Dear Francisco Park Supporters,
As we approach Valentine’s Day, our hearts come to you with abundant thanks for your support of Francisco Park. Because of your gifts, a beautiful new park is underway right here in Russian Hill. Here are the latest highlights from the site:
Construction is moving forward quickly, and we are on track to open this fall.
A segment of the original 1800’s brickwork and piping just below Hyde Street is being cleaned and refurbished to remain in place. Interpretive signs will tell the story of San Francisco’s first reservoir. The Children’s Playground is located nearby, and we anticipate this will be a very popular destination.
We are focusing on native plants for the landscaping to encourage birds, butterflies, and bees to make the park their city home. As befits a former reservoir, there is considerable attention to conservation. A rainwater catchment system will gather and store rainwater to supply all the irrigation for the landscaping and restrooms. It has been deeply rewarding to combine the park’s past function with a strong sense of future purpose through this planning.
We are eager to ensure our original vision for a park entrance on Hyde Street to complement the planned entrance on Bay Street. The Hyde Street park entrance will draw in park patrons and provide greater accessibility for those entering the park from the Eastern side. This will be a significant naming opportunity for a generous individual or family to be forever enshrined on a beautiful portal.
Every gift helps build this miracle of a park which has only materialized because so many individuals like you stepped forward and dipped into your reservoir to help transform the city’s unused one into a park.
If you are interested in taking a hard hat tour, please let us know by emailing [email protected]. We’d love to welcome you to the site to see this exciting work in progress.
It has been an amazing outpouring of support from so many of you who have provided funding, neighborhood enthusiasm, and encouragement. We still have work to do, and $3.5 million to raise, but we could not have made it to this significant point without your generosity.
There couldn’t be a better place to leave your heart in San Francisco, and the golden sun will surely shine on you.
With heartfelt thanks,
Francisco Park Conservancy
