Last weekend, I joined in on a walking tour of the Richmond District’s Mountain Lake Park given by Woody LaBounty of the Western Neighborhoods Project (one of the great perks of a WNP membership). In addition to his deep historical knowledge of the western part of San Francisco, Woody has a personal interest in the park. He grew up just a block away; Mt. Lake Park was his backyard.

Mt. Lake is one of those parks that many San Franciscans either don’t know about or have never set foot in. It’s tucked away off of Lake Street, running from 8th Avenue to Park Presidio. We started our tour from the backside of the park, entering in by the Presidio on 14th Avenue.

We stopped just inside the Presidio to learn about the Marine Hospital that was built there in 1875 and served sailors from around the world. It later became the Public Health Hospital which closed in 1981 and this summer, the Presidio Landmark apartments will open up there.

On the Marine Hospital ground was a cemetery for sailors that didn’t survive their illnesses or injuries. In the 1920s or 1930s, the cemetery was paved over by the Army for tennis courts and a parking lot. It’s estimated that 500 graves are still located there. Later in the tour, Woody held up a newspaper article from 1895 that described a coffin found floating in Mountain Lake, due to either a dense grave robber (the sailors buried there were indigent), or a medical student looking for extra credit.

As we made our way over to the park, we got a panoramic view of it across the Park Presidio/Highway 1 roadway. The “back entrance” into the park is a best kept secret of Richmond District residents, and there were plenty out enjoying the nice day. Dog owners particularly enjoy the car-free route.

The “mountain” in the park’s name comes from the hill that juts up behind the lake. It used to be more prominent but the installation of the MacArthur tunnel along Highway 1 reduced its stature. But in the 1800s when there was hardly any vegetation in the area, the hill would have been more reminiscent of a mountain.

The earliest known visit to Mountain Lake Park came from Juan Batista de Anza, a Spanish explorer who camped at the lake in 1776. There is a plaque in the park commemorating his visit; coincidentally our tour was on the 234th anniversary. Despite the abundance of fresh water in the lake, de Anza would eventually move on because of the lack of timber.

Mountain Lake Park was officially added to the city of San Francisco in 1874. In 1890, 20,000 trees were planted to spruce up the habitat. The park includes one of the few natural, fresh water lakes in San Francisco. According to a sign in the park, “Native people, Spanish expeditions, Mexican military, and the US Army all relied on the lake as an important source of fresh water.” You can even spot an old pump that was part of the irrigation system the US Army used to water the Presidio Golf Course.

Along our tour we heard stories of park legends like the rope swing where kids would fly out over the lake and back to shore, and the “old man shack” where men in suits and hats would gather to play cards under a shelter that is still in the park today. And on occasion, you’ll still see people utilizing the par course.

In the 1990s, one visitor to the park made big headlines. On July 29, 1996, a neighbor reported seeing a three foot alligator swimming in the lake. Sure enough, others spotted it and the hunt was on. The gator ignited a coverage war between the two local papers that summer, and the Chronicle even imported “Trapper Jim” from Florida to try and catch the elusive reptile. He didn’t succeed – the gator wouldn’t be caught until October.

Another person on the tour told the story of a horse that perished in the park in the late 1950s after getting stuck in the “blue mud” that lined the lakeshore. The poor fella had to be lifted out by crane after his demise.

If you haven’t visited Mountain Lake Park, add it to your list. It’s got a nice playground for kids, tennis courts, a large meadow perfect for frisbee tosses and picnics, plus a quaint lakeshore where you can enjoy the view and feed some ducks and seagulls.

Special thanks to Woody and the Western Neighborhoods Project for a great tour. Check out the video below for highlights of Mountain Lake Park – yet another gem of the Richmond District.

Sarah B.

Will wonders never cease? Once again outsidelands.org delights me with another fascinating glimpse into what used to be in the Richmond District. This time it’s the Cliff House Sky Tram which ran from May 1955 until 1961. The photo below was taken by Erma Zimmerman July 1956. More photos of the sky tram here and here.

Here’s more information on the Sky Tram from outsidelands.org:

The Sky Tram opened on May 3, 1955. Up to 25 passengers, paying a quarter each, had a slow ride from just below the Cliff House across the Sutro Baths basin to a Point Lobos promontory that had been outfitted with a two manmade waterfalls. This was not a roller-coaster, but a very slow sight-seeing glide on a couple of steel cables a few hundred feet above the ground. The whole trip took four minutes and you had to walk back.

Fog, wind, and perhaps general boredom shut down the Sky Tram in 1961. For many years the former Cliff House Sky Tram “station” served as a Golden Gate National Recreation Area visitor’s center. That building was torn down during the 2000 renovation of the Cliff House.

And check out the video below of the sky tram, shot by Ron Biagini in 1960 (courtesy of outsidelands.org). The video includes footage of the installed double waterfall and broken windows of the Sutro Baths building.

Outsidelands.org is a website belonging to the Western Neighborhoods Project, which is a nonprofit organization formed in 1999 to preserve and share the history and culture of the neighborhoods in western San Francisco. Become a member today to support their efforts – you get a quarterly newsletter, special guided history walks, and other great historical information.

Sarah B.

The National Weather Service had issued a tsunami advisory for the entire West Coast today after a series of earthquakes struck off the coast of Chile overnight, the highest being an 8.8 magnitude quake [SFAppeal].

Like a typical San Franciscan, I completely ignored the warning and headed straight to Ocean Beach to see what would happen at 1:20pm, the projected time for wave touchdown.

There were several hundred people out at Ocean Beach, a couple hundred down on the beach itself. There was a lot of churning surf and really large waves breaking way offshore. A Coast Guard helicopter kept watch overhead.

I stood with two other gawkers who have surfed Ocean Beach. They said they felt confident they could make the sprint back to the Great Highway if they saw a super large set breaking offshore (hmm, ok). As you’ll see from the pictures, joggers, walkers and dog owners were undeterred by the warning as well.

On the way back to my car, I heard a Sheriff’s officer remarking that it was much heavier surf than normal. Though he was holding yet-to-be-posted “TSUNAMI ADVISORY” flyers in his hand.

Sarah B.

As you may remember, there was an event late last year where old video footage of San Francisco was shown. It was the fourth installment of “Lost Landscapes of San Francisco”, made up of archival footage that Rick Prelinger, of the Prelinger Library, has collected.

I went to the original showing at Herbst Theater and as a San Francisco native, I was fascinated and delighted by what I saw. Some of the highlights included old footage of the Bay Bridge being built, a man riding the north windmill in Golden Gate Park, families on the streets of the Richmond and Sunset districts, labor strikes downtown, “The Battle of Garbage Hill” between USF underclassmen, footage of Ocean Beach and Playland, and much more. On hand were four city historians to narrate what we were seeing.

The footage is now available online. To watch it, go to fora.tv. You’ll see there are different chapters available below the player, just click on one to skip to that section. But your best bet is to grab a cup of coffee, click the full screen icon, and enjoy the entire historic ride through old San Francisco.

Sarah B.

P.S. – If you only have a a little time to watch, don’t miss Chapter 4: The Bay Bridge, Chapter 7: Chinatown and Gee Family Movies, Chapter 13: Lakeshore and Golden Gate Park, and Chapter 16: Ocean Beach and Playland.

The ladies of Paul’s Hat Works are becoming celebrities before our very eyes. Watch their segment from a recent episode of Channel 5′s “Eye on the Bay”, where the show profiled Mom & Pop factories in the Bay Area.

Sarah B.

A Stanford University student, John Rory Fraser, made a five minute documentary on Paul’s Hats entitled “We Continue in the Old Style”. It’s a lovely look at the 90-year old shop that the new owners, four young women, are trying to preserve and maintain for future generations.

The film explores their position as women at the heart of a traditionally male-dominated business, as well as their dedication to quality, handmade goods.

Sarah B.