Browse Category: San Francisco

Traveling Back in Time at the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers

I’m on a roll, making up for lost time with blog posts after not having written for several months! Today, I visited the San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, a beautiful building full of tropical plants in Golden Gate Park. This Victorian-era attraction is the oldest public wood-and-glass conservatory in North America. After my visit, I did some deep digging online and found some interesting history, as well as a ton of photos. Note that most of the history provided here comes from the Conservatory’s website.

The San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers, probably in 1878 or 1879. Lone Mountain is in the background at right. Photo from San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers website.

Early History
A San Jose landowner, James Lick, had ordered conservatory materials to be shipped from New York in the 1870s to construct two private conservatories; however, Lick died before his projects could be built, and as his estate was being divided, 33 tons of the glass were donated to the Society of California Pioneers. In 1877, the Society of California Pioneers sold the conservatory pieces to 27 prominent San Franciscans and local philanthropists, including former Mayor William Alvord, Charles Crocker, Leland Stanford, and Claus Spreckels. It was the intention of these men to donate the conservatory materials to the City of San Francisco for public use in Golden Gate Park, which was being created.

A stipulation of the donation was that the conservatory be erected within 18 months, so it had to be built quickly. This happened, even though the steamer Georgia, which was carrying some of the construction materials, sunk. This may explain why the San Francisco Conservatory does not seem to have had a formal opening date, but rather a “soft opening” sometime in the middle of April 1879. In addition to the glass from Lick, the building materials included local old-growth redwood and other native trees.

The Conservatory in 1879. This may be during construction, as the building
appears to be unpainted.

Conservatories were very popular in the Victorian era, and the San Francisco Conservatory was no exception, fast becoming the most visited location in Golden Gate Park. It was beloved by both locals and visitors. The original layout included a fountain in the entryway and another in the Palm Room, under the dome. The west wing displayed flowering and ornamental foliage in one gallery and hard-wooded plants, like azaleas, in the other. The east wing featured the Orchid House and an aquatic plant gallery with a large pond, which contained the Conservatory’s first blockbuster exhibit: the Victoria regia, a giant water lily, with leaves that grow several feet in diameter. This plant was the first of its kind to be grown in California and brought both recognition and crowds to Golden Gate Park. The Conservatory still boasts these gorgeous giant water lilies today.

The Pond Room in the late 1800s. Photo from San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers website.
The Pond Room today: in December 2019.
The Conservatory in 1882. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp26.1934.

The Conservatory survived a fire originating in the furnace room in 1883 that destroyed the central dome and many plants. With no public funds available for repairs, private donor Charles Crocker provided $10,000. During the restoration, the dome was raised by 6 feet, and the eagle finial on top of the dome was replaced with the planet Saturn, probably a reference to the ancient Roman god of agriculture. In 1895, the Conservatory was wired for electricity for the first time.

The remnants of the dome following the 1883 fire.
Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp26.1318.
Reconstruction of the dome underway, mid-1880s. Photo from
Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp25.4131.
View from Arizona Garden down to the Conservatory of Flowers in the mid-1880s. Dome appears to be under reconstruction following the 1883 fire.
Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp37.02290-L.
Ceremony for laying the cornerstone of the Garfield Monument, August 24, 1883. View northwest across Main Drive (John F. Kennedy Drive today) toward the dais and crowd. Conservatory dome under reconstruction after the 1883 fire. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp37.03265.
The Conservatory with the new dome, with visitors coming by horse and buggy. Photo from San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers website. (Date not provided, but likely at the end of the 1880s.)
Interior shot, 1886. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp37.03465.
Crowds of visitors in 1887. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp71.1427.
The Conservatory’s flowerbeds decorated with “parterre” designs, 1890.
Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp70.0232.
The Conservatory in 1900. Photo from OpenSFHistory.org.
Interior shot, 1900s. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp37.04228.

The devastating San Francisco 1906 earthquake and subsequent fires did little damage to the Conservatory. The area leading up to the building, known as Conservatory Valley, became a temporary refugee camp for people who had been left homeless by the disasters.

Refugee camp outside the Conservatory after the 1906 earthquake and fire.
Photo from San Francisco Conservatory of Flowers website.
Refugee camp in Conservatory Valley, looking south to Mt. Sutro, Clary Collection.
Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp33.00936.
Three men with basic necessities (including whiskey) in front of a tent in a refugee camp, probably in Conservatory Valley. Note Iron Bridge in background. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp15.162.
Men view the earthquake refugee camp near the Conservatory. View from steps of Arizona Garden. Affiliated Colleges in distance on Mt. Sutro.
Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp26.501.
Water fountain in front of the Conservatory, designed by Melvin Earl Cummings and formally accepted by the Park Commission in June 1904. Photo taken in 1909. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp33.03902.
1910. Photo from OpenSFHistory.org.
Interior shot, 1910s. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp37.03870.
1915. Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp14.4628.

Another fire originating in the furnace room damaged the Conservatory in 1918, resulting in the partial collapse of the glass roof and damage to the Potting Room. The Conservatory was again able to bounce back from adversity. However, by the 1930s, budget cuts, a result of the Great Depression, meant that park services and staff were reduced, and the Conservatory suffered from neglect. Necessary repairs were not made, and on several occasions the Conservatory was threatened with closure. Accounts vary, but some say that the building was closed for part of the ’30s and ’40s for structural repairs, reopening in the mid-’40s.

The Conservatory lawn in the 1920s. Photo from OpenSFHistory.org.
Snazzy visitors in their car. Photo from San Francisco Conservatory of
Flowers website. (Date not provided, but probably the 1920s.)
Visitors. Photo from San Francisco Conservatory of
Flowers website. (Date not provided, but appears to be the 1920s.)
1920s. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp15.675.
The Conservatory faced tough times in the 1930s.
Photo from OpenSFHistory.org.
Interior shot, 1930s. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp27.6220.
Parterre in front of the Conservatory in honor of San Francisco welcoming the United Nations, 1945. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp25.5246.
Visitors in 1945 with United Nations parterre. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp28.1489.
Aerial view, April 10, 1947. Photo: Barney Peterson / The Chronicle 1947.
Woman in 1950 posing next to floral tapestry reading “Public Parks Junior Tennis Championship”
in front of the Conservatory. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp28.3063.
Interior shot, 1957. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp25.1373.
1963. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp25.5886.
Renovation underway at the Conservatory entrance, 1966.
Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp25.5712.
1973. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp12.00721.
The interior of the Conservatory of Flowers, shown on its 100th anniversary on May 19, 1978, looks much the same as it did in 1878. Photo: Clem Albers / The Chronicle 1978.
Parterre of 49er helmet reading “Super,” to commemorate the 49ers’ first Superbowl victory, over the Bengals in 1982. Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp119.00084.

More Recent History
The most devastating damage in the Conservatory’s history was caused by a violent wind storm in 1995 that shattered 40 percent of the building’s glass and destroyed many rare plants. With millions needed for repairs, the building was closed, with many fearing it would never reopen.

With fundraising efforts, including those by First Lady Hillary Clinton, the Conservatory was able to be repaired. Restoration began in 2000 and took 8 years. One major challenge of the repairs was that the Conservatory was built according to a detailed blueprint, which apparently was destroyed in the great fire that occurred after the 1906 quake. This required the architects involved with the project to take the building apart so they could see how it was built in order to restore it. The work also included lead abatement and seismic strengthening. The total cost of the redo: $25 million. A grand public reopening was held in 2003.

Damaged facade in 1995. Photo from https://www.wmf.org/project/golden-gate-park-conservatory-flowers.
Man seated in front of Conservatory of Flowers in the 1990s, with sign that reads “Danger Keep Out.” Photo from Western Neighborhoods Project – wnp07.00151.
Grand reopening gala, 2003. Photo by Katy Raddatz/Chronicle.

Since 2003, millions of visitors have come to the Conservatory of Flowers, and it has been the site of weddings and special events. The Conservatory holds talks by horticultural authors and hosts horticultural societies and botany students. The Conservatory of Flowers has garnered numerous local, state, and national awards, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971. It is a City and County of San Francisco Landmark and a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.

Personal History
I’ve only been to the Conservatory a few times but definitely plan to return again now that I am living in San Francisco. On today’s visit, I saw many lovely orchids, a 100-year-old giant Imperial Philodendron named Phil, beautiful stained glass, koi, and those giant lily pads. During what I believe was my first visit, in 2006, when I was in graduate school and my parents were in town to see me, the Conservatory had a wonderful exhibit on butterflies and bats. (However, I may have visited during my first trip to San Francisco, which was in 1991. It’s hard to remember now!) What a lovely and special place, with so much history!

Butterfly exhibit at the Conservatory, 2006.
My dad impersonating a bat at the Bats and Butterflies exhibit
at the Conservatory, 2006.
My dad admiring the lily pad sculpture in the Pond Room at the Conservatory, 2006.
The Conservatory today: December 2019. The sky briefly clears after rainstorms.
Koi pond and statue today: December 2019.
The Conservatory today: December 2019.
Winter “Night Bloom” light show. From FogCitySecrets.com.

History and Psychology of Architecture in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset

Well, dear reader(s), it’s been another minute since I posted. I’ve thought about writing many times, but life has gotten in the way. OK, sometimes laziness has gotten in the way, but life, too!

Moving to the Outer Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco a few months ago made me curious about the area’s history and also got me to thinking about how the characteristics of different neighborhoods can impact our thoughts and emotions. I’ve written before about the psychology of color. Like color, scale and design can shape the way people interact with neighborhoods. As I’ve walked around my new environs, I’ve thought about how the building scale, uniformity, design, and colors make me feel.

Aerial shot of the Outer Sunset, looking north.

History
To call the Outer Sunset a “working-class” neighborhood today is a bit of a misnomer: The average house here now goes for about a million dollars. But when they were built, they were meant to allow families with modest means a way to have their own homes. Formerly called “Outside Lands,” comprising acres of sand dunes and scrub, the area started to be developed in the late 1800s when tourist attractions were added to Ocean Beach and Golden Gate Park was created. Initially, it was mostly settled by white Americans, primarily Irish and Italian. Mass home building didn’t take off until after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Large tracts of nearly identical houses were built from the 1920s to the 1960s. There are several commercial strips scattered throughout the Sunset.

Starting in the ’60s, the neighborhood saw a steady influx of Asian (mostly Chinese) immigrants following the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965, which lifted racial quotas and allowed more non-Europeans to immigrate to the United States. Today, the Outer Sunset is primarily Asian and Asian-American, with Chinese being the dominant culture; the second-largest ethnic group here is European-American.

One of the commercial streets of the Sunset is Irving Street. This shot is on Irving near 24th Avenue, technically in Central (not Outer) Sunset. Photo from sanfranciscodays.com.

Design and Scale
The Outer Sunset has a very distinct look and a fairly uniform design. Friends who are not that familiar with the area but have been to San Francisco often look blank when I try to explain where I live, but when I describe the way Outer Sunset looks, their eyes light up with recognition: “Oh, I drove through that neighborhood on my way up the coast!” “Oh, yeah, all those pastel houses!” “I think I was there on my way to Golden Gate Park!”

In some ways, Outer Sunset reminds me of working class neighborhoods in cities back East, where I’m from. Philadelphia, where I spent almost 20 years, has many districts that were built for working people throughout the centuries, and all share a certain style and economy of materials: small homes, often connected in rows; modest design; similarity to the neighbors’ homes (as many were built en masse); generally small (or absent) front yards; human scale.

Unlike the working-class neighborhoods of other cities, Outer Sunset is made up of blocks and blocks of (mostly) pastel stucco houses. The majority of the homes are two-story row houses with a garage on the ground floor and living quarters above. Because property is so ungodly expensive in San Francisco, many homeowners have added an in-law apartment on the ground floor, behind the garage. There are a few three-story homes here and there, and there are some blocks on which the houses have a touch more individual design than on others. Contemporary homeowners seem to be choosing richer paint colors and grays over pastels.

A typical block of homes in Outer Sunset, probably built in the 1940s or ’50s.

Psychology of Design
In some ways, the neighborhood’s sameness provides comfort and familiarity. You instantly know it’s a quiet, residential neighborhood when you see all those little pink houses, one-car garages, and quaint touches that help each often-bland facade stand out just a little. There is a sense of peace and orderliness.

Houses along Great Highway, the western-most street in the Outer Sunset.

While you might think that the human-scale architecture, soothing color palate, and walkable streets would promote a sense of community, other design elements fight against it. One is that garages take up most of the first floor, and entrances are hidden by locked metal gates; these features take away from homes having a warm or accessible feel. Also, it’s rare for anyone to be sitting or hanging out in front of their house—most homes lack porches, stoops, and front patios that would allow residents to spend time out front where they could chat with neighbors and passers-by. Houses feel private and hidden rather than open and inviting.

Sunset over the Outer Sunset, with the Pacific in the distance.

One Canadian researcher, Colin Ellard, has found that people are strongly affected by building facades (Bond, 2017). Complex and interesting facades affect people positively, whereas boring and impersonal building fronts can have a negative impact. The Sunset contains a mix of “interesting” versus bland facades, leading pedestrians to feel varying degrees of discomfort versus engagement. Some Outer Sunset streets are much more uniform and uninteresting than others.

According to Danish urbanist Jan Gehl, a well-designed city street should allow the average pedestrian to see an interesting new sight about once every five seconds (Ellard, 2015; Weintraub, 2015). In some ways, the Sunset’s lack of dramatic architectural variety may be offset by the small and interesting details that are visible to those on foot: plantings, murals, interesting paint colors, attractive metalwork, sculptures, benches, and decorative stones. Still, many have criticized the Outer Sunset as being boring and monotonous.

Interesting murals on a house and garage door.

Another much-studied element of the psychology of urban neighborhoods is green space: Access to greenery amidst city buildings is linked to better psychological health. The Sunset lacks a lot of green spaces—some blocks are virtually all concrete—although some streets do boast small trees and strips of yard containing anything from rocks to artificial turf to flowers to succulents. As with other psychological elements of design, the Sunset provides some positives and negatives here.

Pretty planters.
Funky yard.

Final Thoughts
I’m slowly feeling more at home in my new neighborhood. I can’t say that I have strong positive or negative feelings about the area—for me, it’s a mix. I can say that I wish there were more people out and about when I am walking around, and I also would be happier if the houses had more inviting fronts, with porches and yards. But that said, I am enjoying the Outer Sunset and continue to discover the small details that break up the overarching uniformity. I love seeing the ocean when I’m waiting at the bus stop. I love being able to walk to Golden Gate Park. I love the beachy feel on some of the streets and the interesting mix of cultures. On the surface, it may all look the same, but if you take a closer look, there is a lot to see.

Additional Reading
Michael Bond (2017). The hidden ways that architecture affects how you feel. BBC.com/future. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170605-the-psychology-behind-your-citys-design

Colin Ellard (2015). The generic city. Slate.com. https://slate.com/technology/2015/11/psychology-of-boring-architecture-the-damaging-impact-of-big-ugly-buildings-on-mental-health.html

Colin Ellard (2015). Places of the Heart: The Psychogeography of Everyday Life. New York: Bellevue Literary Press.

OutsideLands.org: Western Neighborhoods Project. https://www.outsidelands.org/

Pam Weintraub, editor. (2015). Streets with no game. Aeon.co/essays. https://aeon.co/essays/why-boring-streets-make-pedestrians-stressed-and-unhappy

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