Golden Gate Park – Public Art and Architecture from Around the World

St. Francis of Assisi in the Fragrance Garden

Posted by Cindy on July 23, 2018

Jul 232018

Fragrance Garden
Botanical Garden
Golden Gate Park

This statue was part of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition on Treasure Island. It is by Clara Huntington who has been on this site before. Huntington was the adopted daughter of Collis Potter Huntington, one of the Big Five railroad magnates.

“Oh, Clara Huntington, yes, Clara Huntington Young. She is an older woman, much older than I, and she did the St. Francis figure, you remember, that was among the daisies. I think she’d worked some in the East. But I think it was when I first moved up here that she called me and offered me a model’s stand, a great big one, which I had to reject because I couldn’t put it in my little studio. But she was quite a bit older than I and she wasn’t working at the time. But she did that very nice bronze St. Francis. I think it had different flowers around it at different seasons in the Fair, but I remember it with a lot of daisies around it. She may not have done it just for the Fair, but it was a charming addition to the Fair, I thought. But she was a very good sculptor. She belonged to the old school.”

From an interview of Ruth Cravath Conducted by Ruth Teiser and Catherine Harroun
TWO SAN FRANCISCO ARTISTS AND THEIR CONTEMPORARIES, 1920-1975

Clara Huntington's St. Franciso Holding Birds

Dolphin from the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939

Posted by Cindy on July 4, 2018

Jul 042018

Dolphin from the Golden Gate International Exposition of 1939

Presently in storage at Golden Gate Park This statue is from the Golden Gate International Exposition. It is by Cecilia Bancroft Graham. Graham was born in San Francisco, on March 2, 1905. She studied at the California School of Fine Arts, graduated from Mills College in Oakland, and studied sculpture with Oscar Thiede in Vienna, Louis de Jean in Paris, and with Carl Milles at Cranbrook Academy in Michigan. She passed away in Carmel, California in 1984. The statue was placed around the Fountain in the San Francisco Building. The center whales were by Robert Howards. The whales sculpture was Continue Reading

Gates of Kezar Stadium

Posted by Cindy on April 3, 2018

Apr 032018

Kezar Stadium Frederick Street Entrance These gates stand at the entry to Kezar stadium and were installed in 1991. There are 22 of them around the stadium Kezar Stadium has a long history in the City of San Francisco, but much of its original elements no longer remain. The gates were purchased by the San Francisco Arts Commission for $99,825 and were the product of designer Alan Fleming. According to the artist the final design is evocative of the merging of the natural and the man made, the hard edge and the soft edge, the straight line and the curved, Continue Reading

The Park Emergency Hospital

Posted by Cindy on August 29, 2016

Aug 292016

811 Stanyan Golden Gate Park The Park Emergency Hospital is part of a system of Emergency Hospitals that existed in San Francisco during the early 1900s. There were four of them. Park, Central (in Civic Center and still functioning), Alemany and Harbor (since torn down). This particular hospital has been designated City Landmark #201. Built in 1902, at a cost of $8488, it functioned as a hospital until 1978. It remained an ambulance station until 1991, and it now serves as offices for the Rec and Park District. The architect was Newton J. Tharp. The San Francisco ran his obituary on Continue Reading

Thomas Garriue Masaryk

Posted by Cindy on June 5, 2013

Jun 052013

Rose Garden Golden Gate Park Located at the entrance to the Rose Garden just off of JFK Boulevard is this bust of Thomas Garrigue Masaryk. Masaryk was the first president of Czechoslovakia, a statesman, philosopher, liberator and humanitarian. The bust was sculpted by Josef Mařatka in 1926 and was exhibited at the 1939 Golden Gate International Exhibition on Treasure Island. It was given to the park in 1962 as a gift of the San Francisco Chapter of Sokol, a Czechoslovakian gymnastics association. Josef Mařatka was a Czech visual artist who was born in 1874. Mařatka studied Applied arts at Celda Klouček and then under Josef Continue Reading

Trader Vic the Sculptor

Posted by Cindy on June 1, 2013

Jun 012013

California Academy of Sciences Golden Gate Park These two seals once resided outside the California Academy of Sciences. They are now inside near the restaurant. This view is through the fence. Entry to the Academy is $30 for adults. These two seals were sculpted by Victor Jules Bergeron. Known locally as Trader Vic, Bergeron is far better known for his chain of Polynesian Restaurants name Trader Vic’s, and his claim of having invented the Mai Tai. In 1940 the first franchised Trader Vic’s opened in Seattle, Washington. In 1950, Bergeron opened a Trader Vic’s location in Hawaii and in 1951 at 20 Cosmo Place Continue Reading

What is Missing?

Posted by Cindy on May 31, 2013

May 312013

California Academy of Sciences Golden Gate Park **** This piece, titled What’s Missing is by Maya Lin. The photo above was taken from outside the fence that rings the Academy of Sciences. Entry to the Academy is $30 for adults. The permanent site-specific sculpture is the first component of an international multi-sited, multimedia art work dedicated to raising awareness about the current crisis surrounding biodiversity and habitat loss. The dedication of the sculpture, which was commissioned by the SFAC, coincided with the Academy’s one-year anniversary in its new location. The Academy is the only institution in the world to house Continue Reading

Where the Land Meets the Sea

Posted by Cindy on May 30, 2013

May 302013

California Academy of Sciences Golden Gate Park This Marine Grade Stainless Steel wire sculpture (difficult to photograph) is titled Where the Land Meets the Sea, and is by Maya Lin. This is the first permanent artwork by Maya Lin in San Francisco. The artist was selected through the Arts Commission’s competitive application process in 2005. Although Lin does not usually participate in competitions, she responded to the Arts Commission’s invitation to apply because of her keen interest in the California Academy of Sciences and the opportunity the project would provide to engage with the institution’s scientists. As an ardent environmentalist, Continue Reading

GGP’s Sea Serpent

Posted by Cindy on May 29, 2013

May 292013

Koret Childrens Quarters Golden Gate Park This divine sea creature is by Phoebe Palmer. On an architectural scale, Phoebe is building densely textured, sculptural ferro-cement walls and working in mosaics and metal sculpture as well as her “normal” mediums of paint and pastels. Phoebe has taken the characters formerly inhabiting her paintings and pastels and cast them in the round as she breaks into the classical realm of ceramic sculpture. This is Palmer’s first piece of public art. The ferro-cement-and-tile creature weighs nearly a ton and cost about $10,000. According to San Luis Obispo.com: From the start, the sea creature was Continue Reading

Spreckles Temple of Music

Posted by Cindy on May 25, 2013

May 252013

Music Concourse Golden Gate Park Spreckels Temple of Music This is the third bandstand to grace Golden Gate Park. Claus Spreckels (The Sugar King) gave $75,000 towards the $78,810 cost of the building. The shell is an Italian Renaissance style with an acoustically reflective coffered shell standing 70 feet high and covered in Colusa Sandstone. The Temple, dedicated on September 9, 1900, suffered damage in the 1906 earthquake (much of its Colusa sandstone cornices, balustrades and corners collapsed). It was further rattled by the region’s 1989 earthquake. This time the restoration was over seen by restoration architects Cary and Company. Performers Continue Reading

Lions and Bears in the Park

Posted by Cindy on May 23, 2013

May 232013

The Brown Gate 8th and Fulton Street This bear and lion that grace the pillars when you enter the park at 8th and Fulton are by M. Earl Cummings. Cummings has been in this website many, many times, he also has quite a few sculptures within Golden Gate Park. These sculptures were a gift of Susanna Brown, a one time resident of San Francisco. Ms. Brown gave $5000 to create the animals which were installed in 1908 to honor her late husband. Gustave Albert Lansburgh of Lansburgh and Joseph, a firm noted for its movie theater design, is responsible for Continue Reading

The Bard and The Park

Posted by Cindy on May 22, 2013

May 222013

Shakespeare Garden Golden Gate Park This is the Shakespeare Garden in Golden Gate Park, a favorite spot for weddings. Behind that iron door is a bronze bust of Shakespeare. On either sides are plaques engraved with excerpts from some of the Bard’s works that mention plants. The purpose of the garden was to showcase plants and trees mentioned in William Shakespeare’s plays and sonnets. Some of the original plantings in the garden were from seeds from Shakespeare’s garden in Stratford-upon-Avon, supplied by plant purveyor Sutton and Sons. The garden was established by the California Blossom and Wild Flower Association in July Continue Reading

Horseshoe Courts of Golden Gate Park

Posted by Cindy on May 21, 2013

May 212013

Horseshoe Pits Golden Gate Park There are sixteen courts in a very out of the way spot of the park, not far from McClaren Lodge. The site was developed out of a rock quarry during 1934 as a WPA project. There are two concrete bas-reliefs created on the face of the rocks. The artist was Jesse S. “Vet” Anderson (born 1875) who was a cartoonist and caricaturist for the Detroit Free Press and later for the New York Herald Tribune. Anderson was a member of the horseshoe club, he died in 1966. The sculptures, overgrown and forgotten were revealed in Continue Reading

Sarah B. Cooper Brings the West its First Kindergarten

Posted by Cindy on May 18, 2013

May 182013

Sarah B. Cooper Brings the West its First Kindergarten

Golden Gate Park Near the Sharon Art Center This memorial to Sarah B. Cooper was placed in the park by the Golden Gate Kindergarten Association in 1923. This area sits on the other side of the carousel from the Koret Childrens Playground. Sarah Cooper was instrumental in the Kindergarten Movement of San Francisco. Here, from John Sweet in Public Education In California, Its Origin and Development, With Personal Reminiscences of Half a Century. American Book Company: 1911. Excerpts, Chapter XIII, pages 224-226. Mrs. Cooper entered on the free kindergarten work with her whole soul. She was a woman of marked literary Continue Reading

Animals in the Park

Posted by Cindy on May 17, 2013

May 172013

Koret Playground Golden Gate Park There are five of these cast stone creatures in the new Koret Childrens Area of Golden Gate Park. They are the second public art project that Vicki Saulls did in San Francisco. The first you can view here. The playground underwent a major renovation with generous funding from the Koret Foundation and reopened in 2007 as the Koret Children’s Quarter. New features include a climbing wall shaped like waves and a rope climbing structure; the historic concrete slide was retained. The landscape Architect on the project was MIG. * * * These pieces were commissioned Continue Reading

The King of Beasts in Golden Gate Park

Posted by Cindy on May 11, 2013

May 112013

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse This lion sits outside of the new DeYoung Museum near the Pool of Enchantment. It is by Roland Hinton Perry. Created in 1898 it was given to the City of San Francisco in 1906 by San Francisco jeweler Shreve and Company. The sculpture survived a fire in Shreve’s showroom caused by the ’06 earthquake. The red stone the sculpture sits on was donated by John D. McGilvray. John D. McGilvray Jr. and Sr. worked in the stone and masonry contracting business in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Palo Alto, California. ( McGilvray-Raymond Granite Company) Together they Continue Reading

The Drum Bridge at the Japanese Tea Garden

Posted by Cindy on February 12, 2013

Feb 122013

Japanese Tea Garden Golden Gate Park San Francisco’s first Japanese Tea Garden was originally developed by art-dealer George Turner Marsh as part of the 1894 Midwinter Fair, an event that brought the City by the Bay into the international limelight. Shinshichi Nakatani was selected to design and build the Drum Bridge (Taiko Bashi). He built the bridge in Japan, dismantled it and brought back with him. Halfway through completion, the Expo ran out of funds. Shinshichi left San Francisco and returned to Japan. He sold off personal land holdings and brought the money back with him to complete the project. Continue Reading

Japanese Tea Garden

Posted by Cindy on February 11, 2013

Feb 112013

Japanese Tea Garden Golden Gate Park The Japanese Tea Garden was created by George Turner Marsh as a “Japanese Village” feature of the 1894 MidWinter Exposition. Marsh, an Australian, had lived for several years in Japan and had an interest in traditional Japanese Gardens. To create the village, he brought materials and hired craftsmen directly from Japan. It is the oldest public Japanese garden in the United States. The Tea Garden was designed and constructed by Makoto Hagiwara. It used the “Hill and Water” landscape concept to create a traditional Japanese rural style garden. At the close of the exposition, Continue Reading

San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

Posted by Cindy on January 12, 2013

Jan 122013

100 JFK Boulevard Golden Gate Park The oldest extant structure in Golden Gate Park is also its most beloved: the Conservatory of Flowers. This beautiful, white-washed structure is the oldest wood-and-glass conservatory in America. It is believed that James Lick, a prominent and wealthy San Franciscan, purchased the conservatory as a kit from Ireland for $2050 and had it shipped to his estate on the Peninsula. However, it is also thought that portions of the original building contained California redwood. Upon Lick’s death in 1876, The Society of California Pioneers found themselves the owners. They chose to sell it to a Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – William McKinely

Posted by Cindy on March 18, 2012

Mar 182012

The Panhandle Baker Street Between Oak and Fell * * * * William McKinely by Robert Ingersoll Aitken The Panhandle is a park that forms a panhandle with Golden Gate Park. The Panhandle is near the geographic center of the city, and forms the southern boundary of the Western Addition neighborhood and the northern boundary of the Haight Ashbury. The McKinley statue stands at the beginning of the Panhandle as you enter into Golden Gate Park. William McKinley was the 25th President who died on September 14, 1901 after being shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Just four months prior to Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Windmills

Posted by Cindy on March 16, 2012

Mar 162012

Golden Gate Park Windmills The North Windmill Queen Wilhelmina Park The Murphy Windmill The Murphy Windmill Today There are two windmills in Golden Gate Park that served a valuable purpose when they were built. When the park was first being developed the focus was on planting trees to stabilize the ocean dunes that covered three-quarters of the park’s area. The two windmills together pumped over 1 1/2 million gallons of water a day to help with this stabilization. In 1902, the park saw the completion of the Dutch windmill, or the North windmill. The design for the attraction came from Continue Reading

Kezar Stadium

Posted by Cindy on March 15, 2012

Mar 152012

Golden Gate Park Kezar Stadium * * * What it looked like originally Every San Francisco 49er faithful knows that this was the first home of the team. What they may not know is who played their first. An appropriation of $200,000 from the City of San Francisco and a $100,000 endowment by Mary Kezar in 1922 gave San Francisco Polytechnic School and San Francisco a football field. The stadium was designed by Willis Polk and built by contractor Palmer and McBride. Most stadiums are built from North to south so that a majority of the spectators don’t sit with Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Sharon Building

Posted by Cindy on March 14, 2012

Mar 142012

Golden Gate Park Sharon Building * * * * This delightful example of what some say is Victorian Romanesque architecture and others say is Richardsonian Romanesque, was designed by architects George Washington Percy and Frederick F. Hamilton. The building is the result of a $50,000 donation from silver baron, Nevada senator, and unscrupulous bank owner, William Sharon. The building and the intent of the donation, included a playground. The building was originally intended to give families with children a place to play indoors and have refreshments during inclement weather, it now houses the non-profit Sharon Art Studio, offering art classes in Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Verdi

Posted by Cindy on March 13, 2012

Mar 132012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * * * * Giuseppe Verdi by Orzio Grossoni March 23, 1914. The statue was dedicated to the sounds of the sweet voice of soprano Luisa Tetrazzini. She sang the aria from Aida to a reported audience of 20,000. The memorial was a gift of the Italian Community spearheaded by Ettore Patrizzi owner and publisher of San Francisco’s Italian newspaper L’Italia (published form 1887 to 1943). The subscription fund raised $15,000 for the statue and commissioned the work through a contest at the the Brera Academy of Fine Arts in Milan. The sculptor chosen was Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Robert Emmet

Posted by Cindy on March 12, 2012

Mar 122012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * Robert Emmet was an Irish nationalist and Republican, orator and rebel leader born in Dublin, Ireland. He led an abortive rebellion against British rule in 1798. In 1803 he was captured, tried and executed for high treason. The Emmet statue shows the 25 year old making his famous “Speech from the Dock” during his sentencing. The artist was Gerome Connor who created the bronze in 1916. The statue was a gift of Senator James Duval Phelan. The piece was cast by the Bureau Brothers Foundry of Philadelphia and the granite pedestal and platform were Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Beethoven

Posted by Cindy on March 11, 2012

Mar 112012

Golden Gate Park Music Concourse * * As a gift from the Beethoven Men’s Choir, the dedication of this statue coincided with the attendance of the Choir at the Pan Pacific International Exposition and a grand concert of Beethoven’s works held at the Civic Auditorium that evening (August 6, 1915). The monument, which was draped in American and German flags for the unveiling is a replica of the Henry Baerer work that stands in Central Park. The bronze copy was cast at the Henry-Bonnard Bronze Company of Mt. Vernon, NY. Heinrich Baerer was born in Kirchhain, Kurhessen, Germany, in 1837. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Pioneer Woman

Posted by Cindy on March 10, 2012

Mar 102012

Golden Gate Park * * * * Pioneer Woman and Children Charles Grafly 1915 This is the only statue of a woman in Golden Gate Park. It is the 1914 work of Charles Grafly. It was featured at the PPIE (Panama-Pacific International Exposition) in 1915 and then again at the GGIE (Golden Gate International Exposition) in 1939. In 1940 it was placed in Golden Gate Park near the Pioneer Log Cabin which has been in the Park since 1911. A 1915 article about the sculpture when it was at the Pan-Pacific International Exposition: The “Pioneer Mother” monument, by Charles Grafly, Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Thomas Starr King

Posted by Cindy on March 9, 2012

Mar 092012

Golden Gate Park JFK Drive * Thomas Starr King – Bronze – 1892 – by Daniel Chester French This statue was unveiled by Thomas Starr King’s grandchildren on October 26, 1892. Thomas Starr King was born December 17, 1824 Mr. King was an American Unitarian and Universalist minister, influential in California politics during the American Civil War. Starr King spoke zealously in favor of the Union and was credited by Abraham Lincoln with preventing California from becoming a separate republic. He wrote a book about Yosemite National Park, where there is a peak named for him. He died of diphtheria Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – John McClaren

Posted by Cindy on March 8, 2012

Mar 082012

Golden Gate Park Rhododendron Grove John McLaren, Supervisor of Golden Gate Park from 1890 until his death in 1943, detested statues. He hated them with such a passion that he defied the City authorities and persisted in his lifelong crusade to keep Golden Gate Park statue-free. It is fitting, then, that for his efforts McLaren was immortalized in the form of–what else? –a statue, which may be found near the entrance to the Rhododendron Dell that bears his name. Interestingly, the McLaren statue is placed at the very back of a hedged-off grassy space, far from the gaze of visitors. Continue Reading

Golden Gate Park – Father Junipero Serra

Posted by Cindy on March 7, 2012

Mar 072012

Golden Gate Park Father Junipero Serra by Douglas Tilden This is Father Junipero Serra, one of the most studied men in California history. Born November 24, 1713, Serra was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the chain of missions that go from Mexico to San Francisco, California, he died August 28, 1784. Father Serra was such a vital part of California history, that every public school child in California learns of his life. The shrubbery has grown up to cover most of the friar but his base, designed by architect Edgar A. Mathews, reads Padre Junipero Serra – Founder Continue Reading

Older Entries