Conservatory of

Flowers

Beach Chalet
Prayer Book Cross
Dutch Windmill

Carousel

Murphy
Windmill

Structures and Buildings

Conservatory of Flowers
 Was opened in 1879 and stands as the oldest building in Golden Gate Park.

 It is one of the largest conservatories as well as one of the few large Victorian greenhouses
in the United states.

 Built with traditional wood and glass panes, the conservatory stands at 12,000 Sq. Ft. and
houses 1,700 species of tropical, rare and aquatic plants.

 Though it wasn’t originally constructed, William Hammond Hall included the idea of
conservatory in his original concept for the design of the park which was later adopted
with the help of twenty seven of the wealthiest business owners of San Francisco.

 Although no any primary documents were uncovered to indicate the architect, it is

assumed that the plan were produced by Lord & Burnham as it resemblance their other
contemporary structures. (modeled after Kew Gardens, London)

Structures and Buildings

Conservatory of Flowers

Rooms with the Conservatory

 Potted Plant Gallery follows Victorian architecture and 19 th century ideas of

displaying tropical plants in non-tropical parts of the world.

 Lowlands Gallery contains plants from the tropics of South America (near the
equator).

 Highlands Gallery contains native plants from South to Central America.

 Aquatic Plants room is similar in conditions as those near Amazon River.

Structures and Buildings

Conservatory of Flowers

Potted Plants

Structures and Buildings

Conservatory of Flowers

Highland Tropics

Structures and Buildings

Conservatory of Flowers

Aquatic Plants

Structures and Buildings

Conservatory of Flowers

Special Exhibits

Structures and Buildings

Development of Conservatory Valley
Development of Conservatory Valley
Development of Conservatory Valley
Development of Conservatory Valley
Beach Chalet
 Two story Spanish colonial revival style building at far wester end of the park.

 Was designed by Willis Polk which opened in 1925 as a city-run restaurant that
included changing rooms for beach visitors.

 Replaced older building called the Golden Gate Park Chalet, built in 1892, that
stood on the opposite side of the Great Highway.

 After several years of closure which followed a renovation completed in 1996, the
building now houses Beach Chalet Brewery and Restaurant on the second floor
opened by Lara and Gar Truppelli and Timon Malloy.

 Its sister restaurant, the Park Chalet, is located at the back of the Beach Chalet with
a dining room facing the park and outdoor dining on a terrace and lawn area.

12

Structures and Buildings

Beach Chalet Murals

13

Structures and Buildings

Dutch Windmill
 Before the construction of its windmills, Golden Gate Park paid the Spring Valley
Water Works up to 40 cents per 1000 gallons of water.

 To avoid this expense the North (Dutch) Windmill was commissioned in 1902
when Superintendent John McLaren deemed the Park’s pumping plant insufficient
to supply additional water essential to life of the Park.

 A survey and inspection of vast area west of Strawberry Hill revealed a large flow
of water towards the ocean where the North Windmill was constructed to reclaim
the fresh well water back into the park.

 Alpheus Bull Jr., a prominent San Franciscan, designed with Fulton Engineering
Company receiving the bid for ironwork an Pope and Talbot Lumber Company
donated sails (spars) of Oregon pine.

 The North Windmill was installed, standing 75 feet tall with 102 footlong sails.

 The windmill pumps water an elevation of 200 feet with the capacity of 30,000
gallons of water per pump per hour. The water is pumped from the valley into the
reservoir on Strawberry Hill from where the water runs downhill into Falls and
Stow Lake.

Structures and Buildings

Murphy Windmill
 Situated south of Dutch Windmill on the western edge of Golden Gate Park which
was completed in 1908.

 Samuel G. Murphy provided $20,000 from his own means to erect the windmill.

 The South Windmill (Murphy Windmill) stands as the largest in the world, having
the longest sails in the world since its construction, with the ability to lift 40,000
gallons of water per hour.

 Electric water pumps replaced the need for windmills in 1913 and the mills fell into
disrepair. By 1950s, the mills were in the state of ruins.

 In 1964, the San Francisco Citizens Commission for the Restoration for the Golden
Gate Park Windmills was formed led by Eleanor Rossi Crabtree.

 Dutch Windmill was restored in 1981 where as the plans for Murphy Mill
restoration began in 2002, with a reopening in 2012.

Structures and Buildings

Statues

16

Structures and Buildings

Statues

17

Structures and Buildings

Prayer Book Cross
 Prayer Book Cross, also known as Drake’s Cross is a sandstone Celtic-style cross
measuring 60 feet tall erected by Episcopalians in 1894.

 It commemorated Sir Francis Drake’s first landing on the west coast in 1579.

 It is located near Rainbow Falls on Cross Over Dive between John F. Kennedy
Drive and Park Presidio Drive.

 The cross was meant to be visible to ships at sea but has since been overgrown by
trees.

 Gift of Geogre W Childs, it was designed by the architectural firm Coxhead &
Coxhead of San Francisco.

Structures and Buildings

Carousel
 An ornate carousel housed in a circular building near the children’s playground
was built in 1914 by Herschell-Spillman Company.

 The building was occupied by three previous carousels before the current
attraction was purchased by Herbert Fleishhacker from the Golden Gate
International Exposition in 1941.

 The carousel has undergone several major renovations, first being transition from
steam to electric power.

 In 1977, the carousel was closed due to safety concerns which was then followed
by an artistic restoration overseen by local artist Ruby Newman hired by San
Francisco Arts Commission.

 The badly deteriorated carousel was restored and she hand painted all animals,
chariots and decorative housing.

19

Structures and Buildings

Problems

20