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Golden Gate Park is San Francisco's green lung. Covering an area of just over 1000 acres, and stretching 3 miles from West to East and about 3/4 of a mile North to South, it is significantly larger than its nearest metropolitan equivalent - New York's Central Park. The park was first created around 1870 when, partly as an attempt to claim land that had been granted to it but had been settled by squatters, and partly in response to clamouring's from its residents, the city of San Francisco decided to set aside this area of the city for parkland.
At the time the park was designated the predominant feature was in fact sand dunes! It took some significant design, from it's first Superintendent - William Hammond Hall - creating roads with curves and bends to keep vehicular speeds down, and walkways away from the roads. It's second Superintendent - a landscape gardener from Scotland - John McLaren - filled the park with trees and plants from almost every country on the planet!
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But the park isn't just about greenery. Dotted about it's area are a number of fascinating buildings - including some somewhat out-of-place Dutch Windmills. These were constructed in the early years of the 20th century with the specific and vital aim of bringing water to the otherwise barren park. Although rendered obsolete by 1913 with the installation of electric pumps the windmills have fortunately been retained - and have recently been thoroughly restored.
Other areas of interest include the Japanese Tea Gardens - which was developed in 1894 as the Japanese Village as part of the World's Fair that was being held there at the time. The Japanese Tea Gardens are open daily. There's also the California Academy of Sciences, the MH de Young Memorial Museum as well as the Conservatory of Flowers. Of course the other thing to do in Golden Gate Park is explore. With miles and miles of trails and paths, it's a wonderful place to wander on foot or probably even better on a bike.
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At the Eastern end of Golden Gate Park is the area of the City that became famous in the 1960's as the home of Flower Power, the original Summer of Love, and of course hippies. Although that era has long passed, the memories of what it stood for, and what it achieved - ultimately the end of the Vietnam War - linger on. Whilst the original hippie community has largely moved on - many further North to Oregon and Washington - there is still a vibe here of what once was - and it is something distinctly San Francisco that you probably won't experience anywhere else.
Of course, time has passed and commercial enterprise has to a certain extent moved in. Although I don't think anyone would begrudge this bunch - Ben & Jerry's who share the Haight-Ashbury state of mind, despite the fact that they're from Vermont!!! For those seeking a New Age accommodation experience, you can stay in the heart of The Haight at the Red Victorian Inn.
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