Golden Gate Park
In 2006, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom made Golden Gate Park officially car-free
on summertime weekends. According to the citys own report, recreational attendance at
the park has doubled and tripled on these healthy weekends. More than twelve million
people had already been visiting in a typical year.
Golden Gate Park is a rectangular strip of land slightly larger than New York Citys
Central Park; its 3 miles long and half a mile wide. The park was proposed in the late
1860s when San Franciscos rapid urban growth was leaving little green space. In 1868,
San Franciscos Board of Supervisors approved converting the citys Outside Lands
sand dunes along the seashore — into miles of lush green space. They hoped this would
provide a natural haven for city dwellers while drawing realty investment to the mostly
uninhabited western part of the city.
However, supervisors were presented with two obstacles: 1) squatters who were already
living on the dunes, and 2) the sandy soil and harsh ocean winds. After a long legal battle,
resistant squatters relinquished 10% of their claimed landholdings. This allowed the city
enough land to proceed with park development.
After these homesteaders turned the land over to the city, some people insisted that the
land was too salty, sandy, and windy for vegetation. A newspaper editorial smirked, A
blade of grass cannot be raised without four posts to keep it from blowing away.
Nevertheless, under the guidance of engineer William Ham Hall and Scottish-trained
gardener John McLaren, the citys workers persisted and vegetation took root. A
barricade was erected to block wind from Ocean Beach, and by 1879 about 150,000 trees
were helping to stabilize the dunes. These trees were mostly eucalyptus, pine, and
cypress. McLaren eventually diversified the park by collecting plants from almost every
country in the world. In 1903 two windmills were installed to help water the greenery.
Hollands Queen Wilhelmina later presented the park with a flower garden including
tulips from the Netherlands; her park is adjacent to one of the Dutch-style mills.
McLaren designed the park to look rustic, or as much like a natural woodlands as
possible. Gently winding roads allowed for carriages, pedestrians, and bikers to
comfortably enjoy the scenery. Nine lakes and ponds were scattered about for nature
lovers. Theres also wildlife to be seen throughout the park, from ducklings to a herd of
buffalo.
The commitment to a natural-looking park meant that buildings would be limited. A
conservatory was erected in 1877 and a music stand was completed five years later. A
few more structures came in 1894 when the park was showcased in Californias first
Midwinter Fair. This exposition and carnival was meant to boost tourism and the general
economy. Horse stables and a five-acre Japanese Tea Garden were constructed to impress
visitors.
The M. H. de Young art museum appeared by 1895; it later underwent quakeproofing and
other major renovations, and it re-opened in 2005. The top floor of the museum offers a
spectacular view of the city through all-glass walls. On a clear day, observers can see the
Golden Gate Bridge, the Marin headlands, Coit Tower, and surrounding residential
neighborhoods.
By 1886, a typical San Francisco weekend would include tens of thousands of people
traveling to the park by streetcar. Ever since then, Golden Gate Park has been a popular
destination for picnics, playgrounds, and strolls. A parking lot across from Sixth Avenue
is traditionally claimed by roller skaters with boom-boxes. The park also has many areas
reserved for sports as diverse as archery, fly-fishing, disc golf, and volleyball.
Golden Gate Park also has a tradition of large public gatherings, many of them free. The
1967 Summer of Love took place mainly in the park and the nearby Haight Ashbury
neighborhood. The Speedway Meadow has long been a popular concert venue, and
nowadays a large free bluegrass festival is held in the park every October.
The San Francisco Parks Trust offers free walking tours of Golden Gate Park year-round.
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Category: Travel in the USA
Elvis Presley and the Graceland Estate
In March of 2006, Elvis Presleys Graceland estate was raised to the level of
Washingtons Mount Vernon and Jeffersons Monticello. It officially became a National
Historic Monument.
Of course, long before the Secretary of the Interior made this public announcement,
Presley fans worldwide had made his home a popular tourist destination; Graceland
already attracted more than 600,000 people every year. The designation of his home as a
national landmark celebrates his widely-known contributions to American culture and
music history.
Elvis Presley is among the most influential figures in 20th century music and pop culture.
He was most famous as a musician and was indicted into three halls of fame: the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the GMA Gospel Hall of
Fame. No other artist has been honored by all three establishments. Presley also
triumphed on television and starred in 33 movies.
Shortly after his rise to stardom, Elvis felt a need for privacy. In 1957 he moved out of
working-class East Memphis and purchased the 14-acre Graceland estate. The price tag:
$103,000 easily purchased with proceeds from his first hit record, Heartbreak Hotel.
Graceland would be Elviss primary residence for the next 20 years. His parents lived
there too, as did his wife-to-be Priscilla Beaulieu and eventually their daughter, Lisa
Marie. Elvis Presley died in an upstairs Graceland bathroom in 1977.
The Graceland estate is located south of downtown Memphis and is just a few miles
north of the Mississippi border. The grounds were named after Grace Toot, the daughter
of the homes original owner. Grace inherited the property while it was still farmland.
She gifted the land to a niece, Ruth Moore, who had the mansion built.
The colonial-style mansion is constructed of tan limestone with white columns. Two
stone lions seem to guard the front entrance. Elvis Presley expanded the living space
from about 10,000 square feet to 17,000 square feet. He is known for his extravagance
and a unique sense of design; some call it kitschy. The home reflected Elvis well; he
became so comfortable there that when he traveled, his hotel rooms were pre-decorated
with furniture sent from Graceland.
Elviss indoor and outdoor estate expansions were considerable. For privacy, he
constructed a fieldstone wall around the grounds. (Today it is full of visitors graffiti.) He
added a wrought-iron privacy gate to the outside drive; its decorated with iron musical
notes. He installed a swimming pool with adjacent jukebox in his parents bedroom, and
the famous Jungle Room has a waterfall. Elvis also kept several televisions in the
basement and was known to watch three simultaneously.
Today, audio tours begin at the lion-flanked portico. Visitors then see Elviss living room
and the adjacent music room. The tour moves to the kitchen and dining room, and then
downstairs to the basement to see side-by-side TVs, a bar, and a billiards table. The tour
continues upstairs in the Jungle Room. Elvis memorabilia are displayed throughout, with
his sequined jumpsuits being especially prominent. Outdoors, people can see his trophy
collection, horse stables, and a shooting range. A separate building displays his car
collection and two small airplanes. Public tours show much of the mansion but avoid the
top floor where Elvis passed away.
Elvis died at Graceland in 1977. Medical reports vary; he apparently had a drug-induced
heart attack. He was buried at a public cemetery but people attempted to rob his grave.
Presleys remains were moved to his mansions Meditation Gardens, where the performer
joined his deceased parents and grandmother. The August 16th anniversary of Elvis
Presleys death is a particularly popular time for Graceland visits. Despite a downpour of
rain through Memphis, the twenty-fifth anniversary of his death drew a procession of
40,000 people.
After Elviss death, Priscilla Presley managed the property and greatly increased its value
by promoting tourism. Graceland opened to the public in 1982. The Presleys daughter,
Lisa Marie Presley, inherited the estate when she turned 30 years old. She kept the
mansion but sold 85% of the grounds to a private management company in 2005. The
new owner, CKX, Inc., plans to make Graceland a theme park on par with Disneyland.
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TopEllis Island: Site of Picnics, War, and Immigration
Ellis Island: Site of Picnics, War, and Immigration
Ellis Island in New York Harbor was once the main immigration station for people
entering the United States. About a third of Americans can trace their ancestry to this
entry point. Today Ellis Island is a museum accessible by ferryboat.
The island is named for Samuel Ellis, a wealthy colonial landholder. He once owned the
land and used it as a picnic area. When selling the island, Ellis advertised it along with
several other items he had for sale, including a few barrels of excellent shad and
herrings and a large Pleasure Sleigh, almost new.
The U.S. War Department purchased the island for $10,000 in 1808. They built defenses
there in the buildup to the War of 1812. Fort Gibson was erected to house prisoners of
that conflict. Fifty years later during the Civil War, the Union army used the fort as a
munitions arsenal.
When the Civil War ended, Ellis Island was abandoned for twenty-five years. Then, in
1890, the government wanted a new immigration processing center. (This would replace
the Castle Garden Immigration Depot, the countrys first immigration station, which was
located on the tip of Manhattan.) Ellis Island opened in 1892 as the main processing point
for newcomers; at the time, about 70% of all immigrants passed through the island
facilities.
The first immigrant processed was Annie Moore, a teenager from Ireland who was
meeting her parents in New York. (She received a $10 gold coin!) The Ellis Island staff
continued to process immigrant steamship passengers until 1954, when the last immigrant
was the Norwegian merchant seaman Arne Peterssen. In the more than six decades of
operation, the immigration building on Ellis Island saw more than 12 million hopeful
immigrants. After 1954, the building was not attended to for about thirty years. It was
eventually refurbished in the late 1980s and re-opened as a museum in 1990. It is now
under jurisdiction of the US National Park Service.
Immigrants experiences on Ellis Island differed with social class. Wealthier immigrants
who traveled first or second class generally entered automatically without delay. Third-
class steerage passengers had medical exams and interviews. In the end, about two
percent were sent back across the ocean after these procedures. With these people in
mind, Ellis is also known as The Island of Tears and or Heartbreak Island.
Standard interviews included twenty-nine questions, including name, skills, and amount
of money available. Adults who seemed likely to become a public charge would be
turned away. The medical exams on Ellis Island were brief; they usually lasted only six
seconds! However, people who appeared ill received much more attention. Chalk
markings were put on their clothes to indicate suspected medical conditions. People who
didnt discreetly remove these markings were typically sent home or to the islands
hospital. About three thousand people travelers died in Ellis Islands hospital.
The United States enacted Quota Laws in 1924. These restricted immigration and
resulted in most processing being performed at embassies and consulates instead of
freestanding immigration stations. After 1924 Ellis Island was only sporadically used to
see war refugees and displaced persons. The island was used for Japanese internment and
to house German Americans accused of being Nazis.
Ellis Island was once the subject of a border dispute between New York and New Jersey.
Today the two states have divided ownership of the historic site: the main building
containing the museum is part of New York, and the old hospital buildings are part of
New Jersey. The monument has been managed and preserved by the National Park
Service since 1966.
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