john mclaren was contracted to design golden gate park as hall's assistant and successfully introduced new plant species.
john mclaren was contracted to design golden gate park as hall's assistant and successfully introduced new plant species.
who was contracted to design golden gate park as hall's assistant and successfully introduced new plant species?
john mclaren
the plan and planting were developed by hall and his assistant, john mclaren, who had apprenticed in scotland, home of many of the 19th-century's best professional gardeners. john mclaren, when asked by the park commission if he could make golden gate park "one of the beauty spots of the world," replied saying, "with your aid gentleman, and god be willing, that i shall do." he also promised that he'd "go out into the country and walk along a stream until he found a farm, and that he'd come back to the garden and recreate what nature had done." the initial plan called for grade separations of transverse roadways through the park, as frederick law olmsted had provided for central park, but budget constraints and the positioning of the arboretum and the concourse ended the plan. in 1876, the plan was almost replaced by one for a racetrack, favored by "the big four" millionaires: leland stanford, mark hopkins, collis p. huntington, and charles crocker. stanford, who was president of the southern pacific railroad, was also one of the owners of the ocean railroad company, which ran from haight street across the park to its south border, then out to the beach and north to a point near cliff house. it was gus mooney who claimed land adjacent to the park on ocean beach. many of mooney's friends also staked claims and built shanties on the beach to sell refreshments to the patrons of the park. hall resigned, and the remaining park commissioners followed. in 1882 governor george c. perkins appointed frank m. pixley, founder and editor of the argonaut, to the board of commissioners of san francisco's golden gate park. pixley was adamant that the mooney's shanties be eliminated, and he found support with the san francisco police for park security. pixley favored stanford's company by granting a fifty-year lease on the route that closed the park on three sides to competition. the original plan, however, was back on track by 1886, when streetcars delivered over 47,000 people to golden gate park on one weekend afternoon (out of a population of 250,000 in the city).
golden gate park
established in 1870, the golden gate park nursery has remained one of the few places in the park restricted to the public. this nursery began with donated plants from around the world and expanded over the years with the care of past golden gate park gardeners. the nursery has moved around the park thrice; first to where mclaren lodge stands today, then to where kezar stadium is currently located and finally to its current location of martin luther king jr. drive. this nursery houses over 800 species of plants, some of which are exclusive to the nursery, and are sold to the public on the third saturday of the month. every week over 3,000 plants are dispersed within the city and park. when the park requires repairing or is in need of empty beds filled, the nursery provides its wide variety of plants to fill in the blank spaces. indoors, the plants are set up in neat rows and beds, showing off the nursery's green diversity for the buyers picking. the golden gate park nursery is one of the city's main green providers and is greatly responsible for the city's plant life.
golden gate park