Alvord Lake

To many, the landscape of Golden Gate Park might seem ‘ natural’, but in reality it mocks the term.  Originally a vast dunescape, the park was slowly stabilized, sculpted and planted.  The city grew up around it until the park became a green oasis in a vast urban grid. Still Alvord Lake, at the park’s eastern edge, would be unrecognizable to a visitor from 150 years ago.  As it’s said, the only constant is change itself.  

Change is the theme of this two year temporary exhibition.  The exhibits reveal both physical and cultural changes, from the long term story of the dunes, to the weekly cycle of the algae, to the shifting pro social behaviors at ‘the end of haight’.  Commissioned by the San Francisco Recreation and Parks Department as part of the Stanyan Street Edge Project the installations help to activate and re-program this gateway to the park.

Designed with the Exploratorium Studio for Public Space.