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What's larger than New
York's Central Park, once
consisted of sand dunes, is
now covered with more than
one million trees and is
bison-friendly?
Golden Gate Park -- the
ultimate haven away from
urban chaos -- was deeded
Buddha
to the people in 1870 out of
the prescient notion that
San Franciscans would one
day feel overcrowded. This
foresight proved invaluable,
as 75,000 people now visit
the park on an average
weekend.
Finding the land was the
easy part. Someone still had
to make grass and trees grow
out of sand dunes blasted by
harsh oceanside winds.
The person to do it was John
McLaren, a brazen Scotsman
and ardent nature lover. He
arrived in San Francisco in
the 1870s, and by 1890 he
had established grass, trees
and numerous plants in an
environment most thought too
barren for lush foliage.
The first buildings came
with the Midwinter Fair, a
sprawling expo and carnival
meant to boost the economy
and increase tourism. S.F.
wanted to prove that it had
culture -- so a fine-arts
museum was built. To prove
that outdoor activities
could be pursued, horse
stables and vast,
unlandscaped greens were
preserved. And to showcase
the exotic and quirky
atmosphere of the city,
several theme areas were
developed, including Cairo
Street, Japanese Village and
an Eskimo habitat.
The fair succeeded at what
it set out to do. Millions
of people visited San
Francisco, business boomed
and locals found renewed
pride in their formerly
sand-covered park.
The Park Today
Though the park has seen
changes over the years, what
remains today is a testament
to the will of the city to
preserve a place to play,
relax and grow culturally.
The new de Young museum is
sure to bring a new wave of
visitors, as the re-opening
of the Conservatory of
Flowers did in 2003. The
music concourse is being
improved and should open in
early- to mid-2006, perhaps
around the same time the
Murphy Windmill returns from
repairs in the Netherlands.
The California Academy of
Sciences is due to re-open
in 2008. The old horse
stables, closed in 2001, may
be renovated starting in
2007. And a new, temporary
disc golf course is being
evaluated in late 2005 for
long-term feasibility.
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