McLaren Park
Encyclopedia
McLaren Park is a park in south-eastern San Francisco
. McLaren Park is the second largest park in San Francisco after Golden Gate Park
. The park is surrounded mostly by the Excelsior, Crocker-Amazon, Visitacion Valley, Portola and University Mound neighborhoods.
. When California was part of Mexico, its then governor Juan Bautista Alvarado
granted what is now known as McLaren Park to the local authorities in 1840.
In 1905, subdivisions of the land grant were drawn up and Daniel Burham recommended that the land where McLaren Park is today be a park. The land was purchased anyway by the Board of Supervisors in 1928 despite the bond measure being defeated. In 1934, John McLaren
organized a dedication flag ceremony in the park, which had its name, and it is currently the second-largest park in the city.
A master plan for the park was published in 1959 which called for the creation of more recreational facilities. Construction of the facilities included in the Master Plan: The Gleneagles Golf Course, McNab Lake, Louis Sutter, Herz, and Mansfield-Burrows Playground, the Wilde Overlook, and the amphitheater (later to be renamed the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater), began in the 1960s, and also included new trails, picnic and parking areas, community gardens, and an irrigation system.
In the northeast corner of the park is Yosemite Marsh, a habitat for native species that include the forktail damselfly and flowering quillwort. Named a "significant natural resource area" by the city in 1995, the marsh marks the origin of Yosemite Creek, a body of water that flows through underground culverts towards Candlestick Point.
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
. McLaren Park is the second largest park in San Francisco after Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
. The park is surrounded mostly by the Excelsior, Crocker-Amazon, Visitacion Valley, Portola and University Mound neighborhoods.
History
McLaren Park was once a part of Rancho Cañada de Guadalupe la Visitación y Rodeo ViejoRancho Cañada de Guadalupe la Visitación y Rodeo Viejo
Rancho Cañada de Guadalupe la Visitación y Rodeo Viejo was a Mexican land grant in present day San Mateo County, California and San Francisco County, California given in 1841 by Governor Juan Alvarado to Jacob P. Leese. The rancho included three separate valleys: Cañada de Guadalupe, La...
. When California was part of Mexico, its then governor Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Alvarado
Juan Bautista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo was a Californio and twice Governor of Alta California from 1836 to 1837, and 1838 to 1842.-Early years:...
granted what is now known as McLaren Park to the local authorities in 1840.
In 1905, subdivisions of the land grant were drawn up and Daniel Burham recommended that the land where McLaren Park is today be a park. The land was purchased anyway by the Board of Supervisors in 1928 despite the bond measure being defeated. In 1934, John McLaren
John McLaren (park superintendent)
Dr John Hays McLaren served as superintendent of the Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA for 53 years.Born at Bannockburn, near Stirling in Scotland, and worked as a dairyman before studying horticulture at the Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens where he worked as an apprentice gardener's helper...
organized a dedication flag ceremony in the park, which had its name, and it is currently the second-largest park in the city.
Amenities
Coffman Pool was McLaren Park's first recreation facility constructed near Herz Playground, also in McLaren Park in 1958.A master plan for the park was published in 1959 which called for the creation of more recreational facilities. Construction of the facilities included in the Master Plan: The Gleneagles Golf Course, McNab Lake, Louis Sutter, Herz, and Mansfield-Burrows Playground, the Wilde Overlook, and the amphitheater (later to be renamed the Jerry Garcia Amphitheater), began in the 1960s, and also included new trails, picnic and parking areas, community gardens, and an irrigation system.
In the northeast corner of the park is Yosemite Marsh, a habitat for native species that include the forktail damselfly and flowering quillwort. Named a "significant natural resource area" by the city in 1995, the marsh marks the origin of Yosemite Creek, a body of water that flows through underground culverts towards Candlestick Point.