Why is it called speedway meadow

When the Half Mile Track in the Outer Richmond, which had done business under a number of names, faded out of existence sometime in the mid- to lates a vacuum was created. The same need which had brought the track into existence two decades earlier still existed: a facility where "gentlemen" could bring their horses and roadsters to see, to be seen, and to settle the age-old debate of whose team was faster. The idea of having a racing facility in Golden Gate Park was almost as old as the park itself.

When the Bay District Track was proposed in , the Chronicle noted "the Park Commissioners are also said to regard the project with favor, as it will obviate the necessity of constructing a speed track within the park.

Hennessey exhibited drawings and plans for a half-mile race track and concourse to be built near the southern drive. Nothing came of this plan. A year later Hennessey was dismissed and John J.

Commissioner Pixley immediately began to speak of his plans for a great road feet wide for the owners of fast horses. This "driveway" would run in a straight line from the vicinity of the conservatory to the Great Highway. Soon afterwards the Chronicle wrote that the Commissioners were considering a mile-long speed track, feet wide, for the owners and drivers of fast horses.

Nothing came of either of these suggestions, but pressure was still being applied to park officials to build a speed track in the park where gentlemen could display themselves and their horses.

The horse owners were also required to provide two men to maintain the track. These conditions postponed the building of the track for awhile. In mid, after the demise of the Half Mile Track, the old idea of a speed track in Golden Gate Park was resurrected and a committee of gentlemen was formed to push the plan. Superintendent William Hammond Hall, not wanting such a thing in his park, suggested two isolated stretches.

Since nobody would see the gentlemen, the vain horse owners found Hall's proposals unacceptable. The whole point of the speed road, after all, was to bee seen. Complaining about the rigidly-enforced speed limit in the park miles per hourthe Chronicle harkened back to the nostalgic days of pleasant drives along Point Lobos Road in fancy carriages pulled by lively horses.

It editorialized its endorsement for the speed track where the speed limit could be exceeded with impunity, and where men could be men and horses could be horses. Reluctantly, Hall offered four park locations for a speed track. A mile-long route, beginning just west of Strawberry Hill, heading in a southwestwardly direction before curving north to meet the Main Drive near the south end of North Lake of the Chain of Lakes was chosen.

By the end of enough money had been raised and work began on May 21, Three months later the horsemen attempted to "donate" the road to the park. The Commissioners refused to accept the "gift" until it was completed to the agreed specifications. The gentlemen steadfastly maintained that they had done everything that had been agreed upon and were unwilling to raise more money or do more work on the road. A year after work had commenced on the road, the money raised had given out, the work stopped, and the road stretched straight and incomplete and fast going to ruin.

And still unaccepted by the Commissioners. Both the Chronicle and Examiner were advocates for the road and ridiculed the Park Commissioners for not accepting the gift. My condolences to the Hellman family; and I hope that Warren is resting in peace with a banjo by his side. I think showing up at the meeting and stating opposition would have had a much better chance of preventing the name change than posting on a neighborhood blog. IF nobody spoke in opposition, you know, the commission might get the idea that there was no opposition and figure, why not do this?

Annie: in lieu of Mr. Re: city officials not knowing what they think unless we tell them, they are very, very aware… there have been countless phone calls, e-mails to Eric Mar and the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor from angry neighbors, as well as others testifying at Rec and Park meetings for some time. Ginsburg listens and then goes about whatever he personally wants to do, completely ignoring or not making explanations of any kind to the person testifying see the listings of videos on sf.

There have also been meetings with the Police after Outside Lands and Hardly Strictly that many of us showed up to and were quite vocal about and Rec and Park as well as Eric Mar had representatives there. I hope all of you that railed against the renaming of Speedway read Mr. He was someone who truely enjoyed spreading his wealth so others could benefit medicine, education, music.

Available cash is relative, what have the rest of us done lately to make life better for our fellow citizens? That somehow, after making call after call and sending letter after letter, after attending meeting after meeting, that somehow the city is not listening.

It just means that the city disagrees with you. There were all these self-help books about how to communicate with your partner, and how to make sure your needs were understood; that the greatest problem in relationships was communication and misunderstanding. This book I forget the name pointed out that most couples understand each other quite well…they just occasionally vehemently disagree.

They just disagreed with you. It also violates several codes in its own permit and there are legal issues involved, not only with the sound decibel range but also with the amount of people allowed in each meadow.

Again dMan, like many others here, we listen to you, and hear what you have to say. I completely understand you. But, my guess is, that anyone living near public spaces or event venues have similar complaints.

This is a city after all and we are privileged to have events that we can bus or walk to all over town. Ask anyone who lives near the Marina fleet week , near a soccer field any Saturday all year long , near the Masonic, along the Bay to Breakers route, or how about that ski jump on Fillmore a couple of years ago.

Specifically with Outside Lands, HSG, and other large events, people want these events held on Crissy Field or similar areas, or they want to restrict the hours and parking to such an extent that the enjoyment of the event is significantly diminished to appease a few neighbors.

There are always noise complaints, trash complaints, intoxicated yahoo complaints, etc…. But many people feel that these things are part and parcel of living in a large metropolitan area, and that a bit of inconvenience is an acceptable price to pay for having access to wonderful events literally right next door.

In addition, many people on these boards continually assert that various rules and regulations are not being followed to a T, such as decibel levels, when the city and many neighbors clearly feel otherwise. They camp out in front of our homes, and use the sidewalk to change their clothes, urinate and defecate, make campfires, and generally trash the neighborhood.

They tear up parts of the Park, destroying turf and shrubbery. The music has been so loud that some of us have been left out of town for the weekend. These concerts have their own unique problems that must be addressed.

I agree that reasonable people can differ. More than a thousand earthquake refugees camped there in ; soon after, the serious landscaping began and it became the grassy picnic venue we know today. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from.

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