Monday, September 6, 2010

Golden gate park,Shakespeare Garden wedding by Peter Bruce Photo




Golden Gate Park the ultimate haven away from urban chaos and great for a wedding. It was deeded to the people in 1870 out of the prescient notion that San Franciscans would one day feel overcrowded. This foresight proved invaluable, as 13 million people now visit the park every year.

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 William Hammond Hall, a 25-year-old civil engineer who was appointed the park's first superintendent in 1871. Over the next five years, Hall established the park's original design — including the Panhandle — and began introducing grass, trees and numerous plants in an environment most thought too barren for lush foliage.

Many of the park's iconic buildings arrived with the 1894 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 St., 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.

I think out of all the places in the Golden Gate park the best is the Shakespeare Garden .

Let me know what you think

Peter Bruce Photo

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