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Tag Archives: golden gate park
murphy windmill stub on the verge of renovation
“During the next month neighbors of the Murphy Windmill in Golden Gate Park can watch workers finally cast the old stub’s fourth, fifth and sixth floors. A large crane installed the windmill’s eight main posts during the weekend and now … Continue reading
the old beach chalet in golden gate park
The current Beach Chalet in Golden Gate Park dates to 1925. It’s a building in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and one of the landmark historic structures in the park. Few people know that there was another Beach Chalet, predating … Continue reading
Posted in "lost" golden gate park, history
Tagged golden gate park, golden gate park history, lost golden gate park
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a labor of love: mapping central park’s trees
This article from today’s New York Times tells of two friends who have spent two years putting together a map of the trees in Central Park, New York. Of the approximately 23,000 trees in the park, only about 150 … Continue reading
benches in the park for hugging?
The following editorial, quoted by Raymond Clary in The Making of Golden Gate Park, The Early Years: 1865-1906 (p. 39) is from The San Francisco WASP April 30, 1881. Goodness gracious! “The law-abiding people of this community were startled a few days … Continue reading
quail in golden gate park
According to the Golden Gate Audubon Society web page: “The haunting call of the California Quail, the California State bird, is now rarely heard in Golden Gate Park. Historically, San Francisco’s streams and coastal scrub vegetation provided the food, cover, … Continue reading
horses and the founding of golden gate park
A horse actually played a key role in the founding of Golden Gate Park. The story goes like this: In the early 1870s, faced with the daunting task of establishing a vegetative cover on the sand dunes that had been … Continue reading
horse stable to open in central park
The following excerpt is from a recent article in the New York Times: ‘Central Park is laced with bridle paths and dotted with pastures, and its plants were once fertilized with manure. But though carriage horses trot through it, police … Continue reading
chicken point: a long-forgotten story involving chickens and coyotes
In The Making of Golden Gate Park: The Early Years, 1865 – 1906, Raymond Clary recounted some fascinating anecdotes from the early history of Golden Gate Park. Many of them have long been forgotten. One story that caught my eye … Continue reading
Posted in "lost" golden gate park, history, people
Tagged golden gate park, golden gate park history, lost golden gate park
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perils of the park: man beaten in early morning attack
Lately there have been reports of some violent incidents in Golden Gate Park, fueling official discussions about possibly restricting use of the park at night. This echoes for me a long journalistic tradition, commencing in the nineteenth century, focusing on … Continue reading
Posted in "lost" golden gate park, events in Golden Gate Park, health and safety, people
Tagged golden gate park, safety, urban parks
1 Comment
urban ecology: how native ants are faring in golden gate park
Have you been worrying about the health and safety of native ants in Golden Gate Park? I recently realized that maybe I should be paying more attention to these small creatures. This epiphany occurred after I read a scientific paper published … Continue reading
golden gate park: views from the thicket 