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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Tag: San Francisco
Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge
May 27, 1937 was Pedestrian Day in San Francisco. This kicked off a week-long
celebration of the new Golden Gate Bridge. Pedestrian Day meant that the bridge was
open to foot traffic for 25 cents per person. About 200,000 people paid the fee and
crossed the 1.7-mile span in their walking shoes or on roller skates. For the first time, it
was possible to walk across the San Francisco Bay, from the northern tip of San
Francisco to the southern end of Marin County. Automobile traffic was permitted the
next day at noon.
Before the Golden Gate Bridge was constructed, San Francisco was a relatively isolated
city. It sat at the top of a peninsula, surrounded on three sides by water that was difficult
to cross. The Golden Gate itself is a narrow strip of water at the mouth of the San
Francisco Bay. With strong currents and a depth of 400 feet, the Golden Gate strait is
foreboding to sailors. On the other hand, circumnavigating the whole San Francisco Bay
has its drawbacks too: the trip is hundreds of miles long and involves crossing several
rivers, which can become shallow sand traps.
For these reasons, ferry service between San Francisco and Marin County began in 1820.
First the ferry was only for railroad passengers, but later on people could bring their
automobiles in tow. This became booming business.
When bridge proposals became serious, the ferry companies, including the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company, opposed any bridge as competition. The military also
objected to spanning the San Francisco Bay; they questioned whether the bridge would
interfere with war ships. People in general wondered about the sturdiness of a suspension
bridge, which is held by cables and strung between towers. Could such a bridge withstand
the Bays strong gusts of wind? How would the bridge remain rooted in the ocean floor?
Nonetheless, by the 1900s it was evident that ferries alone could not handle travel
demands. The citys growth would be restricted until it overcame obstacles to trading
with Northern California. In 1916 the Chicago-based engineer Joseph Strauss responded
to San Franciscos call for bridge submissions. Immediate local support mixed with
alleged bribery helped him secure support from the city council. Strauss personally
traveled north, too, to lobby Marin County council members and business people. He
assured them that once a bridge was built from San Francisco, their businesses and
property values would grow. He gained their support. By 1932, the founder of San
Francisco-based Bank of America agreed to finance the estimated $30 million project.
Work started in 1933.
The Golden Gate Bridge blueprints were improved upon since Strausss original
submission. Strauss had little experience with suspension style bridges, so he hired a
team of architects who made significant contributions. Today, the Purdue professor
Charles Ellis is widely recognized as being the main architect behind the bridge, while
Strauss is regarded as its organizer and promoter. A San Francisco architect named Irving
Morrow, who was part of Strausss team, also made important contributions. He
suggested painting the bridge a color he called international orange. This would
complement the surrounding blues and greens of nature, and simultaneously make the
bridge visible through fog. (If the bridge coloring had been left to the government or
Strauss, it would likely have been black.) Irving also designed the bridges arches to play
with light throughout the day, making the bridge especially pleasing to the eye. Electric
lighting along the cables adds to the visual appeal at night.
The project was completed within four years and under budget at $27 million. The final
project was built to withstand the Bays high winds; it can sway 27 feet and still safely
hold traffic. It has only been closed a few times since 1937 when winds reached 70 miles
per hour.
Today, ferry service continues between San Francisco and Marin County, but the Golden
Gate Bridge carries over 40 million passengers each year.
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A History of Alcatraz Island
A History of Alcatraz Island
Alcatraz Island is a small isle with a colorful history. Located in the San Francisco Bay,
the land has filled important functions for the United States since Californias Gold Rush.
Today it is best known for housing the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Alcatraz Island has
been a national recreation area since 1963.
The island first became known to Europeans in 1775. That year, Spanish naval officer
Juan de Ayala discovered it while charting the San Francisco Bay. He named the land
mass La Isla de los Alcatrices, which translates to Pelican Island.
Spain put the island under Mexicos jurisdiction. After a few sales and legal battles, the
island eventually became the property of the United States government; explorer John
Frmont purchased it on the nations behalf for $5000 in 1846.
Two years later, when gold was discovered at Sutters Mill, ships from around the world
set sail for San Francisco Bay. Sailors urgently needed a lighthouse for navigation, and
Alcatraz Island was a prime location. A lighthouse was set atop Alcatraz in 1853.
That same year, the US Army began studying the islands potential as a defense base.
The Army Corps of Engineers began a five-year fortification project in 1853. Soldiers
moved in by 1859. When the American Civil War broke out, resident soldiers mounted
more than 100 cannons around the islands perimeter. They never fired the cannons, but
they did use a guardhouse basement to imprison west coast Confederate sympathizers,
Native American Hopis, and other persons deemed threats to the Union.
Following the war, the government transitioned Alcatraz Island from a center of military
defense to a detention center. The islands isolation amidst cold water and powerful
currents made prisoner escape highly unlikely. A brick jailhouse was quickly constructed,
and long-term military prisoners were delivered there by 1868.
Alcatraz Island began housing civilian prisoners by the hundreds in 1906. This was a
result of the San Francisco earthquake; with jails destroyed on the mainland, law
enforcement needed a new secure location for the inmates. In 1907 the building was
designated the Western US Military Prison. The original lighthouse gave way to a three-
story concrete cell block in 1909. (A second lighthouse was constructed later that year.)
As a military prison, Alcatraz held a range of prisoners from convicted murderers to
World War I conscientious objectors. Those who behaved well might enjoy time
outdoors. Some even worked as servants for families who lived on the island! However,
others experienced the militarys strict discipline; punishments included solitary
confinement, severe food and water restrictions, and hard labor.
The prison drew interesting characters as Prohibition era crime developed. Famous
mobsters like Al Capone and George Machine Gun Kelly found Alcatraz was their new
home. The government responded to their especially ruthless reputations by upgrading
security. This included such additions as iron bars, metal detectors to screen visitors,
teargas canisters, and the cementing of old underground tunnels. Prisoners were closely
monitored with the issuing of one guard for every three inmates. There were also twelve
inmate countings per day!
According to prison records, no inmates successfully escaped during the penitentiarys 29
years in operation. Most people who fled the island were shot, were returned, or were
found to have drowned. Some escaped convicts are unaccounted for, but most people
assume they perished in the frigid San Francisco Bay. A $1 million recapture reward
offered by a local ferry operator remains unclaimed.
Despite the restrictions, prisoners also had recreation. By the 1920s these prisoners had
formed baseball teams, and on Fridays the Army hosted Alcatraz Fights, a tradition of
boxing matches between inmates.
The War Department closed the famous military prison in 1934. The prison had
unusually high operational costs, and waste from island residents was polluting the San
Francisco Bay. The Department of Justice assumed management until 1963.
Today, the island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The National Park
Service provides tours. During the warmer months, tourists reach the island via a ferry
that departs San Franciscos Fishermans Wharf neighborhood. Some Alcatraz Island
attractions include the scenic bay view, the islands flora and fauna, and tours of the
famous prison.
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