Under Renovation

The American Bisons were once free to roam all of California. Now, they are confined to a smaller space within the Golden Gate Park while awaiting a new home. According to the SF Gate, 1.2 million dollars worth of work is being placed into the old grounds of these mild mannered creatures. A new fence, an increased area from 7 to 12 acres, more shade, and new electricity and plumbing will accompany the Buffalo in their newly polished paddock.

Shortly after visiting the Bison, it brought me to great sadness to see such beautiful art destroyed. These animals, six in number, were literally placed in one of the smallest area's of confinement. After surviving a long journey from Montana, which left two bulls and one heifer of the original five Bison in the herd; these animals need pastures of land not a renovated paddock. However, the park deserves an applause for its outstanding up keep of the Bison, but needless to say they are apart of the wild and should be treated that way.

Short History of Bison:
The current paddock was established on December 12, 1899, in Zeile Meadows, named after the Park Commissioner of that time Frederick W. Zeile, to separate the powerful bulls from the family unit. Visitors could easily see the animals in their home from the roads bordering enclosure. The meadow was in earlier times shared with elk, sheep, deer, and goats. A tradition in the early years was to name the animals after shakespeare characters or famous people, but when then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein and her husband donated a new herd in 1984, the animals were given Native American names.

The natural habitats of these animals should be left alone. Visitors are a nasty part of living in a big city, but the Bison do not need a new home.

What lies within the Golden Gate Park: Fuchsia Dell

Located in proximity to San Francisco's Sunset and Inner Richmond neighborhoods, the Golden Gate Park yields some of the city's most beautiful landmarks. Fuchsia Dell, originally called the Golden Gate Fuchsia Grove is a warm garden created by the Recreation and Park Departments, which was dedicated in 1940. The Dell's early history is unknown, but the original plantings may have come from the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition.

Park Superintendent John McLaren was best known for transplanting many of the recycled compounds from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition to the park, which took place many years earlier. Eventually, the beauty of what was known then to be Fuchsia Dell had been decimated by storms which hit the area in January of 1995. However, a local botanist named, Peter R. Baye, successfully reestablished the garden the following year. Also with the help from Golden Gate Park gardeners and members of the American Fucshia Society, the dell was replanted with some 150 plants, including many true species.

Located amidst the botanical beauty is a brass sundial on top of a square masonry pedestal, this was placed here in 1983.


Information obtained from this source: San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, A Thousand and Seventeen Acres of Stories by Christopher Pollock.

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