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Silver Tree campers get sneak-peek of new Glen Park Rec Center

June 5, 2017 by Elizabeth Weise

New gym
Newly refurbished gym. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein.

By Susan Sutton

After years of planning and $14 million, the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department led elected officials, community leaders, the media, and many who had a hand in revitalizing the Glen Park Recreation Center on a tour Monday morning.

This New Deal building, built in 1937, looks a great deal better. In fact, giving a nod to the canyon’s history of housing the country’s first dynamite factory, Mayor Ed Lee called it “Dynamite!”

Lee at opening
Mayor Ed Lee and state Senator Scott Weiner at a sneak peak of the Glen Park Canyon Rec Center on Monday, June 5, 2017. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein

The center, which SF Rec and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg said is the oldest in the system, features rock climbing structures in the auditorium, several multi-purpose rooms for meetings, central heating, a fireplace, a kitchen, a grand entryway for guests, an enclosed patio which opens to the terrace above the playground, solar totems and a spectacularly revitalized gym.

Climbing Walls Closeup
Climbing walls. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein.

Monday was the first day of camp for the canyon’s Silver Tree Day Camp, was also the first day ever for the new Rock Climbing Camp in Glen Park. Surrounded by eager children sporting climbing gear, Ginsburg thanked those who contributed to the project by way of support or physical work and praised the park for its magnificence and endurance.

Ginsburg and kid
Red and Park General Manager Phil Ginsburg and junior counselor.

“This park survived the 1906 earthquake, it survived a threatened reservoir by another city department and it survived a freeway plan by yet another city department,” Ginsburg said. “It survived to be what it was intended to be and what it should always be – a park.”

Mayor Lee thanked city employees as well as Glen Park residents, saying, “Thanks to my Glen Park neighbors. I know my neighbors. They are relentless. They want natural beauty, not concrete.”

Basketball hoopState Senator Scott Wiener, who formerly represented Glen Park as a city supervisor, said the difference is like “night and day. For generations to come, it will be a treasure for the community.”

The district’s new supervisor, Jeff Sheehy, said the facility is “a true gift, not only to our neighborhood, but to our City.”

Kitchen
New kitchen. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein

Perhaps the most stunning transformation is the gym, which smells like a forest of fresh Douglas fir (the walls) and maple (the floor). The original ceiling rafters were left intact.  Instead of replacing them, workers cleaned them, sanded them, and then repainted them.

In addition, the floor was replaced in order to do away with years of dry rot and “dead spaces,” providing a much-desired bounce for basketball players for years to come.

Entry Office
Entry office. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein

Ginsburg called it “the prettiest gym we now have in the system.”

Architect Paul De Freitas acknowledged the challenge of project, considering the building’s historical significance and the need to truly transform the center, but listened to neighbors and city leaders.

Bathroom
New bathrooms. Anyone who ever used the old Rec Center bathrooms will rejoice at the sight. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein.

“We knew what they were looking for, and that meshed with our ideas,” he said.

Fireplace
Fireplace in the meeting room. Photo by Bonnee Waldstein

After all the dignitaries left, Oskar Rosas, Recreation Coordinator for the center, walked to the new reception area, enveloped with still sparkling glass, leaned back in a swivel chair, and admired his new work space.

rock wall with guests
Rock climbing wall. Photo by Susan Sutton

He said, “Compared to what it was, this is the Taj Mahal of San Francisco Rec and Park.”

Then, they closed the doors, put up a “Pardon our dust” sign and went back to work, striving to meet the mid-July deadline when the facility will be open to the public.

Under Construction
Photo by Susan Sutton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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February 4th, 2023
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Join the Glen Park Association and help promote our community’s interests. Together, we can secure improvement funds, publicize neighborhood concerns and strive to speak as one voice on neighborhood and city issues.

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Glen Park Association
2 weeks ago
Glen Park Association

Meet one of the Greenway’s most diligent volunteers -- A Townsend Warbler as far as Google knows. Progress in removing invasive oxalis is going well, but work remains! As the sun comes out, please join us at the Glen Park Greenway Native Meadow (between Lippard and Brompton Streets) to carefully remove invasive oxalis plants. Email our oxalis remediation lead, Kathy Keller at greenway@glenparkassociation.org if you can help! ... See MoreSee Less

Meet one of the Greenway’s most diligent volunteers -- A Townsend Warbler as far as Google knows. Progress in removing invasive oxalis is going well, but work remains! As the sun comes out, please join us at the Glen Park Greenway Native Meadow (between Lippard and Brompton Streets) to carefully remove invasive oxalis plants. Email our oxalis remediation lead, Kathy Keller at greenway@glenparkassociation.org if you can help!
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Glen Park Association
2 weeks ago
Glen Park Association

Join us THURSDAY JANUARY 19 at the Glen Park Association Quarterly meeting. We'll be in-person at the Glen Park Rec. Center at 6:30 PM. Our agenda includes:

-- A special presentation from QuitCarbon,
-- Meeting the new owners of @canyonmarket ,
-- Learning more about projects at @sfrecpark & @sfpublichealth, and
-- Electing 2023 GPA officers.

Have you renewed your membership for 2023 yet? Help keep our neighborhood vital by joining today at www.glenparkassociation.org/glen-park-association-membership/
... See MoreSee Less

Join us THURSDAY JANUARY 19 at the Glen Park Association Quarterly meeting. Well be in-person at the Glen Park Rec. Center at 6:30 PM. Our agenda includes:

-- A special presentation from QuitCarbon, 
-- Meeting the new owners of @canyonmarket , 
-- Learning more about projects at @sfrecpark  & @sfpublichealth, and
-- Electing 2023 GPA officers.

Have you renewed your membership for 2023 yet? Help keep our neighborhood vital by joining today at https://www.glenparkassociation.org/glen-park-association-membership/
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Blog Roll

Coyote Yipps
Friends of Noe Valley Rec Center
Glen Park Neighborhoods History Project
Open SF History
Sunnyside Conservatory
Sunnyside History
Sunnyside Neighborhood Association
Tramps of San Francisco
Upper Noe Neighbors

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