people in the park, including the 2010 park beating to death of a homeless man and an attack on park visitors by dogs owned by a park resident, also in 2010.[168] In the 1990s, then-Mayor Willie Brown sought unsuccessfully to borrow the Oakland Police Department's helicopters in order to find homeless people's camps.[169]

Starting in 1988 under then-mayor Art Agnos, and continuing under the direction of subsequent mayors including Frank Jordan, Willie Brown, and Gavin Newsom, San Francisco police have conducted intermittent sweeps of the park aimed at eliminating the camps.[170][171] Tactics have included information campaigns designed to inform homeless residents about city services available to help them; waking sleeping homeless people and making them leave the park; issuing citations for infractions and misdemeanors such as camping, trespassing, or public intoxication, which carry penalties of $75 to $100;[172] and the seizure and removal from the park of homeless people's possessions. During the night, police urge visitors to Golden Gate Park to be careful around homeless people.

The crackdowns have been criticized by anti-poverty activists and civil liberties groups, who say the measures attack only the symptoms of homelessness, while ignoring its root causes, and criminalize the poor for their poverty while ignoring their property rights and constitutional rights.[173][174] In 2006, the American Civil Liberties Union brought a lawsuit against the city government on behalf of 10 homeless people, alleging property violations by the city during sweeps in Golden Gate Park the year before.[175]

[edit]
Books
  • A book, titled Five Thousand Concerts in the Park, lists and describes the long history with music of Hellman Hollow, originally called Speedway Meadow and renamed in 2011 in honor of Warren Hellman.[176][177]
Events

The tradition of large, free public gatherings in the park continues to the present, especially at Hellman Hollow.[176] Since the park's conception, over 5,000 concerts have been held in the park.

Films
A scene from the Charlie Chaplin film A Jitney Elopement, filmed in Golden Gate Park
Television
  • In the Eli Stone TV episode, "Waiting for that Day" (2008), some citizens of San Francisco seek refuge in the park during a 6.8 earthquake; they later witness the destruction of the Golden Gate Bridge from the park, though in reality, the bridge isn't visible from the park

See also

[edit]

References

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