Via California - January/February 2020 - 33

golden gate neighbor

Move to
the music
GOLDEN GATE PARK
BAND Playing strong

since 1882, this community band performs
some Sunday afternoons in a band shell
that looks like it came
from ancient Greece.

HARDLY STRICTLY

BLUEGRASS This free

OPERA IN THE PARK

October shindig was
financier F. Warren
Hellman's gift to the
city; Emmylou Harris
and Robert Plant have
been repeat performers.

Each fall, San Francisco
Opera stars belt out
pop standards-plus
highlights from the
upcoming season-
alfresco in Robin
Williams Meadow.

LINDY IN THE PARK

OUTSIDE LANDS

Hepcats have been
swing dancing alongside JFK Drive for
20-plus years; if you'd
like to join, drop by for
a free half-hour lesson
Sundays at noon.

MUSIC AND ARTS

FESTIVAL The three-

day August extravaganza draws all-star
headliners such as Paul
Simon, Janet Jackson,
and Kendrick Lamar.

BOTTOM: CHARITY VARGAS PHOTOGRAPHY

japanese tea garden

The Presidio
Seven blocks north of Golden Gate
Park sits another wildland. Graced
with cypress and eucalyptus trees,
sandy beaches, and coastal wetlands, with the Golden Gate Bridge
at its northern border, the Presidio is
a kind of San Francisco in miniature.
The park's history also mirrors the
city's. The area-once the homeland
of the Ohlone people-became a
military installation in 1776, controlled first by Spain, then Mexico,
then the United States. In 1994 the
land changed hands again, becoming a 1,491-acre national park site.
At the visitor center, topographic
models and touch screens provide
a good introduction to the area.
Nearby, inside the Officers' Club, the
Presidio Heritage Gallery presents
thoughtful exhibits on park history.
The adjacent archaeology lab displays American Indian shell beads
excavated from the parade grounds
and other artifacts unearthed here.
Modern-day diversions include
Star Wars photo ops at Lucasfilm
HQ, theme park-worthy displays at
the Walt Disney Family Museum,
and performances at the newly
restored Presidio Theatre. Yet nature
remains the park's blockbuster attraction. A quiet eucalyptus grove hides
Wood Line, a piece by environmental
artist Andy Goldsworthy, and this
spring, seven acres along the wetland shore will be reclaimed as
marshland. Dining options range
from lively food truck picnics on the
Main Parade Ground to haute
Spanish delicacies from James Beard
Award winner Traci Des Jardins at the
Commissary. - ga r r i c k r a m i r e z

Walk through the pagoda-style gate, and you enter a wonderland where
footpaths meander beneath Japanese maples, a high bridge arcs over the koi
pond, and, come spring, cherry trees explode in a brilliant shower of blossoms.
Sip a cup of sencha in the teahouse and savor the landscape that has beguiled
visitors since it opened as part of the 1894 California Midwinter International
Exposition. The garden's grace is largely the product of one immigrant family,
the Hagiwaras: Makoto designed the garden and tended it until his death in
1925; later, his daughter and son-in-law took over. During World War II, the
family was forced to abandon their beloved garden when they were relocated
to an internment camp. Today, a simple but moving monument-created by the
late, great San Francisco artist Ruth Asawa-honors the people who provided
the city with this profoundly lovely refuge. ●
peter fish also writes for the San Francisco Chronicle, Sunset, and Houzz.
A A A | VIA

33
Via California - January/February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Via California - January/February 2020
