Maybe you're headed this weekend to Hardly Strictly Bluegrass in Golden Gate Park. Or the inviting trails of the Presidio. Crissy Field's windswept splendor, or Lands End with its rugged visitor center on a bluff above the Pacific.
Each is a unique San Francisco treasure. Each is a relatively new addition to the city's physical and cultural terrain. And not one would exist without the continued presence of super-wealthy families whose roots here are deep.
They tend to have homes on or near Pacific Heights, long a favored address of San Francisco's leading families. This includes families who not only donate to worthy causes, but pursue specific improvements that have enriched the civic landscape for all residents and visitors.
"There are generations of philanthropists here with an incredibly strong sense of place," said Sandra Hernandez, chief executive officer of the San Francisco Foundation, a major philanthropic organization. "There's an inclination and desire to have a city that's accessible, with a high-caliber quality of life."
One quirky but vivid example is the three-day extravaganza known as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass - a free annual event that began in 2001 and exists because local financier Warren Hellman relished adventurous American music in all its forms and wanted to bring his favorite acts to his hometown.
A more traditional but equally focused act of generosity was seen last week. The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy announced a $25 million gift from the S.D. Bechtel Jr. Foundation to help create a landscape bridge from Crissy Field to the Main Post of the Presidio. The 10-acre "bluff" will be the icing atop the relocated Doyle Drive, the roadway to the Golden Gate Bridge that is in the process of being tucked into a new set of tunnels.
The donor is the philanthropic arm of the family that in 1898 founded the engineering firm that now is one of the nation's largest private companies. Family members live outside the city, but the company and foundation remain based in San Francisco.
Cash gift
This was the largest cash gift the National Park Service has ever received - and the third such record-breaker related to the Presidio, a former military base that now is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The first two were from the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund: $13.5 million in 1999 to kick off the creation of 100 acres of open space at Crissy Field, and $15 million in 2007 to improve trails and overlooks within the Presidio.Donations like this, targeted and transformative, are even more influential since the Presidio is required by Congress to be financially independent.
Such largesse has also revived spots outside the Presidio, as visitors to Lands End can attest.
The clearing near the Cliff House has always been a scenic wonder, designed by nature to make passersby stop and gape. That's easier to do now that there's paved parking, improved trails and a visitor center with see-through glass walls on the east and west - funded in large part by gifts from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.
'Full potential'
"It's exceptionally important that people with philanthropic capacity saw the importance of bringing these parks to their full potential," said Greg Moore, executive director of the conservancy. In the case of Lands End, which is within the national recreation area, "Richard Goldman grew up as a kid enjoying the area."There are other ties.
While Hellman was a spectacular success on his own as a financier, he also was a descendant of a founder of Wells Fargo. The Haas and Goldman families derive their fortune from Levi Strauss. In each case, they continued to call San Francisco home and had mansions on or near the long ridge known as Pacific Heights.
The presence of wealth on
this elevated band running east from the Presidio is nothing new: "There
are probably more socialities per square block here than in any of the
other districts of San Francisco," noted The Chronicle in its 1958
series on San Francisco's hills. "From the drawing rooms of the mansions
you get a sweeping view of the bay, the Golden Gate and the
Marin hills."
That's still the case.
The October Vanity Fair profile of the "Gold Coast" emphasizes new residents from the world of high tech as well as such powerful figures as Dede Wilsey, president of the board of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She also chaired the campaign to raise $500 million for the UCSF Medical Center's hospitals being built at Mission Bay.
We take the neighborhood's clout for granted, yet upscale enclaves in other American cities lost luster in the decades after World War II. But Pacific Heights never tarnished.
There are other aspects to the neighborhood besides opulent estates along Broadway and Vallejo Street. Alta Plaza and Lafayette parks are greenswards refreshed by the fundraising efforts of well-to-do families nearby. Fillmore Street is lined with stylish shops and boutiques. The Flood Mansion, built by one of San Francisco's leading families after the 1906 earthquake, now is the centerpiece of the Schools of the Sacred Heart, its vast interior spaces available for weddings and special events.
San Francisco is a city where politicians cluster on the left end of the spectrum. The well-off are viewed with suspicion or contempt, whether it is tech workers whisked to work via private buses or attendees of cultural galas.
But consider. Without the ongoing presence of the committed elite, our surroundings would be much different. And we'd all be poorer as a result.
That's still the case.
The October Vanity Fair profile of the "Gold Coast" emphasizes new residents from the world of high tech as well as such powerful figures as Dede Wilsey, president of the board of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. She also chaired the campaign to raise $500 million for the UCSF Medical Center's hospitals being built at Mission Bay.
We take the neighborhood's clout for granted, yet upscale enclaves in other American cities lost luster in the decades after World War II. But Pacific Heights never tarnished.
There are other aspects to the neighborhood besides opulent estates along Broadway and Vallejo Street. Alta Plaza and Lafayette parks are greenswards refreshed by the fundraising efforts of well-to-do families nearby. Fillmore Street is lined with stylish shops and boutiques. The Flood Mansion, built by one of San Francisco's leading families after the 1906 earthquake, now is the centerpiece of the Schools of the Sacred Heart, its vast interior spaces available for weddings and special events.
San Francisco is a city where politicians cluster on the left end of the spectrum. The well-off are viewed with suspicion or contempt, whether it is tech workers whisked to work via private buses or attendees of cultural galas.
But consider. Without the ongoing presence of the committed elite, our surroundings would be much different. And we'd all be poorer as a result.
About the series
The Chronicle is retracing the steps of its 1958 Hills of San Francisco series. Each Wednesday, Urban Design Critic John King explores what a specific peak reveals about today's city. Find more images, an interactive map and previous installments at www.sfgate.com.
The Chronicle is retracing the steps of its 1958 Hills of San Francisco series. Each Wednesday, Urban Design Critic John King explores what a specific peak reveals about today's city. Find more images, an interactive map and previous installments at www.sfgate.com.
The benefits of wealth
How has San Francisco's landscape benefited in recent years from assertive local wealth? Here are a few of the ways - and it doesn't include such cultural temples as the de Young Museum or the new home being built for the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.1 Crissy Field: Once a dump site for the Presidio, Crissy Field was reborn in 2001 as a 100-acre park including a marsh and great lawn. The project kicked off with a $15 million grant from the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund; $3 million more came from the Colleen and Robert Haas Fund.
2 Presidio: The transformation of the military base into a national park has included the construction of handsome stone overlooks, an extensive network of trails and upgrades to Rob Hill Campground, the only public campground in the city. Much of the funding has come from the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund.
3 Lands End: A decadelong effort added accessible trails, paved parking and a statuesque visitor center to the perch above the Pacific Ocean. More than half of the $16 million in improvements came from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.
4 Conservatory of Flowers: After this wood-and-glass jewel from the 1870s was ravaged in a 1995 storm, the city embarked on a $25 million restoration that included 10,800 new panes of laminated glass. The fundraising campaign began with a $5 million challenge grant from the Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund.
5 San Francisco Giants: It's easy to forget that in 1992, owner Bob Lurie wanted to sell the baseball team to Florida investors. Instead, such hometown heavyweights as developer Walter Shorenstein and Gap founder Donald Fisher put together a $100 million bid that won the approval of Major League Baseball. Two world championships and a privately funded ballpark later, the rest is history.
6 Stern Grove: In 1931, Rosalie Meyer Stern gave the city 12 acres of land at 19th Avenue and Sloat Boulevard for use as a public park. It became the home to a free concert series that continues today and is better than ever, thanks to a $15 million upgrade in 2005 that was funded almost entirely by private donors, including $8 million from the Goldman family.
John King is The San Francisco Chronicle's urban design critic. E-mail: jking@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @johnkingsfchron
