Welcome to The Panhandle! When thinking of parks in San Francisco, surely Golden Gate Park is the one that comes to mind, however this 1 block wide, ¾ mile-long park that looks like a handle coming from Golden Gate Park has a fascinating history.
Pre-1870 the area of The Panhandle and Golden Gate park, called the “Outside Lands,” was an area of shifting sand dunes that didn’t support much vegetation. With a strong public desire for a large public park like they had in New York City, William Hammond Hall set to work figuring out how to make this sandy area into the parkland we know today. In that effort the area known as The Panhandle became his lab for finding a method that would stabilize the dunes and make them suitable for vegetation for a world class park.
Once he was able to stabilize the sand with some plants like barley he laid down some topsoil and planted fast growing trees that are still there today like Monterey Pines, Monterey Cypresses and Eucalyptus. After a while he added hundreds of tree varieties from all over the world. Looking at The Panhandle and Golden Gate Park today you would never guess that this is all built on sand dunes.
Over the years there have been proposals to expand the park. In 1899 there was a proposal to extend the park all the way to Van Ness Ave. In 1928 there was another proposal to expand the park, this time through the Lower Haight and Duboce Triangle. Obviously, neither of these panned out ;-)
Shockingly there was a proposal in the 1950’s to build a freeway straight through it that almost became reality. There was a lot of opposition to this plan in the community. The SF Board of Supervisors voted against the project on 2 different occasions in 1959 and again in 1966. The vote in 1966 was a close one, it was voted down by only 1 vote.
In this spot is a plaque dedicated to the Hon. Susan J. Bierman, the woman who is credited with uniting the neighborhoods against the plan, in what they called the “Freeway Revolt.” Quite a public figure after this enormous feat of civic organizing the Hon. Ms. Bierman went on to serve the city as a member of the San Francisco Planning Commission from 1976 until 1992, and as a City Supervisor from 1993 - 2001. Truly an amazing person and advocate for the betterment of San Francisco.
When you’re out looking for this cache take a sec to read her plaque and thank the Hon. Ms. Bierman for ensuring that where you’re standing did not turn into a freeway.