The first public park in San Francisco dates from 1867, when the area between the modern neighborhoods of the Castro and the Haight-Ashbury was called Hill Park.
In 1894, the hill was "forested" under the supervision of John McLaren, and renamed Buena Vista Park. According to a Neighborhood Parks Council history, "During Mayor Adolph Sutro's reign from 1894-98, San Francisco school children planted seedlings each Arbor Day."
New trails and erosion controls have just been installed on the east side of the park, but the place still has a wild feel to it, and its mixture of dogwalkers, marijuana smokers, tennis players, public sex enthusiasts, and street people doesn't feel all that different than 30 years ago.
What also remains unchanged are the views of the surrounding Bay Area, which are magical.
Oh cool, I was up there just a few days ago... I didn't beat all the bushes so I didn't come across any public-sex enthusiasts... I'll keep checking...
ReplyDeleteThanks for another glimpse of the City, a part I had forgotten.
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