Summer in the Park

It's a real pleasure to enjoy an evening stroll around Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park. We've had a few fog-free evenings in the park lately and there's nothing like taking advantage of the late summer sunsets to bask in the the bountiful beauty of nature. Spending some time with the turtles, sunning on their log lounges, while enjoying pink popcorn on a bench; who could ask for anything more?

Music Concourse Makeover

Now that the De Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences have settled into their new and very popular homes, the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park is nearing the end of its decade-long makeover.
The Spreckels Temple of Music is finally free of scaffolding, missing trees have been replaced, paths repaved, new benches and lighting installed and the fountains are in the process of restoration. The area looks better than it has in many years. The concourse was originally constructed as the site of the 1894 California Mid-Winter Exposition. There are are couple of statues from the fair in their original locations and, of course, the two concrete sphinges (yes, that's the plural for sphinx) that originally guarded the entrance to the first De Young Museum (see top photo, demolished in 1929).
It's a very civilized spot and there's nothing like sitting under the elms on one of the green benches and enjoying a book or conversation (with a willing partner, of course).

Where Dinosaurs Would Roam in Golden Gate Park

As part of the Thanksgiving Day weekend, I took advantage of our beautiful weather and had a stroll through some of my favorite parts of Golden Gate Park.  I love the Fern Dell located across JFK Drive from the picturesque Conservatory of Flowers.  A path leads to the Lily Pond through magnificent tree ferns. Walking through here, I can't help thinking of Kong Island in the original King Kong.  You half expect a Triceratops to come charging through the thick. 

I came across an interesting bit of movie trivia about the dell; it was the filming location of Spock's "final" resting place at the end of Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn.  He's since moved on.

It's an exotic corner that's not far from the busiest part of the park and well worth checking out.

The Phenomenon of Dolores Park

I'm probably pretty late to this party, but I'm always astounded at just how insanely popular this poor place has become. I suppose it has to do with its location in The Hippest Neighborhood in America®, but Dolores Park is more than a scene. Its current habitues are probably unaware that Mission Dolores Park is the approximate site of the ancient Ohlone Indian village of Chutchui. It was later the location of a Jewish Cemetery and once served as a home to many displaced persons after the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906 (top photo). Per acre (there are 14), it has to be the among most densely utilized parks in the country. There can be THOUSANDS of people here on weekends with no apparent special event or other "draw". It's a very attractive place and it seems almost anything goes. Dogs dash about, Pabst Blue Ribbon is guzzled and the scent of cannabis wafts through the air. A bit like the panhandle of Golden Gate Park during the Summer of Love but with expensive coffee. It's hard to believe, but not so long ago, you could pretty much have this place to yourself on a weekday. I wonder where the next "gathering place" will be?

A (Pseudo) Nature Break

Like most of Golden Gate Park, Huntington Falls at Stow Lake is as natural as anything at Disneyland. It's a very convincing fabrication... from a distance, but as you get closer, you'll notice those oddly formed boulders. They would look more at home on the set of the original Star Trek series. They even have places for plants!
I wouldn't swim anywhere near this waterfall, but it's a nice place to row a boat and do a bit of bird and turtle watching.

Architectural Glory

When people think of San Francisco's sights, I imagine that they might picture the Golden Gate Bridge, the Transamerica Pyramid, Coit Tower, Cable Cars or the Victorian houses that line our beautiful streets. While many people here DO live in Victorians (or, in my case, Edwardian) homes, many live in something VERY different!

Take, for example, this beauty. In many ways, perhaps, a more typical San Francisco residence of the modern age. To me, there's nothing more San Franciscan than a row of "contractor's specials" squashed up against each other, marching into the horizon, on a foggy street near the ocean. This is a very special example near Golden Gate Park. It's a nice area, but it won't be appearing on any postcards. These kind of homes (probably valued at well over a million dollars) are typically situated on lavishly landscaped streets like this one. Curb appeal, indeed!

Tea Garden Spring

It's that most beautiful time of year in Golden Gate Park's Japanese Tea Garden. For those of you who are put off by the $5 admission charge (and who isn't?), you can get in free on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 to 10am. Outstanding color and a refreshing cup of tea are the highlights of a visit. My favorite place in the garden is the path in the back through a canopy of dwarf maples, a bright, brilliant green at this time of year. The concession for the operation of the tea house and the gift shop was recently awarded to a new vendor who has promised a more "authentic" atmosphere. That won't be too hard to achieve at the gift shop! Still, a beautiful and soul-renewing spot.

Pollarded!

The music concourse in Golden Gate Park is unusual in that it's a highly organized, structured landscape. It represents the European ideal of a manicured public space, where the rest of the park, more or less, seeks to emulate a sort of wilderness. From the clay ground cover, to the fountains and monuments (note how most of the park's statues are found in the vicinity), from the grandiose Spreckels Temple of Music, to the pollarded* Elm and Sycamore, it's a buttoned-up sort of place. Originally the site of the 1894 Mid-Winter Exposition, the concourse has undergone a major renovation since the construction of the new De Young Museum and the California Academy of Sciences. It's a wonderful place for people watching on a busy day (there are many since the reopening of the Academy).

*A tree whose top branches have been cut back to the trunk so that it may produce a dense growth of new shoots.