Why would a Golden Gate Park monument dedicated to one of the framers of California’s Constitution “revive painful feelings,” as said by the Oakland Tribune?
‘Looking Back’: Henry Halleck
‘Looking Back’: Angler’s Lodge
Tokyo is hosting the Olympics, but did you know about the international sports competition venue hidden beyond the trees near Golden Gate Park’s Polo Field or Bison Paddock?
‘Looking Back’: Rideout Fountain
An exuberant fountain, now restored to its original glory, entices visitors to the center of the Music Concourse in Golden Gate Park.
Looking Back: Goethe and Schiller
The Economist, for their February 2015 article on German-Americans, chose the title “America’s largest ethnic group has assimilated so well that people barely notice it.”
‘Looking Back’: Gen. John Pershing
Pershing lived in the San Francisco Presidio in 1914, when he had the rank of brigadier general (one-star). On Aug. 27, 1915, Pershing’s wife and three of their four children perished in a Presidio house fire; Pershing was in Texas, due to instability of the Mexican Revolution.
‘Looking Back’: GG Park’s Polo Field
The first polo match at the Polo Field was on Nov. 11, 1898 (reported the next day by the San Francisco Call). Horsemen from the Burlingame Club played for two hours, with an intermission, in front of thousands of spectators.
Looking Back: William McKinley Monument
“I killed the president because he was the enemy of the good people – the good working people,” were among Czolgosz’s last words before being executed.
Looking Back: Portals of the Past
The phrase “Portals of the Past” for the surviving Towne mansion entrance is attributed to contemporary writer Charles K. Field. In 1906, Field contributed articles to Sunset magazine, a Southern Pacific Railroad promotional tool. Field later became an editor and owner of Sunset.
‘Looking Back’: John McLaren
McLaren, born on Dec. 20, 1846 in Scotland, finished his basic schooling at age 14 and looked for outdoor work. His first job was gardening at a small estate. After a few years of experience, McLaren moved on to working at a larger estate before enrolling as a student in the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh one winter.
Looking Back: William D. McKinnon
Why is it so hard to get a good look at Chaplain William D. McKinnon’s face on his monument in Golden Gate Park? How could the McKinnon Monument Committee and the San Francisco Parks Commission have disagreed so strongly over whether or not that statue should even be in the park?
Looking Back: Forester Monument
The monument, made of white Italian marble, was planned to serve as a fountain for people and horses, according to Chris Pollock’s book on Golden Gate Park.
Looking Back: Baseball Player
Although the current baseball season isn’t its normal self, you can go to Golden Gate Park and visit the monument that celebrates baseball to conjure up some feelings of baseball nostalgia.
Looking Back – Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant’s bust was seen as underwhelmingly smallish when first revealed in December 1896. A San Francisco Planning Commission report from 2005 on Golden Gate Park for the National Register of Historic Places said that patriots seeing the Grant monument would “feel their breasts swell with pride.” How could attitudes change so strongly that the bust was angrily pulled down in 2020?
Looking Back – Starr King
When America faced healthcare challenges during the Civil War, Starr King rallied Californians to pitch in. In 1862, King made fundraising speeches and raised more than $1 million on behalf of the United States Sanitary Commission canvassing California and the whole Northwestern coast up to Vancouver Island …
Looking Back – Ludwig van Beethoven
Kinen Carvala looks back at the history of the Beethoven statue in Golden Gate Park.
