McLaren Park

About

Four years after California was declared a "free and sovereign State" within the Mexican republic in 1836, Governor Juan Batista Alvarado granted what is now known as McLaren Park to the local government in 1840. Subdivision plans for the land grant were drawn up and in 1905, architect Daniel Burnham, working with the Association for the Improvement and Advancement of San Francisco, introduced his Burnham Plan. It recommended that the hilltops where McLaren and Bayview parks are now located, be reserved for parks. The idea took root In 1926, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted to acquire 550 acres at the McLaren park site for park use. When a bond issue to fund the acquisition was defeated in 1928, the Board reduced the proposal's size and began to purchase land. A view- drive was built in the 1930s. In 1934, John McLaren, the Scottish landscape gardener who was the director of Golden Gate Park, hoisted a dedication flag in the 318- acre park... - sfneighborhoodparks.org