Streetcars Once Rumbled through Golden Gate Park

By Judith Kahn

"Why shouldn't 20,000 of the dwellers of our city find their way to the ocean beach every Sunday afternoon? The comparatively few who can afford the expense make a trip at least once a season to the ocean at Monterey, Santa Cruz or some other nice spot on the coast, but close at hand there is a stretch of ocean beach that is equal to any of the more popular destinations that are farther off. A railroad passing the Golden Gate Park and terminating at the Ocean Beach would surely be an immense success." This quote appeared in the "San Francisco Newsletter and California Advertiser" Aug. 28, 1880.

Leland Stanford agreed, and in 1883 he helped finance and promote a steam train line, which carried passengers from Stanyan Street to a terminal at what now is LaPlaya. The tracks that were built were the only transit-tracks ever constructed in Golden Gate Park and were actually laid before it looked like a park.

Today, one can retrace the historic railroad by foot on a trail that links the Murphy Windmill to the Beach Chalet and the Wilhelmina (Dutch) Windmill.

The walk is one of six walks sponsored by the San Francisco Parks Trust, formerly Friends of Recreation and Parks. The hour-long walk begins in front of the 85-foot-tall windmill. It is offered year round every first and third Wednesday of the month, beginning at 10 a.m.

During the walk, strollers get an interesting array of information. On a recent tour, the guide informed the trekkers that across from the Wilhelmina Windmill there once stood a type of Dutch cottage for the caretaker and his wife. Besides the caretaker's regular duties, he was ordered to plant a garden to raise vegetables for the animals in the park's menagerie, which existed before the San Francisco Zoo.

The Wilhelmina Windmill was built in 1902 to harness San Francisco's westerly winds for power to pump water, at the rate of 20,000 gallons per hour, to irrigate the park. The sails on the windmill measured 102 feet from tip to tip. By 1875, there were 60,000 trees planted in the park, and by 1901 John McLaren and park commissioners supplied adequate water to irrigate the park.

Although the Park Commission was skeptical that a windmill could provide an adequate water supply, it approved the construction. It was such a success that in 1905 the park commissioners approved the construction of the Murphy Windmill, which is currently being repaired in Holland.

The Murphy Windmill was the largest of its day and pumped 40,000 gallons of water per hour. It was the water from these two windmills that transformed the once barren terrain along the Pacific Coast into the lush environment of Golden Gate Park. By 1913, motorized pumps were installed to augment the then-insufficient production of the wind powered systems.

Over decades, harsh weather conditions, coupled with increased vandalism, forced the Park Commission to have the sails removed and the entrances sealed. When walking south toward Murphy Windmill, the tour passes a soccer field. There are numerous children's soccer teams, and the soccer area is large enough to accommodate five fields.

During a recent walk, many plants were identified, including California Lilacs and the Cape Horn. The guide said the Cape Horn is an undesirable plant, which has destroyed many trees in the park, while Nasturtium blossoms are good snacks with a bit of cream cheese and curry folded in them. The guide remarked that many tulips are planted in the Wilhelmina garden in the fall and bloom in the early spring. In May, the bulbs are dug up. In the past, the SF Recreation and Park Department has given away any excess bulbs.

On any given walk the type of information varies in terms of what is emphasized. Some guides emphasize the historical aspects of the park, while others place more emphasis on flora and flora. Today, they are 33 trained volunteers leading six different historical walking tours.

Since its conception, the guide program has expanded to include special tours of the statues in the park and the murals at the Beach Chalet. In addition, there is a tour of the native plants and birds found in the park.

A special type of walk created by the Parks Trust is the stroller walk. The walk was created by a guide named Julian Brown, who loved walking in the park with her child but thought it was lonely walking by herself. The stroller walks are given May through October and are about an hour long.

For a monthly update on city walks, call (415) 263-0991 or visit the Web site at www.sfpt.org.