Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930 - Paperback

by Terence Young (Author)

In 1865, when San Francisco's Daily Evening Bulletin asked its readers if it were not time for the city to finally establish a public park, residents had only private gardens and small urban squares where they could retreat from urban crowding, noise, and filth. Five short years later, city supervisors approved the creation of Golden Gate Park, the second largest urban park in America. Over the next sixty years, and particularly after 1900, a network of smaller parks and parkways was built, turning San Francisco into one of the nation's greenest cities. In Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930, Terence Young traces the history of San Francisco's park system, from the earliest city plans, which made no provision for a public park, through the private garden movement of the 1850s and 1860, Frederick Law Olmsted's early involvement in developing a comprehensive parks plan, the design and construction of Golden Gate Park, and finally to the expansion of green space in the first third of the twentieth century. Young documents this history in terms of the four social ideals that guided America's urban park advocates and planners in this period: public health, prosperity, social coherence, and democratic equality. He also differentiates between two periods in the history of American park building, each defined by a distinctive attitude towards "improving" nature: the romantic approach, which prevailed from the 1860s to the 1880s, emphasized the beauty of nature, while the rationalistic approach, dominant from the 1880s to the 1920s, saw nature as the best setting for uplifting activities such as athletics and education. Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930 maps the political, cultural, and social dimensions of landscape design in urban America and offers new insights into the transformation of San Francisco's physical environment and quality of life through its world-famous park system.

Front Jacket

Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930, traces the history of San Francisco's park system, from the earliest city plans, which made no provision for a public park, through the private garden movement of the 1850s and 1860s, Frederick Law Olmsted's early involvement in developing a comprehensive parks plan, the design and construction of Golden Gate Park, and finally to the expansion of green space in the first third of the twentieth century. Terence Young documents this history and maps the political, cultural, and social dimensions of landscape design in urban America, offering new insights into the transformation of San Francisco's physical environment and quality of life through its world-famous park system.

An excellent study . . . If anything could possibly improve an outing to Golden Gate Park, a copy of Building San Francisco's Parks looks just the ticket.--San Francisco Chronicle

Mixes a nicely paced narrative with an effective analysis of the geology, climatology, botany, politics, and building of San Francisco.--Pacific Historical Review

Young does a splendid job detailing the political intricacies and the physical difficulties in the formation of San Francisco's park system . . . His distinction between the 'romantic' and the 'rationalist' approaches to the formation of the city's parks is illuminating.--Newsletter of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society

Written in a clear and fluid style . . . the book contributes a cogent examination of how landscapes are altered, land use conflicts persist, and changing expectations of nature impact park management.--CRM: Journal of Heritage Stewardship

Terence Young is an associate professor of geography at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

--Lary M. Dilsaver, University of South Alabama "Journal of American History"

Back Jacket

Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930, traces the history of San Francisco's park system, from the earliest city plans, which made no provision for a public park, through the private garden movement of the 1850s and 1860s, Frederick Law Olmsted's early involvement in developing a comprehensive parks plan, the design and construction of Golden Gate Park, and finally to the expansion of green space in the first third of the twentieth century. Terence Young documents this history and maps the political, cultural, and social dimensions of landscape design in urban America, offering new insights into the transformation of San Francisco's physical environment and quality of life through its world-famous park system.

"An excellent study . . . If anything could possibly improve an outing to Golden Gate Park, a copy of Building San Francisco's Parks looks just the ticket."--San Francisco Chronicle

"Mixes a nicely paced narrative with an effective analysis of the geology, climatology, botany, politics, and building of San Francisco."--Pacific Historical Review

"Young does a splendid job detailing the political intricacies and the physical difficulties in the formation of San Francisco's park system . . . His distinction between the 'romantic' and the 'rationalist' approaches to the formation of the city's parks is illuminating."--Newsletter of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society

"Written in a clear and fluid style . . . the book contributes a cogent examination of how landscapes are altered, land use conflicts persist, and changing expectations of nature impact park management."--CRM: Journal of Heritage Stewardship

Terence Young is an associate professor of geography at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Author Biography

Terence Young is an associate professor of geography at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.