The hidden gems of San Francisco niamh marren San Francisco is a city packed with an endless amount of well-known activities and locations to experience. Many are drawn to visit famous locations such as the Golden Gate Bridge or Pier 39. However, for a city filled with an assortment of unique adventures, San Francisco’s less well-known cultural locations often get overlooked.
A Touch of Holland: Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden
Stairway to Unity: Mosaic steps From seas to stars, the 163-step stairway located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Heights neighborhood is a project that started in 2003 to highlight the beauty of the area. Previously, there had been a series of steep public stairways originally placed for streetcar stops. With the streetcars gone, these stairways were often used as a blank canvas for graffiti artists, upsetting residents who lived there. Thus,
the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps project was formed by neighborhood residents Jessie Audette and Alice Yee Xavier in an effort to connect the community. Choosing artists Aileen Bar and Colette Crutcher, they created a design of 163 mosaic panels, each one unique and hand-cut. Over 220 neighbors helped sponsor the handmade bird, fish, and animal tiles to create the mosaic. This sponsorship provided most of the funding for the entire project. The neighborhood had three mosaic workshops so that all neighbors could participate in the community project. Creating and installing each handmade tile took hundreds of hours, and the stairway finally opened up to the public in 2005 to a warm welcome. “The tiled steps really bring out San Francisco’s unique culture and personality. There is always so much to do in the big city, and often going to smaller places like the 16th Avenue Tiled Steps, can make you see the beauty of the city,” Alec Perkins, a junior, said. Due to the Tiled Steps’ great success and popularity, the project decided to fund a second stairway located just further down the hill. This time, the entire city decided to help support this project. ni a
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With bright colored tulips that blossom each spring, the garden is filled with colorful excitement that gives the perfect setting for any occasion. However, the tulips are not the main attraction, as many are amazed by the unexpected sight of the Dutch Windmill positioned at the center of the Queen Wilhelmina Tulip Garden. Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands ruled for nearly 58 years, longer than any other Dutch monarch. Without her, the Dutch Windmill would not exist in the Golden Gate Park, as she donated the structure and thousands of tulips in 1902 as a gift to San Francisco for use and enjoyment. The windmill initially provided an irrigation system for the park and served to pump 30,000 gallons of water hourly throughout the park. Today, the windmill is not in service, however it still provides a historic gem to San Francisco. While the windmill is often the center of attention, Chloe Einsiedl, a student at Notre Dame High School, explains how the brightly colored flowers, kept all year round, are the most admirable. “The best part of the tulip garden is definitely the vibrantly colored flowers. It is unlike anything else in San Francisco, and it is a great place to enjoy nature, take pictures, and just hang out,” Einsiedl said. Tulips became extremely popular in
the Netherlands in the late 16th century, sparking a “tulip mania.” The imported tulips quickly became a part of society as the flowers were painted by artists, studied by botanists, and continuously grown in the Netherlands. The flower remains a national symbol of the Netherlands. The donation of tulips, as well as other flowers, to different countries or governments has been seen as an act of friendship and peace throughout history. The Dutch Bulb Growers’ Association donates the flower bulbs to provide the garden with full-bloomed tulips by March. The combination of seasonal flowers and the windmill gives the perfect setting for any outing.
24 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
