Enter William Hammond Hall and his assistant, John McLaren. Within a few years, they transformed a thousand acres of wasteland into a lush garden with over 150,000 trees.
Today, Golden Gate Park cuts a green swath between the Richmond District to the north, and the Sunset District to the south. It streches from the Pacific Ocean, three and a half miles east to the middle of the city. A narrow ribbon of parkland, called the Panhandle, extends eight more blocks to the east, ending at Baker Street. (Click here for a map)
To invoke an old cliché, Golden Gate Park has something for everyone. Gardens, picnic areas, soccer fields, tennis courts, fishing holes, horseback riding, hiking paths, a world-class art museum and much more.
Oh, and by the way, Golden Gate Park is larger than Central Park, despite the fact that New York City has six times the area of San Francisco!
(Click on any photo to see the larger version)
