Glen Park historian Evelyn Rose, founder of the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project (GPNHP), recently was interviewed on KQED’s program about surprising facts about the Bay Area, this time focusing on Glen Canyon’s status as the location of the first dynamite factory in the US. Thanks to the efforts of Rose and the late Jean […]
Glen Canyon Park
More Changes to Glen Canyon Park
Now a neglected huddle of aged eucalyptus trees and occasional dumping ground, a swath of Glen Canyon Park near O’Shaughnessy Boulevard is planned to grow into an oak-shaded riparian corridor, with work already under way. The changes began last March when crews with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission removed 11 trees on each side […]
Joan Seiwald, one of the women who kept Glen Canyon from becoming a freeway, has passed away
Joan Seiwald, 91, one of a trio of young Glen Park mothers who in 1965 kept San Francisco from building a freeway through Glen Canyon Park, passed away on Thursday, May 11. Seiwald and her husband Robert bought their home on Burnside Avenue in 1960, just one block from the park. As today, parents spent […]
Glen Canyon Park gets high scores in annual report
Every three months the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) and the Controller’s Office rate the city’s 166 parks, playgrounds and civic plazas on a wide array of criteria covering built facilities and natural areas. The findings are sliced and diced and published in an annual report covering the fiscal year– July 2021 through June 2022–and […]
Wet concrete vs. car on Elk Street conjures troubled history of achieving crosswalk
Glen Park resident Sal Novoa was driving on Elk Street Tuesday afternoon, January 24, when he spotted a most peculiar scene. He tells it this way: “Sharing some photos of an unfortunate driving error. “An older gentleman weaved around the street closure barriers. We heard the workers trying to stop him from entering, their hands […]
History + Fun = Gum Tree Girls Festival
Planets, stars–nay–entire galaxies were aligned on Sunday, July 10 to bring about super weather and enthusiastic neighbors and friends to the Gum Tree Girls Festival in Glen Canyon Park. Neighborhood historian Evelyn Rose, founder and director of the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project, spearheaded the event. Safe to say, without Rose this wouldn’t have even […]
Volunteers needed for Gum Tree Girls Festival
Dear Fans of the Gum Tree Girls, We are just days away from the Festival! Everything is coming together! We are, however, still in need of volunteers to staff the various activities we have in store. If you are attending and even if you’re not, please consider donating some of your time toward making the […]
(HIS)TORIES OF OUR NEIGHBORHOODS–The Gum Tree Girls had “Moxie”! Following in the footsteps of Glen Park suffragists
Celebrate Moxie! The Glen Park Gum Tree Girls Festival Sunday, July 10, 2022, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Glen Canyon Park The Glen Park Gum Tree Girls Festival is a nonprofit, noncommercial event graciously permitted by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department. Learn more about the Gum Tree Girls Festival! To donate directly to […]
Announcing: The Glen Park Gum Tree Girls Festival!
Sunday, July 10, 2022, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Glen Canyon Park This nonprofit event, being coordinated by the Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project (GPNHP), will celebrate the tremendous legacy of the Glen Park Gum Tree Girls – Zoanne Theriault Nordstrom, Joan Seiwald, and Geri Arkush, as well as their predecessor in the 1950s to […]
After 25 years, Lisa Wayne leaves Rec & Park (and Glen Canyon) to help keep San Francisco’s water supply safe
One of the last times Lisa Wayne dug into Glen Park soil was on January 11, 2020, a month before COVID-19 changed everything. With her teenage son, Isaac, Wayne planted dozens of drought-tolerant plants and shrubs such as gooseberry and red flowering currant at Fairmount Plaza, a postage-stamp oasis nestled between Diamond Heights and Fairmount […]
Spooky Halloween event in Glen Canyon Park Oct. 30
Nightmare on Elk Street: Haunted house, crafts, music, & face painting!
Trees put Glen Park in top 5 neighborhoods in SF
A new study of “tree canopy cover” ranks Glen Park fifth out of all San Francisco neighborhoods, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. It’s a metric developed by a data company, EarthDefine, which measures the percentage of total land area covered by trees. Overall, with 669,000 trees, San Francisco has very little tree cover, at […]
Glen Park Recreation Center reopens
We’re excited to share that the majority of our Recreation Centers will reopen on weekdays beginning on Tuesday, September 7. All visitors are required to show proof of vaccination to enter our recreation centers. The new requirements do not apply to those who are ineligible for vaccinations, including children under 12 years old. For more information […]
Glen Park Canyon Rec Center to begin incremental reopening September 7
With the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to sound alarm bells, Recreation and Park administrators are cautiously returning to some semblance of normal indoor programming and outdoor habitat restoration at Glen Canyon Park. On September 7, the Glen Canyon Recreation Center and other City recreation centers will be opening for fall programming. Glen Canyon Recreation Center will […]
Friends of Glen Canyon Park resumes habitat restoration — join in
Volunteer in our Parks Try out your green thumb or help clean up your neighborhood park. Sign up here to volunteer for the Glen Canyon Park cleanup August 21 (drop-ins also welcome) From Mission Dolores Park to Golden Gate Park, there’s a wealth of exciting volunteer opportunities in our parks. Volunteers participate in a variety […]
A local filmmaker has been watching the owlets in Glen Canyon—and they’re adorable
February 18 – brand new owlets have a meal from Open Studio Productions on Vimeo. Many people hear the great horned owls in Glen Canyon Park. Mark Lipman sees them—and is kind enough to let others in on the view. On March 23 Lipman sat on the eastern slope of Glen Canyon Park filming a […]
Diamond Heights stairway walk
When the planners designed Diamond Heights back in the 1950s and 1960s, they went for a suburban feel, with winding, curvilinear streets and plenty of parking. They also included stairways to connect hill dwellers with shopping and parks. The stairways received names. Some, like the streets they connected, were named after semiprecious stones. Others, in […]
Zoanne touched many lives in many different ways
Jeff DeMark, a longtime friend of Zoanne, wrote this poem in tribute to her. Gum Tree Girls For Zoe Nordstrom Walking through Glen Park Canyon Cold December afternoon Eucalyptus trees towering Swaying and dancing Tended paths meander through bushes And a fairy altar in the rocks: “An old gnome home” Couples and families strolling […]
Zoanne Nordstrom, 12/21/1933 – 2/15/2021
ZOANNE NORDSTROM, 12/21/1933 – 2/15/2021 Glen Park has just lost one of its all-time champions. Zoanne Nordstrom, of Surrey Street for over sixty years, passed away Monday morning, February 15, at age 87, of the Covid-19 virus. Anyone out and about in the neighborhood would run into Zoanne, whether in earlier days when she was […]
A man and his dog, lifelong residents of Glen Park
With an average life span of 83.7 years and the most centenarians per capita on the planet, Okinawans are touted and envied for their longevity. Not only for humans, but maybe even dogs, as evidenced by 18-year old, aptly named Okie. She’s the equivalent of 88 human years, according to WebMD. That would undoubtedly make […]
A Long Time to Kneel: Neighborhood Vigil for George Floyd
On June 8, two weeks after the murder of George Floyd, we met at the park, and at 5:30 we all knelt for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. It’s a long time to kneel. It’s not a natural, comfortable thing to do. To kneel for that long you must make a conscious effort. To kneel […]
Homicide in Glen Canyon Park this morning, May 25
We’ve received confirmation from Captain Woon of Ingleside Station of a homicide in the park this morning. Here is the press release — note the appeal to contact the tip line if you have any information. On Monday, May 25, 2020 at approximately 8:15 AM, San Francisco Police officers from Ingleside Station responded to the unit block […]
Two months in: Reminiscing about Glen Park during the lock down
Two months ago, on March 17, San Francisco went on lockdown when the City ordered residents to shelter in place to slow the spread of COVID-19. Long-time Glen Park News writer Murray Schneider spent some time over the past few weeks using the time to revisit sites he’s written about over the past decade. There’s […]
Let your voice be heard on the 2020 Parks Bond
Take Our Bond Survey As we continue to shelter in place, we are planning for better days ahead. If you have a moment, we would like to ask for your feedback and insight into our parks. Your input will help us prioritize park improvements for the future as we are scheduled for the upcoming November […]
Stop and smell the wildflowers of Malta — Malta and O’Shaughnessy, that is
The next time you catch the 44 O’Shaughnessy — which is one of only 16 buses still operating in San Francisco during the coronavirus crisis — at Malta Drive you might want to stop and smell the flowers along the way. Denise Louie — who resides only a hop-skip-and-a-jump from the boulevard that serpentines from […]
Close to home: Glen Canyon Park
(Editor’s note: Are you a photographer, poet, or essayist — or have you become one in the last couple of weeks? Our neighborhood website would like to provide a creative outlet for you! Send submissions to news@glenparkassociation.org. We will publish your photos and observations about life in the age of Coronavirus, subject to editorial review. This […]
Planting woodland strawberries with the City’s “Most Empowering Employee”
On January 8, five members of Friends of Glen Canyon Park worked in Glen Canyon planting varieties of California native plants. Supervised by Dylan Hayes, a Recreation and Park’s Natural Resource Division natural resource specialist, the volunteers placed woodland strawberry, Douglas iris and pink flowering currant on either side of a split rail fence bordering […]
For the first time ever, a Summer Tanager appears in Glen Park, attracting flocks of bird watchers
Glen Canyon was aflutter early Wednesday morning, January 22nd. A flock of bird watchers descended on the 70-acre natural area, armed with cameras boasting the latest high-powered lenses. They stood, even sat, beneath the eucalyptus tree that houses Great horned owls each year, trained their cameras on another gum tree rooted on the bank of […]
Farewell letter from Facility Coordinator of Glen Park Rec Center
Dear Glen Park Community, As of Jan 24th, I am being reassigned from Glen Park Recreation Center to Richmond Recreation Center. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the past 10 years that I have been stationed at Glen Park Recreation Center and been part of this amazing community. Working […]
Glen Park featured in New York Times travel section
The secret is out. Glen Park has just had its profile raised to national heights. “A 17-Mile Hike to Unite San Francisco,” by Nellie Bowles, is the story of the Crosstown Trail, and Robert Siegel, its champion over many years.The official designation of the trail dates back to 2014. Glen Park is one of seven […]
“Warning” fire in Glen Canyon Park
This morning, close to 10:00 AM, amidst the gusty winds plaguing much of northern California with destructive fires and evacuations, a small fire was burning in Glen Canyon Park. Passersby noticed flames coming from a fire pit behind Glenridge Nursery School. It was a minor blaze that they were able to extinguish themselves by piling […]
Tennis Court Reservation System Expands Citywide
The tennis courts at Glen Canyon Park are part of an increasing citywide online reservation system. SF Rec and Park has posted details: Tennis, anyone? We’re pleased to announce that we’ve added 12 tennis complexes to our pilot tennis court online reservation system for tennis and pickleball play. The expansion allows people to reserve more […]
Summer fun in Glen Canyon Park
It was organized mayhem on the ball field at the park Monday. Rec and Park’s Silver Tree and Pine Lake day camps squared off against each other in all manner of games. In the middle, some older folks got centered with Tai Chi. The release of energy could have powered the neighborhood for a week. […]
San Francisco and Glen Park under the microscope
Recently, a spate of findings and ratings has been released by the San Francisco Controller’s Office and the Trust for Public Land, measuring the performance of city departments and quality of life issues. SF Controller’s Office 2019 City Survey Report This month, the Controller’s Office came out with its biennial (2019) City Survey Report […]
GP Ball Fields Closed in June
The Recreation and Parks Department has said it will close the Glen Park Ball Fields from June 3 to July 8, 2019, for turf renovation. Look for posted signs on site as well as information from the department’s social media platforms.
Call to volunteer: Rec and Park Trail Corps!
Calling all trail fans! Do you love hiking trails in San Francisco? Want to be part of the team that builds and maintains your favorite trails in the city? The San Francisco Recreation and Park Department’s Urban Trails Program invites you to join us in a kick-off volunteer work party, where you will gain valuable […]
After three years away, the owls are back in Glen Park
The missing great horned owls have returned! A eucalyptus tree only yards from the Recreation Center has once again become a wooded refuge to a great horned owl family. Their return comes three years after Glen Canyon’s resident owls disappeared. On March 16, 2016 a distant relative was found dead on a trail just west […]
Keeping Islais creek running with pickaxes and loppers
Photos: Christopher Campbell Islais Creek is the second longest creek running through San Francisco. Because of drought, it has recently trickled rather than raced. The creek is also inhibited because along its banks invasive Cape ivy and Himalayan blackberry mitigate its flow. Consequently, any dash through Glen Canyon Park on the waterway’s journey to […]
Glen Canyon gardener’s landscape show through Jan. 27
Christopher Campbell pulls weeds and paints willows. An early member of San Francisco’s Recreation and Parks Natural Resources Division, Campbell, 55, has been familiar with Glen Canyon for 20 years, removing geriatric eucalyptus and colonizing Himalayan blackberry and replacing them with habitat-friendly dogwood, elderberry and sticky monkey flower. And for the last six years, influenced […]
Healthy Parks Healthy People at Glen Canyon
(from SF Rec and Park Department) Join us and Healthy Parks, Healthy People (HPHP) as we kick off the new year in a brand new location at Glen Park on Saturday, January 12 from 10 a.m. to noon! Meet us at Elk and Chenery streets as we explore this unique geological and biological destination that […]
Drop-In Rock Climbing at Glen Canyon Rec Center
From SF Rec and Park eNews: Drop-in rock climbing is back at the Glen Canyon Recreation Center rock wall from now until March! We have hour-long sessions that will go from 6 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, 4 to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays and 10 a.m. to noon/1:30 to 4:30 p.m.on Saturdays! Limit six climbers […]
A Nuthatch Family Makes A New Home
Richard Craib raised his family on Turquoise Way, his backyard abutting the upper reaches of Glen Canyon. This summer he oversaw a family of white-breasted nuthatches at the house he built and has lived in since 1962. Craib recently sat in his living room, which overlooks a mini-forest of pines, cypresses and redwoods. A barn […]
Kids’ indoor play at the Rec Center
Starting this week, parents, nannies, and other caretakers may bring children (infants through 4 year olds) to play indoors at the Glen Park Recreation Center on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30 am to 12:00 noon.
Movie Night in Glen Canyon Park Sept 15
Sutter Health is offering free movies in San Francisco parks again this year. Click on the picture below to read the flyer details:
Sept. 8: Supervisor Mandelman hosts meeting on fire mitigation and evacuation planning
To Resilient Diamond Heights Workgroup and Other Interested Persons, Resilient Diamond Heights is delighted that Supervisor Rafael Mandelman will host a meeting with City Officials concerning wildfire mitigation in our neighborhood parks and evacuation planning on Saturday, Sept. 8 at 2 pm at the SF Police Academy. Supervisor Mandelman has confirmed attendance by representatives of the […]
Camp Mather workers, shut down by fires, come to Glen Canyon to work in the park
As wildfires continued taking their toll near Yosemite National Park in the fourth week of July, San Francisco Rec & Park officials closed Camp Mather, its City-run summer camp. As a result, McLaren Lodge administrators offered seasonal Mather employees an opportunity to come to Glen Park and work with its Natural Resource Division. Six young […]
The call of the white-breasted nuthatch across Glen Canyon
By Murray Schneider Richard Craib raised his family on Turquoise Way, his backyard abutting the upper reaches of Glen Canyon. Now he’s overseeing a family of white-breasted nuthatches in the house he’s lived in since 1962. Craib sat recently in his living room, which overlooks a mini forest of pines, cypresses and redwoods. A barn […]
Classes, camps and events at Glen Park Rec Center this summer
The Glen Canyon Recreation Center summer program began on May 29 and will continue through August 26. It offers a number of exercise classes, as well as pick-up basketball games, pickle ball matches and rock climbing drop-in schedules. Qi Gong, a holistic exercise system of coordinated body posture includes movement, breathing and meditation and is […]
Summer Brings New Concern about Fire in the Canyon – Here’s What You Can Do
Resilient Diamond Heights Neighborhood Fire Evacuation Planning Meeting June 28th The Diamond Heights Community Association and Resilient Diamond Heights are continuing advocacy to the SFFD and City officials for help mitigating the potential for fire storms in Glen Canyon Park and on Billy Goat Hill. Sparks from a fire igniting brush and eucalyptus trees could possibly reach […]
10th Anniversary Retrospective: Do you know the name of Glen Park’s baseball diamond? Read this and you’ll never forget it.
To celebrate the Glen Park Association Website turning ten years old, we are reposting some of our favorite stories from the last ten years. Two Little League teams faced off on the Thelma Williams Baseball Diamond in Glen Canyon Park on a warm Saturday afternoon in April. The players were six years old, maybe seven. […]