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Sunset District pioneer and benefactor.
Carl Larsen: The Gentle Dane
by Lorri Ungaretti
(Originally published in the WNP Member Newsletter, Spring 2009.) Carl Larsen s Chicken Ranch facing the Sunset District sand dunes around Noriega Street and 17th Avenue, circa 1900., 1900 -
In the late 1800s, many speculators began buying land in the Sunset District. By the early twentieth century, landowners in the area included Michael deYoung, Fernando Nelson, and Adolph Sutro. But one of the largest land owners, Carl Larsen, also had other ties to the district.
Larsen did not live in the Sunset District, but he owned a business and a lot of land in the area. Sometimes called the Gentle Dane, he donated land for parks in the Sunset and probably would have given more to his city, but underhandedness after his death prevented any further gifts.