Map layer: “Fixed Attractions”
Jump links
(#11-13) Throng-attracting Theme parks: Fiscal gold on Treasure Island
- #11 Forty-niner Fever: Gold Rush theme park
- #12 Terra Tecnica: Tech/innovation theme park
- #13 Clipper Cove: Nautical/sea trade theme park
#14 Beach Boardwalk: Taxes for the city, fares for the skyway
(#15-17) Creatures’ Corner: Wildlife parks in the city’s far southwest
- #15 Starlight Safari: Night zoo
- #16 Winged Wonders: Aquatic aviary
- #17 Tropical Treewalk: Indoor tropical garden featuring canopy walkways
#18 Parkway Petting: Lindley Meadow Petting Farm
(#19-24) Must-see Museums: Making the most of some under-exploited sites
- #19 Fabled Photography: Ansel Adams Museum of Nature Photography (in Lincoln Park)
- #20 Hometown History: Museum of San Francisco (in the PoFA Pavilion)
- #21 Seismic Sightseeing: Great Earthquake Museum (in the Old Mint)
- #22 Ancient Art: Getty Villa-style antiquities museum (over Sutro Heights Avenue)
- #23 Prime Property: Donor legacy museum (at the tip of the Panhandle)
- #24 Freedom’s Fort: Pacific Defense Museum (at the Fort Mason docks)
#25 Relaxing Resorts: Tax-gushing hotel complexes at key tourism clusters
#26 Historic Houses: Move orphaned vintage homes to strategic spots
#27 Victorian Village: Architectural park at Potrero Hill
#28 Franciscan Fraternity: Palazzo d’Assisi (on new “Italian Hill”)
#29 Perfect Panoramas: Observation towers on key hills
#30 Sutro Scenery: Big Rec Amphitheater
#31 Scenic Slide: Fort Point Panoramic Chute
#32 Grand Gateway: Golden Gate Park Gateway Arch
#33 Exhilarating Entrance: “THE CITY” sign at Candlestick Point
#34 Redolent Reliquiae: Treasures of the Jewel City
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(#11-13) Throng-attracting Theme parks: Fiscal gold on Treasure Island
The city could invite bids to build three large theme parks on Treasure Island and the Clipper Cove section of Yerba Buena Island, aiming to attract a bid from Disney.
Treasure Island is perfect for theme parks. It has great views. It has tourist-pleasing transit options (the proposed skyway, plus ferries and water taxis). It has vast expanses of empty or underdeveloped space. It even has an alluring name. Best of all, its mid-bay location allows the city to reap tax revenues from big-ticket theme parks while keeping them at an arm’s length.
The map suggests allotting the land on Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island to:
- Forty-niner Fever Gold Rush theme park (yellow): North side of T.I., facing the Gold Rush shipping corridor.
- Terra Tecnica tech/innovation theme park (red): East side of T.I., facing UC Berkeley.
- Clipper Cove nautical/sea trade theme park (blue): South side of T.I., facing Yerba Buena Island and incorporating its northern shore plus Clipper Cove.
- Midway Mall nature preserve/recreation area (green): Southwestern sides of both islands, facing SF (Idea #37).
- Resort hotels area over giant covered carpark (pink): Center of Treasure Island, between all the above parks.
- Coast Guard (unshaded): East side of Y.B.I., guarding Bay Bridge east span and Port of Oakland.
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To mitigate Bay Bridge traffic impacts, the city could require visitors to reach the parks via either (a) the proposed Bay Bridge Skyway from Mission Bay or (b) ferry/water taxi from SF’s Embarcadero or Oakland’s Jack London Square. It could also potentially add a dedicated Treasure Island traffic lane on the north side of the Bay Bridge’s east span (similar to the bike/pedestrian lane on the south side).
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#11 Forty-niner Fever: Gold Rush theme park
Combine a set of 49er-themed amusements with an outdoor museum for immersing oneself in the period and interacting with period characters played by actors.
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#12 Terra Tecnica: Tech/innovation theme park
Besides providing amusement, education, and inspiration, this park could host a permanent expo where technology companies could showcase their innovations.
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#13 Clipper Cove: Nautical/sea trade theme park
Focused on trade and exploration—not piracy. An immersive historical experience with 19th-century ships and characters played by actors.
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#14 Beach Boardwalk: Taxes for the city, fares for the skyway
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(Presupposes construction of proposed Ocean Beach Skyway)
An old-fashioned beach boardwalk amusement park could draw visitors to the city, generate tax revenues, boost ridership on the proposed Ocean Beach Skyway, entertain city residents, and link the city with its history. Besides a wooden roller coaster and other old-timey entertainments, the park could incorporate things like a movie theater, arcade, roller skating rink, carousel, themed play areas (like a “Land’s End Climbing Wall”), aquaria for disabled and orphaned seals, and a hotel with views of the ocean and both windmills.
The map proposes a 9-acre site at the western edge of Golden Gate Park, over the Great Highway. In this location, the park would
- not create significant noise impacts or alter the character of any neighborhood;
- be easily accessible via the N Streetcar and the proposed Ocean Beach Skyway;
- have access to hundreds of parking spaces directly below;
- command views of the sea, the windmills, and a lovely stand of trees;
- not block views from the Beach Chalet restaurant;
- be built over roadway and parking lots, rather than over park space or homes.
Notes about the map:
- Not counting parking, the proposed amusement area is slightly larger than the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The map envisions building it over the full width of the Great Highway, plus 50 feet of beach for the actual strip of wooden boardwalk (unlike the old Playland-at-the-Beach, the park would front the beach, not the road). This strip of sand comprises only 8% of the beach’s width and would still be accessible to beachgoers.
- Great Highway traffic would pass under the park for about 480m. The rest of the existing paved area, including the beachfront sidewalk, could be used for parking. Bicyclists could pass via the bike path east of the highway, which would not be touched. Pedestrians could pass via that bike path, the beach, or the boardwalk itself.
- To give an idea of size requirements, the map shows a black rectangle marking the 1150-ft perimeter of Coney Island’s Cyclone roller coaster. This fits easily within one corner of the proposed site.
To those who would oppose this as a “low-brow” attraction, I would offer the following thoughts:
- In this isolated location, the park would have little impact on the city’s neighborhoods. From almost anywhere in the city, this park would be out of sight and out of mind.
- This type of park has a historic lineage both in the neighborhood (Playland) and the wider city (e.g., the amusement zones of the 1915 and 1939 fairs).
- This type of park can be done in a quaint, old-fashioned style, with a boardwalk, wooden roller coaster, low-rise rides, etc. The idea is not to draw visitors with the biggest and latest rides, but with a time-travel experience away from most visible artifacts of contemporary civilization.
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(#15-17) Creatures’ Corner: Wildlife parks in the city’s far southwest
The city could establish and invest in a private corporation to build wildlife parks in the city’s southwest corner. Together with the SF Zoo, these parks would form a 4-park “Creatures’ Corner” district at the western end of the proposed Six Hills Skyway. Visitors could stay at one of the Corner’s four resorts (marked in pink on the map) to explore all four parks over several days.
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#15 Starlight Safari: Night zoo
Zoo for nocturnal creatures, illuminated by artificial moonlight. Emulate Singapore’s Night Safari park. Keep the water treatment plant, but cover it with parking and (above that) a hotel overlooking Mussel Rock and the Pedro Point Headlands beyond. Have the developer install a “capture and treat” system to prevent foul odors, and fund relocation of the Pomeroy Rec Center to a less remote spot.
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#16 Winged Wonders: Aquatic aviary
Emulate Singapore’s Bird Paradise park.
To make way for Winged Wonders and an expansion of Lake Merced Park, the map suggests straightening and shortening Lake Merced Blvd so that it flows straight into Sunset Blvd near Sloat, adding a greenway alongside to connect with the Sloat Greenway and Ocean Beach.
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#17 Tropical Treewalk: Indoor tropical garden featuring canopy walkways
Tropical gardens inside a large, ultra-modern greenhouse, along the lines of Singapore’s Cloud Forest attraction. Feature a winding, one-way aerial walkway through the tree canopy.
Singapore’s Cloud Forest
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#18 Parkway Petting: Lindley Meadow Petting Farm
The map suggests a petting farm on Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park. The goal is to boost ridership on the proposed Ocean Beach Skyway by rounding out the Stables stop as a fur-themed destination with animal petting, horseback riding, and bison viewing.
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(#19-24) Must-see Museums: Making the most of some under-exploited sites
Goals for museums:
- Contribute to the cultural and educational offerings of the city, both to draw tourists and to make SF a more appealing place to live.
- Showcase that which makes the city unique.
- Establish museums that can thrive financially due to high public demand or strong philanthropic support. Municipal museums (e.g., Museum of SF, Earthquake Museum) should follow an entrepreneurial model.
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#19 Fabled Photography: Ansel Adams Museum of Nature Photography (in Lincoln Park)
Proposed museum footprint (red) and subterranean carpark (pink)
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The terrace opposite the Palace of the Legion of Honor commands one of the most majestic panoramas in the entire city, yet is currently a parking lot with a view blocked by trees. Moreover, the adjacent PoLoH lacks windows from which to enjoy this view.
Solve this situation in a profitable way by using this site for an Ansel Adams Museum of Nature Photography. Build a wooden structure that blends in with the environment but is tall enough to see over the treetops from its top two floors. Feature a perimeter corridor with glass walls around the outside and nature photography on the inside. Feature the work of Ansel Adams, who lived just down the street and took many photos from this area. In addition to ticket sales, this museum could earn substantial revenue selling framed prints.
Between the Ansel Adams Museum and the PoLoH, build a subterranean carpark serving both. Cars could easily enter/exit at Camino del Mar, which is one floor downhill from the terrace.
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#20 Hometown History: Museum of San Francisco (in the PoFA Pavilion)
The city needs a way to sell tickets to out-of-town visitors to the PoFA. A “Museum of San Francisco” (in the Pavilion) would draw many, and support ridership on the hypothetical Pac Heights Cable Car. Rent spaces for private events.
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#21 Seismic Sightseeing: Great Earthquake Museum (in the Old Mint)
This museum would have the potential to be not only educational (geology, engineering, architecture, history, civic education, fire prevention, emergency preparedness, etc.) but also incredibly fascinating for a mass audience. Locate it in the Old Mint — lonely survivor in its neighborhood of the Great Earthquake of 1906.
The Old Mint
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#22 Ancient Art: Getty Villa-style antiquities museum (over Sutro Heights Avenue)
The Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades
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The map envisions a large “Seal Green” (Idea 35) linking Golden Gate Park and Land’s End into a continuous greenbelt. The city could sponsor a donor competition for the right to build a legacy museum/educational center on the area’s upper heights. With its historic location, breathtaking scenery, and direct access to downtown via a hypothetical Ocean Beach Skyway, this site should be able to attract bids from deep-pocketed donors seeking a prime location for a legacy museum to exhibit their collected art treasures in perpetuity.
In its request for proposals, the city could state that the winning bid will rate highly on the following criteria:
- It will produce a major attraction that promises to draw many visitors to the city;
- It will endow the museum well enough to support not only free admission to all, but also educational and research activities advancing public understanding of the museum’s subject;
- It will beautify the site, taking full advantage of its special features;
- It will harmonize with the architectural environment of the Beach Chalet and Presidio, and with the natural environment of Seal Green, Golden Gate Park, and Land’s End;
- It will landscape and maintain the area of Seal Green, including plantings that enhance the natural environment and habitat diversity;
- It will incorporate amenities for neighborhood residents, including an underground supermarket to replace the Safeway displaced by Seal Green;
- It will offer something distinct from what existing SF museums offer.
To paint a clearer picture of what could be done with this unique site, I’ve labeled the museum “Getty Villa”, after the free-entry antiquities museum and educational center in Pacific Palisades. A Getty Villa would rate highly on the criteria listed above. It would also make a good addition to San Francisco, which lacks a major antiquities museum. With luck, the Getty Foundation would accept an invitation to bid (after all, their Pacific Palisades complex can only exhibit a small fraction of their collection).
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#23 Prime Property: Donor legacy museum (at the tip of the Panhandle)
The Broad Museum in Los Angeles
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Like Seal Green, the block adjoining the tip of the Golden Gate Park Panhandle offers a prime location for a donor legacy museum. The site is centrally located, book-ends Golden Gate Park, has fine views in all directions, and would be near a stop on the proposed Ocean Beach Skyway (currently, this precious site is used for a DMV). The city could hold a donor’s competition similar to that proposed above for a museum at Seal Green. Unless and until the right proposal comes in, it could just keep using the site for the DMV.
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#24 Freedom’s Fort: Pacific Defense Museum (at the Fort Mason docks)
Old San Francisco Port of Embarkation
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This site should be used for what it is uniquely suited to do — help people develop a vivid and lasting understanding of the military history of the United States in the Pacific (both the good and the bad). Especially here in the Bay Area, we need to understand that the progressive values many of us cherish depend on a foundation of military defense and citizens’ willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice if necessary. At the same time, we need to reflect on our historical failures and learn from them. I believe that building historical awareness would be a better use of this historic site than the current ragbag of NGOs, which has little potential to draw people to visit SF.
Have the Defense Department pay for and build a “Pacific Defense Museum”. They could use the docks to feature naval vessels from each of the various wars fought during Fort Mason’s long history as the Pacific logistical headquarters for the War Department (e.g., the SS Jeremiah O’Brien and USS Pampanito could be relocated here). They could use indoor spaces for exhibits and films, and for leasing to concessionaires to boost the site’s profitability. The city could move the Center for Arts & Culture to a location (like Civic Center or Mid-Market) that would be easier for most locals to access and would not misuse a potential tourist draw and site of historical reflection and learning.
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#25 Relaxing Resorts: Tax-gushing hotel complexes at key tourism clusters
This is a single idea applied to four zones. Each numbered resort corresponds to a pink zone on the map.
Creatures’ Corner Resorts
Draw out-of-town visitors by leasing land shown in pink for four resorts adjacent to the proposed Six Hills Skyway and the Creatures’ Corner animal parks:
- Creatures’ Corner resort 1: Over SF Zoo parking lot. Limit to 4-5 floors, high enough for guest floors to see over the treetops. Accommodate resort and zoo parking on ground level. Spectacular views in all directions. Convenient to L Streetcar, skyway, and Highway 1, with easy access to 280.
- Creatures’ Corner resort 2: Adjacent to the skyway terminus, sandwiched between Night Safari and the SF Zoo.
- Creatures’ Corner resort 3: Across the street from the skyway stop at Sloat & Skyline, overlooking Winged Wonders aquatic aviary and Cloud Forest tropical gardens.
- Creatures’ Corner/Golf Resort. SW corner of North Lake, adjacent to Night Safari, Winged Wonders, and Harding Golf Course. Connect via footbridge to skyway terminus.
Lake Merced Golf Resorts
Draw golfers from around the world by leasing land shown in pink for three golf-oriented resorts adjacent to Lake Merced’s private golf courses (easy access to SFO):
- Golf resort 1: Site of current Lakewood Apartments. Eminent-domain the Lakewood Apartments and lease the site to the highest bidder for a golf and recreation-oriented resort. The site is ideal for earning tourist revenue and ill-suited to housing residents, who must use a car for virtually every need.
- Golf resort 2: Between Lake Merced Blvd and the San Francisco Golf Club.
- Golf and water sports resort: Between John Muir Drive and Lake Merced.
Sutro Tower Hotel Complex
The covered reservoir in front of Sutro Tower has one of the best views in the city. Over it, build a relatively low wooden structure designed to offer panoramic views just over the treetops. Blend it in with the color of the surrounding forest. Easy access to the proposed Sutro Tower skyway stop.
Treasure Island Resorts
Elevate the middle part of Treasure Island, and beneath it build a vast subterranean (but above-sea-level) carpark serving all three theme parks from a central spot. Above the carpark, lease land for resort hotels from which visitors could explore all three parks over several days.
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#26 Historic Houses: Move orphaned vintage homes to strategic spots
With modern methods, it can pay to move a house when it will be worth more in a new location. This is especially so if the move is relatively short and unobstructed, and above all if multiple structures can be moved in a single operation.
It seems to me the city has many opportunities to profit from moving architecturally significant structures to places where they would be worth more, especially when one or more of the following conditions applies:
- the structures have been orphaned (i.e., few if any other vintage structures remain on their block);
- the structures lie in neighborhoods no longer suited to the buildings’ original purpose;
- the structures stand in the way of worthy new development.
The two Victorian homes at 1618-1624 Howard Street illustrate these conditions, because:
- they are the only Victorians on their block;
- they are surrounded by warehouses, parking lots, and auto repair shops;
- this block could be suitable for high-rise housing, particularly if one envisions new developments nearby, such as an HSR station, BART station, and/or soccer stadium.
I hope the city could save these and other vintage homes in this neighborhood by moving them to a location that would benefit from having them.
Besides increasing the worth of vintage structures and enabling valuable new development, such relocation would benefit recipient neighborhoods. Many blocks around the city are just a few Victorians shy of extraordinary (even the famous row of Victorians on Alamo Square actually has three empty lots). Filling such gaps with orphaned Victorians would enhance whole neighborhoods, benefiting all city residents through increased property tax revenue.
When an orphaned Victorian does not fit neatly into an existing gap, the city could move it to a main “orphanage”. Here, the city would not have to fit homes into existing lots, but could tailor the lots to fit the structures that come.
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#27 Victorian Village: Architectural park at Potrero Hill
Tunneling 101 under Potrero Hill (part of Idea #3) would create an ideal space for such an orphanage. The proposed tunnel would create a huge open terrace along Hospital Curve, hugging the western slope of Potrero Hill and commanding terrific views over the Mission District to Sutro Tower. This space would be well used as an informal open-air museum of Victorian architecture, simultaneously functioning as a living neighborhood in a park-like setting.
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A haven for orphaned Victorians (and architecture buffs)
The map proposes using the 101 corridor between 17th and 23rd for this Victorian Village. Moving orphaned Victorians here would enable development elsewhere, preserve the city’s architectural heritage, and concentrate otherwise scattered Victorians into a magical neighborhood generating tax and tourism revenues for the city.
Combined with the many existing Victorians on Utah, San Bruno, Vermont, and Kansas Streets, the relocated Victorians would form a large and varied ensemble of structures from that era (following the convention of the Victorian Society, “Victorian” could be interpreted to include structures built through 1914).
A good investment for the city
Rather than trying to earn money through ticketed admissions to this “open-air museum”, the city could focus on recouping its investment through increases in tourism, property valuations, and skyway ridership, plus taxes earned from the redevelopment made possible elsewhere. With the new park surroundings, absence of freeway noise, and easy access to Mission Bay and South Beach via the hypothetical Bay Bridge Skyway, home valuations in this neighborhood could skyrocket.
The city could also profit by buying otherwise-doomed Victorians elsewhere in town and selling them once assembled in the architectural park. To maximize the homes’ value in their new setting, the city could landscape the area to take best advantage of its fine views, while creating a park-like environment laced with interconnecting greenways. It could also assemble some salvaged commercial Victorians into one or two quaint village “downtowns” on low ground.
“Veermont Slope” real crookedest street
To draw more visitors to the Bay Bridge Skyway and Victorian Village, the city could name Vermont Street’s curvy block “Veermont Slope”. With 101 tunneled, the city could extend this street due south to the freeway gully, adding 4-5 hairpin turns in the process (thereby surpassing Lombard Street in curves).
As an investment, the city could buy up the somewhat lackluster homes on this curvy block, replace them with a terraced hotel complex built in Victorian style, then sell or lease the building. To maximize the hotel’s value, the city could clear the trees that obstruct this block’s striking head-on view of Sutro Tower, and re-landscape the street in Lombard Street style.
Unlike Lombard Street, Veermont Slope could be specially designed for tourism. For example, the city could lease the rights for a go-cart concession. Tourists would surely pay good money for the privilege of donning a racer suit and carting themselves down the world’s crookedest street.
I doubt anyone on Lombard St would object to some “crooked street” tourism shifting to Potrero Hill. Quite the contrary!
Potrero Hill Victorian Tower
Potrero Hill needs an icon. The map suggests the corner of 20th & Kansas, high on the hill, for building a 5-6 story Victorian tower (in the style of North Beach’s Columbus Tower). This tower could serve both as a terminus for the Bay Bridge Skyway and as a landmark for the Victorian Village. Drivers northbound on 101 would see the tower and skyway on their way into the Potrero Hill Tunnel. Skyway-riding tourists could disembark directly in front of the tower and into a Victorian Village Information Center/Gift Shop.
Columbus Tower in North Beach
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#28 Franciscan Fraternity: Palazzo d’Assisi (on new “Italian Hill”)
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In line with rebranding the northern half of Russian Hill as “Italian Hill” (Idea #46), the city could work with its sister city Assisi and the Consulate of Italy to design a medieval-inspired stone Palazzo d’Assisi combining decorative elements from famous Assisi landmarks including the Basilica of San Francesco, the Eremo delle Carceri, and the Rocca Maggiore (or, to connect with local history, it could rebuild 1-2 of the buildings from the Città Italiana at SF’s 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition).
The Eremo delle Carceri near Assisi
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Incorporate an Italian Cultural Center; reproductions of famous Assisi artworks by Giotto, Cimabue, etc.; and (to draw the faithful) an exhibit on the life work of St. Francis. Further boost profitability by incorporating an Eataly pavilion, restaurants & cafes, and shops selling high-quality craft products from Umbria and other Italian regions. Rebrand the meadow “Campo d’Assisi” and the garden “Giardino di San Francesco“. Under the garden, build a subterranean carpark (pink) accessible from Bay Street.
Build the complex on the unused hillside abutting the Chestnut St properties, and on the underused area along Hyde St (which currently features a lovely retaining wall). Thanks to the steep slope, it is possible to build to nearly the height of Chestnut St without blocking the view of any uphill neighbors. Within 50 yards of Larkin – the area with the clearest view of the Golden Gate – it’s possible to build even higher without blocking views.
This development would boost tourism revenue, raise property values in surrounding neighborhoods, and generally add to the city’s charm. Brainstorming notes on nitty-gritty details.
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#29 Perfect Panoramas: Observation towers on key hills
The Forest Tower, Denmark
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Buena Vista Tower: With one of the best views in the city (currently blocked by trees), a beautiful tower here could become a significant tourist draw for Haight-Ashbury. It should be just high enough to see over the treetops and appreciate the many vintage homes in the neighborhood.
Lafayette Park Tower: This hilltop park desperately needs a tower so visitors can actually see something over all the trees and surrounding buildings. A lovely tower here — complementing Coit Tower on the opposite side of the Nob-Russian ridge — could become a significant attraction, and a good destination for tourists riding the California Street Cable Car.
Strawberry Hill Lookout Tower (small): Build a nice lookout tower to reward summit-reachers with a view. This would also serve as a selfie checkpoint on the 49-Peak Experience (Idea 44).
Marsk Tower, Denmark
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(New?) Sutro Tower with observation deck: The view from atop Sutro Tower is far too spectacular not to be selling tickets (especially if there were a Six Hills Skyway stopping right near the base). This seems like an easy cash cow for the city. Sponsor an international competition to design a new tower, then let residents choose between the best of those new designs versus rebuilding the current tower with an observation/dining level added. Put either the spire tip or the observation/dining floor at a symbolic 1849 feet above sea level (about half of which would be from the tower’s height). Maybe put the observation level at 1849 feet and the spire tip at a height equal to the year the new tower is completed?
Canton Tower, Guangzhou
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#30 Sutro Scenery: Big Rec Amphitheater
The baseball grandstand at the NW corner of Big Rec has a terrific view of Mt. Sutro and Sutro Tower. Turn it into an amphitheater, and move the baseball fields to the west end of the Polo Field where they would fit more compactly and not overlap each other.
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#31 Scenic Slide: Fort Point Panoramic Chute
Sommerrodelbahn in Baden-Württemberg, Germany
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Literally overshadowed by the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point is perhaps San Francisco’s most under-appreciated site—a rare gem of 19th Century military architecture and brick masonry. Few Golden Gate visitors enter it, yet many walk right over it when they venture out to the bridge’s sidewalk. A scenic chute from that sidewalk to the fort’s top level (“barbette tier”) would earn income from the tourist traffic and support revenue-generating concessions within the fort. To blend in with the bridge, install a steel chute coated in International Orange, and conceal its entry portal behind one of the concrete columns above the fort. Visitors would delight in descending a winding course that takes in views of the Pacific, the Marin Headlands, and the bridge’s lovely iron trestlework (through which the chute could pass multiple times), before coming to a gradual stop on a flat section atop the fort. Riders would be largely protected from rain due to being entirely under the roadway. To make the chute all but invisible in photos of the bridge, one could hide its upper half inside the trestlework and its bottom segment along the fort’s western side (hidden beneath the bridge).
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#32 Grand Gateway: Golden Gate Park Gateway Arch
Sevilla’s Metropol Parasol
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At Fell & Stanyan, Golden Gate Park is endowed with a natural “front door” suitable for a grand park entrance. Examples of such entrances that come to mind include the arch at New York’s Washington Square Park, the Brandenburg Gate at Berlin’s Tiergarten, and the grand torii gate at Tokyo’s Meiji Shrine.
Currently there is nothing at Stanyan St to mark the entry to the city’s sacred sanctuary. The map suggests a broad arch spanning the drive that splits into JFK and Kezar. The suggested location would allow good views of McLaren Lodge from all approaches, as well as from the arch itself.
Proposed arch location (red rectangle) near Gateway stop of proposed Ocean Beach Skyway (maroon)
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Rather than an old-fashioned triumphal arch like that of Washington Square Park, I would personally hope for something unique and contemporary, along the lines of Sevilla’s Metropol Parasol.
The city could recoup costs by selling entry tickets and leasing space to a café and bar.
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#33 Exhilarating Entrance: “THE CITY” sign at Candlestick Point
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Bayview Hill, a steep rise that stands sentinel over the city’s southern entrance, is tailor-made for a giant welcome sign. Exhilarate visitors approaching via 101 or HSR/Caltrain with a Hollywood-style hilltop sign proclaiming their arrival to THE CITY, each letter painted in one of the seven colors of the rainbow. If citizens prefer something viewable from all sides, erect a giant rainbow flag atop the hill. Either way, change the hill’s name from “Bayview Hill” to “Rainbow Ridge” (how many SF hills don’t have a view of the Bay?).
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#34 Redolent Reliquiae: Treasures of the Jewel City
Marina District, site of the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition
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For over 100 years, Bernard Maybeck’s Palace of Fine Arts has been one of the city’s most magical places. Originally constructed for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, the Palace was rebuilt from the ground up in the 1960s. This proved to be a wise investment. Today the Palace draws visitors from around the Bay Area and beyond, enhances life for neighborhood residents, and connects the city with the most glorious moment in its history.
It seems to me that the city would profit from rebuilding a judicious sampling of other “Jewel City” structures in a few strategic spots that are currently underused. These would give architectural cohesion to the neighborhood, provide evocative reminders of the city’s illustrious past, and complete the Marina District as a draw for visiting San Francisco.
A few ideas:
Rebuild the California Building at its original location just north of the Palace of Fine Arts (now Little Marina Green).
In an area with a superabundance of lawn space (Crissy Field, Tunnel Tops, Main Parade Ground, Marina Green, Fort Mason), Little Marina Green stands out for having no view of the Golden Gate (it’s blocked by a tall stand of trees). The city could use this space to rebuild the 1915 Expo’s lovely California Building in its original location. Here, it would dramatically enhance views from Marina Blvd (not to mention harmonize with the Spanish-style homes across the street). Unlike the Palace of Fine Arts, the California Building would not be obscured by private homes. Potentially profitable uses could include a hotel, restaurants, conference center, and club space.
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Rebuild the Palace of Machinery over the Marina Safeway and the adjacent block, renaming it the Palace of Mechanical Arts.
In this location, a rebuilt Palace of Machinery would complement the Palace of Fine Arts on the opposite end of the main Expo area, just as it did in 1915 (to harmonize the names, use the name “Palace of Mechanical Arts”). Together, the two palaces would visibly mark out the impressive extent of the main Expo grounds. The map reduces the building’s length by one third in order to fit within the constraints of the street layout. This building would provide a striking sight for visitors emerging from the Fort Mason train tunnel on the hypothetically extended F Streetcar line. Especially if that extension occurred, this 5.2-acre site could be ideal for a hotel and convention center. More images of the 1915 building: Portal, Arcade.
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Across from the Palace of Mechanical Arts, rebuild the core N-S axes of the Palace of Metallurgy (originally the “Palace of Mines and Metallurgy”) and the Palace of Industry (originally the “Palace of Varied Industries”). Erecting these across Buchanan St from the Palace of Mechanical Arts would recreate the Avenue of Progress and smooth the architectural transition to the neighboring homes.
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Rebuild the Rising Sun and Setting Sun fountains at the East and West ends of Marina Green. In this location, these two lovely fountains would grace views of the sunrise and sunset, and beautifully set off either end of what is now a rather plain space. (Youtube video of Setting Sun fountain)
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Rebuild the Moorish Café next to the Marina Green East parking lot. This building would be terrific to look at walking east on Marina Blvd or north on Webster St. It would also help create context—rooted in the city’s own history—for the Marina District’s Andalusian style.
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Rebuild two “Italian towers” to mark the eastern limit of the main Expo grounds and the entrance to the present-day Marina District.
- At the elbow of Gashouse Cove, in line with Buchanan St, rebuild one of the two identical towers that guarded the Court of Palms. Lease out the top to a restaurant and café.
- At Buchanan and Bay Streets, rebuild one of the two identical towers that guarded the Court of Flowers. Sell tickets to climb this tower and tour a small Museum of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, including viewing the scale model made of it in 1939. Looking down over the entire Expo site, the Tower would be an ideal place to explore photos, videos, and other Expo memorabilia, and learn about the Expo’s significance in the history of San Francisco and the United States.
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Create a Fine Arts Mall leading to the Palace of Fine Arts dome. The city could enhance the Marina District by replacing the Beach St homes that block the East-West sight path toward the dome with a “Fine Arts Mall” lined with palm trees and replica sculptures, friezes, and colonnades from the 1915 Expo. The affected homes would increase in value if moved to nearby Mason St, directly overlooking the Golden Gate. Detailed rough notes.
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At the east entrance to the Fine Arts Mall, build a portal comprising three arches from Mullgardt’s beloved Court of Abundance. If this number of arches were placed adjacent to the home at 3651 Scott St, the middle arch would fall exactly over the Expo’s East-West axis that bisects the PoFA dome.
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Sprinkle the Marina District with a selection of the best statues and fountains from the 1915 Expo. This page lists a sample of the candidates; the map suggests about 15 locations and selections (click on the map’s red icons for images).
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Bonus idea: Rebuild Joseph Strauss’s ingenious Aeroscope ride over Fort Mason? (YouTube video)
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Bringing back some selected treasures of the “Jewel City” would make the Marina District a marvelous place to visit and create a context in which the neighborhood’s architectural style would make sense.
Btw, don’t miss Historypin’s mind-blowing interactive Expo map with geolocated photos!