30th Anniversary Post: A Trip Back to 1915!

Welcome to GFE’s new weekly 30th anniversary historical post, in which you’ll learn something new about GFE’s rich past. While the garden broke ground in 1990, today we go waaaaay back to December 21st, 1915, courtesy of, and with much thanks to, the Western Neighborhoods Project digital photo collection -- check out their website at outsidelands.org. These photos, originally credited to the SF Department of Public Works, show crews grading the road that is now 7th Avenue, and probably a bit of the land GFE occupies. The machines they’re using are amazing!

12/21/1915 — GFE and 7th Avenue land, with our neighbor’s house under construction in the background. Photo credit: Western Neighborhoods Project - wnp36.01098

Also visible is our dear neighbor’s house under construction in all of them! At this time, the neighborhood was developing, and one notable bit is that no permanent structures were ever built on the now-GFE land -- quite a rarity in our dense city. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission now owns this land, and we’re grateful to them for supporting us in the use of the space and the opportunity to demonstrate environmentally-friendly and water-conserving gardening practices here. 

12/21/1915 — GFE and 7th Avenue area looking north. Land grading and neighborhood development. Photo credit: Western Neighborhoods Project - wnp36.01099

12/21/1915 — Grading on what’s now 7th Avenue and GFE land. OUr neighbor’s house, under construction, visible in the background. What an amazing machine! Photo credit: Western Neighborhoods Project - wnp36.01100