Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930 Hardcover - 2004

First line

A city without parks is probably unimaginable to most twenty-first century Americans.

From the jacket flap

Building San Francisco's Parks, 1850-1930, traces the history of San Francisco's park system, from the earliest city plans, which made no provision for a public park, through the private garden movement of the 1850s and 1860s, Frederick Law Olmsted's early involvement in developing a comprehensive parks plan, the design and construction of Golden Gate Park, and finally to the expansion of green space in the first third of the twentieth century. Terence Young documents this history and maps the political, cultural, and social dimensions of landscape design in urban America, offering new insights into the transformation of San Francisco's physical environment and quality of life through its world-famous park system.

An excellent study . . . If anything could possibly improve an outing to Golden Gate Park, a copy of Building San Francisco's Parks looks just the ticket.--San Francisco Chronicle

Mixes a nicely paced narrative with an effective analysis of the geology, climatology, botany, politics, and building of San Francisco.--Pacific Historical Review

Young does a splendid job detailing the political intricacies and the physical difficulties in the formation of San Francisco's park system . . . His distinction between the 'romantic' and the 'rationalist' approaches to the formation of the city's parks is illuminating.--Newsletter of the San Francisco Museum and Historical Society

Written in a clear and fluid style . . . the book contributes a cogent examination of how landscapes are altered, land use conflicts persist, and changing expectations of nature impact park management.--CRM: Journal of Heritage Stewardship

Terence Young is an associate professor of geography at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Media reviews

Citations

• Choice, 07/01/2004, Page 2111