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Special Presentation at Filoli: Golden Gate Park: San Francisco's Urban Oasis

Date:  Thursday, October 20, 2011

Time:  2:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.  A reception, book signing and sale will immediately follow the presentation.

Presenter:  Christopher Pollock

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 The wonder of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is the subject of author and historian Christopher Pollock’s talk at Filoli on October 20, 2011.  Pollock will share stories, historical accounts and an expansive collection of early photographs that trace the creation of this Bay Area treasure. 

 “Golden Gate Park is not just a great urban treasure, a botanical wonder, a sterling, sylvan retreat in the heart of one of the world’s most beautiful cities.  It is a living testament to the dreams of man.” – From San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, A Thousand Acres of Stories by Christopher Pollock.

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 San Francisco's Golden Gate Park covers 1,017 acres, is larger than New York City's Central Park and is home to botanical gardens, museums, open space and even a bison herd.  Its creation was a challenge.  In the decades after the Gold Rush, San Francisco was envisioning the transformation of itself from a rough frontier town into a metropolitan center with open public spaces.  New York had Central Park and in the 1860s the people of San Francisco began to dream of their own grand public park.  In 1870, engineer William Hammond Hall started work with a preliminary design in hand for Golden Gate Park.  The chosen land consisted of wind-swept, ocean-sprayed sand dunes.  He started the process of reclaiming the site by finding plants that would stabilize the soil and survive the harsh conditions.  By 1879, only nine years after the initial plan and design, Golden Gate Park had already been transformed from barren dunes to a young forest with more than 155,000 trees. With the crucial help of Hall’s assistant and later superintendent, John McLaren created lush meadows and dells.  From the Rhododendron Dell to the Rose Garden to Lindley Meadow, a profound collection of landscapes was planted in this new great park.  In 1889, John McLaren chose the site of the arboretum and in 1940, the San Francisco Botanical Garden at Strybing Arboretum officially opened. The genesis of the M. H. de Young Museum and the Japanese Tea Garden, both founded during the 1894 Midwinter Fair, the riding stables, the Shakespeare Garden and Music Concourse have remained as principal features of the park.  Today, the park is home to two of the city's premier educational facilities, the de Young Fine Arts Museum and the California Academy of Sciences.  The Japanese Tea Garden, a botanical garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, its own resident bison herd and a wide variety of open spaces for families to enjoy complete the present-day park. 

Tickets: Tickets can be purchased online at www.filoli.org or by calling Filoli weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at (650) 364-8300, ext. 508. 

Fee:  $25 members, $30 non-members.  A reception, book sale and signing will immediately follow the presentation.

Non-members:  Fee includes same-day admission to Filoli to visit the historic House and Garden, Café, Garden Shop, and art exhibit.  Parking is free.


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