Strybing Arboretum The plan for a botanical garden on this site came from Park Superintendent John McLaren back in the 1890s. ( Jan 1, 2006) Fine Arts Building at the 1894 Midwinter Fair One of five main halls at the California Midwinter International Exposition in Golden Gate Park. ( Feb 11, 2019) Golden Gate Park Bums 1937 article about the bums (some professional) who play baseball in Golden Gate Park ( Mar 2, 2007) Dutch Windmill Sometimes referred to as the North Windmill , the first Golden Gate Park windmill stands 75 feet tall. ( Jan 1, 2006) Memories of the Park Bums Amateur baseball at Big Rec was a big deal in the 1930s. ( Apr 3, 2010)
All Outside Lands News
January 2007 - Lafayette Elementary School, old and new, and a Then and Now look at 38th and Balboa. We pay some attention to the architectural gems of the Sunset, starting with Pinehurst Lodge and the Trocadero Inn.
November 2006 - John Freeman tells us about the Richmond district s Beer Town, a Then and Now look at 20th and Taraval, and pages for Parkside markets past and present: 22nd and Taraval, 555 Taraval (16th Avenue Foods), and 1201 Vicente (Pinelake Market). Plus, Alamo Elementary School.
October 2006 - St. Paul s Presbyterian Church in the Oceanside is 100 years old (check out the old basketball photos!) and Argonne School photos. (Did you know the first idea for a name was Park-Presidio School?)
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The history of San Francisco’s Lake Merced from 1830-1870.
San Francisco s Lake Merced: Rancho Days
by Woody LaBounty
(Published in Outside Lands magazine with support from the Schwemm Family Foundation.)
Since the 1850s, Lake Merced and the land around it have been the site of roadhouses, a famous duel, truck farms, and large scale city within a city housing developments. Located in the southwestern corner of the City and County of San Francisco, the lake has been used as a source for the city s water supply and for recreational activities from skeet shooting to golf to dragon boat racing. Despite encroaching urbanization, watershed changes, fragmentation, and aquifer reduction during the twentieth century, the lake remains a unique habitat supporting riparian, dune scrub, and woodland forest natural communities. Read part one.
By Gary Kamiya |
Updated: Dec. 20, 2020 1:13 PM
With San Francisco (and the rest of California) locked down, the holidays may feel more blue than red and green. But even though many indoor activities are suspended, the city itself is a stocking overflowing with treasures waiting to be discovered. Here are eight fun and fascinating places to explore this holiday season all kid-friendly, outdoors and able to be enjoyed at a safe social distance.
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Coit Tower
A beloved symbol of San Francisco since it was finished in 1933, the 210-foot Italianate tower atop Telegraph Hill was funded by a bequest left by eccentric heiress Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who liked to dress in men’s clothing and was a patroness and mascot of the city’s volunteer firemen. The tower’s inside walls are adorned with superb Works Progress Administration frescoes depicting scenes of California life. Although Coit Tower is currently closed to the public because of the pandemic, you can still see some of