|
Features: Gardens
The Esplanade
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
Fountain & Waterfall
Sculptural Wall and Paving
Oche Wat Te Ou/Reflections
Cho-En Butterfly Garden
Sister City Gardens
The Rooftop at Yerba Buena Gardens:
Children's Garden & Carousel
The Esplanade
Architect: MGA Partners with Romaldo Giurgola, FAIA
The Esplanade could be considered the front yard of downtown San Francisco. The five and one-half acres of meadows, trees, flowers, falling water, public art, and small cafes are all arranged in an open-arms gesture of welcome. On the serene grassy meadow in the center children come to play or just lie in the grass. Visitors and locals come to relax and listen to an outdoor concert during their lunch hour. Conventioneers stroll through the beautiful Gardens on their way to Moscone Convention Center. The sound of water, the smell of flowers, the warmth of sunlight, the unfolding carpet of grass, the expanse of open sky, and the backdrop of buildings and bridges create a serene oasis in the middle of the bustle of downtown San Francisco.
Plant life and trees
Meadow
In the East Meadow you will find, a woodland grove, a grass berm, a Butterfly Garden, areas scaled primarily for children and a performance platform set within the trees. The trees were planted so as to achieve a layered effect with tall, dark evergreen trees including an Italian Stone Pine, and a Saucer Magnolia planted along the top of the berm, forming a "spine". The next layer consists of bright green sycamore trees which are broader and lower at maturity. Flowering trees such as Cherry and Crabapple trees in the foreground and along the walkways provide the third and lowest layer.
Upper Terrace
The ramps rising to the Upper Terrace are trimmed with colorful shrubs. The terrace perimeter planting of evergreen trees and shrubs frame the Sister City Garden presenting plants native to the thirteen (13) sister cities of San Francisco. This combined with rotational color beds, flowering trees, and a Wisteria covered loggia creates a year-round festive color display.
East Garden
A triangular bosque of deciduous trees define a tiered multi-use terrace for seating, sculpture, contemplation, and functions. The encircling fountain with cascading water stairs and basins both provide a visual display and mask the street noise. The groundplane planting reinforces the geometric form of the garden.
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theatre and Visual Arts Center
Groupings of multi-trunked trees provide foreground landscaping in front of the entrances along with plantings of color, form, and textural qualities. A small planting area fronting the street is planted with colorful Big Blue Lilyturf.
top of page
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial is situated behind a majestic waterfall fifty (50) feet high and twenty (20) feet wide which cascades over Sierra granite. The memorial includes back-lit photos from the civil rights movement and twelve shimmering glass panels set in granite and inscribed with Dr. King's inspiring words. The poems are translated into the languages of San Francisco's thirteen (13) international sister cities, as well as African and Arabic dialects.
The memorial is anchored at one end with a carved image of Dr. King and at the other with an image of San Francisco's community leaders during the 20th anniversary of the March in Golden Gate Park. The Memorial embraces Dr. King's vision of peace and international unity, and is the second largest Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in the United States next to the King Center in Atlanta, GA.
Artists: Sculptor Houston Conwill, Poet Estella Majoza and Architect Joseph De Pace. In the sculptures words: The Memorial is "a sacred space ... meant to be experienced as a cultural pilgrimage and a journey of transformation."
top of page
Fountain & Waterfall
120,000 gallons of nonpotable water recirculate from the calm and sharply angled surface of the terrace fountain, dropping 20 feet over the lip of the falls, to froth, chum, and echo off the Sierra Granite of the base fountain. The water then spreads eastward across a wide channel where it collects wishing coins and flower petals. Becoming as still as glass, it finally moats around a small square garden of bamboo. The waterfall creates the sound of the MLK memorial, the sound of voices from a whisper to a roar as one walks between the glass and the water. The King inscriptions are always wet with mist-the words beaded with sweat seem almost alive in the refracted light.
West entrance King inscription: No, No, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until 'justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.'
Washington, D. C., 1963
East entrance King inscription: I believe that a day will come when all God's children from bass black to treble white will be significant on the constitution's keyboard.
San Francisco, CA, 1956.
top of page
Sculptural Wall and Paving
The walls which flank the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and Waterfall were sculpted and silvered to reflect the surrounding nuances of water, sky, and landscape. The variously tilted, fluted granite walls, emblazoned with immense silvered fissures, subtly adjust to changes of sunlight and weather. The garden's granite paving pattern, designed by the same artist, likewise subtly shifts emphasis to distinguish the various paths and places throughout the gardens.
Artist: Lin Utzon. Among Ms. Utzon's local works is the spectacular ceramic mural which graces the entrance to the San Jose Convention Center.
top of page
Oche Wat Te Ou/Reflections or Ohlone Indian Memorial
This tribute to the native Ohlone Indians has been created in the form of a semicircular wood wall patterned with Ohlone basket designs, standing behind a crescent-shaped pool and a circle of moss covered rocks. It is a contemplative environment, set beside a redwood grove with a single live oak tree nearby. The artists intended the piece to serve as a performance area for poetry, storytelling, and other events in the oral tradition. The Memorial is significant since at one time this area held an Ohlone Indian burial ground.
Artists: Jaune Quick-to-See Smith and James Luna
An enrolled member of the Flathead Tribe in Western Montana Jaune Quick-to-See Smith is a painter who exhibits internationally, and an activist/spokesperson for contemporary Native American artists. She has founded two cooperatives: the Coup Marks on the Flathead Reserve in Montana and the Grey Canyon Artists in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She resides in New Mexico.
James Luna is a Luiseno Indian and artist who lives on the La Jolla reservation in California. His artwork in performance and installation has been recognized for challenging his audience to rethink conceptions of con-temporary American Indian culture. Luna's use of humor, irony, and history has bridged cultural differences rather than widened them.
top of page
Cho-En Butterfly Garden
Artist Reiko Goto has created a graceful and serene garden whose plantings provide the habitat for a number of species of native San Francisco butterflies. The plants in the Butterfly Garden are native to the Bay Area and encourage growth in all four forms of the butterfly (egg, larva, pupa, adult). The Garden is maintained and managed in order to support a self-sustaining population of butterflies. It is located in the northeastern part of The Esplanade meadow near the front entrance of the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Galleries and Forum. Monarchs are the most common butterfly to visit this site. Other native butterflies are depicted on the hand painted tiles.
 Artist: Reiko Goto. Goto was born in Tokyo Japan in 1955. She received her B.FA. degree from the Women's college of Fine Arts in Tokyo, and her M.FA. degree from San Francisco Art Institute. She has taught at California College of Arts and Crafts, San Francisco Art Education Foundation, and San Francisco Art Institute. She resides in San Francisco.
top of page
Sister City Gardens
Spanning the length of the upper terrace of The Esplanade, these charming gardens feature flowering plants from San Franciso's thirteen (13) sister cities around the world. The result is a global quilt of colors, smells, vibrant contrasts, and surprising unities that remind foreign and local visitors alike of our communi-ty connections beyond the bay. Glass pyramids in the gardens look down into Moscone Convention Center below.
| CITY |
Plant Common Name |
Scientific Name |
 |
| San Francisco, CA |
Yerba Buena |
Satureja Douglasii |
| Shanghai, China |
Camellia |
Camellia Sasanqua |
| |
Flowering Quince |
Chaeonaomeles Sp. |
| |
Winter Daphne |
Daphne Odora |
| |
Daylily |
Hemerocallis |
| Haifa, Israel |
Cyclamen |
Cyclamen Sp. |
| |
Carpet Bugle |
Ajuga Reptans ("Giant Green") |
| Assisi, Italy |
Rosemary |
Rosmarinus Officinalis |
| |
Crimson-Spot Rock Rose |
Cistus Ladanifer |
| Thessaloniki, Greece |
Bear's Breech |
Acanthus Mollis |
| Abidjan, Ivory Coast |
Lily-of-the-Nile |
Agapanthus |
| Manila, Philippines |
"Red" Dwarf Variety |
Canna |
| Osaka, Japan |
White Margeurite |
Chrysanthemum Frutescens |
| Cork, Ireland |
Heath |
Erica Sp. |
| Tapei, Taiwan |
Sago Palm |
Cycas Revoluta |
| Caracas, Venezuela |
"Carnival" Lantana |
Lantana Montevidensis |
| Sydney, Australia |
Australian Bluebell |
Sollya Heterophylla |
| Seoul, South Korea |
Star Jasmine |
Trachelospermum Jasminoides |
| Estele, Nicaragua |
|
Lobelia Laxiflo |
Game Boards Next to the Shaking Man Statue, there are eight granite game boards that can be used for checkers or chess. Bring your own playing pieces.
Group Poem Plaque The poem on this plaque, located at the Mission Street entrance is written in honor of Yerba Buena Gardens, and is entitled Dare we Dream in Concrete.
top of page
The Rooftop at Yerba Buena Gardens
With a playground, a Carousel, an interactive museum, an Ice Skating and Bowling Center and much more, the Rooftop at Yerba Buena Gardens offers kids of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to challenge their minds and bodies as individuals and as members of this community.
Children's Garden & Carousel
The Children's Garden provides over 100,000 square feet of grass, gardens, and streams neighboring an almost 100-year-old amusement park carousel for exploration and imaginations to run wild.
Outdoor Space: 130,000 square feet of outdoor space, with an emphasis on discovery, nature, and play.
Carousel: This beautifully hand carved Carousel was built in 1906 and was formerly the Carousel from Playland-at-the-Beach where it ran from 1912 to 1972. In 1998, it was purchased by the City of San Francisco, fully restored and brought to Yerba Buena Gardens. Open Daily from 11am-6pm. Admission is $3 for 2 rides. Located at the corner of 4th and Howard next to Zeum.
Play Circle: Interactive features designed by M. Paul Friedberg, internationally known for his pioneering work in the design of urban playgrounds. The play circle includes a sand circle, play stream a xylophone and 25 foot tube slide.
Labyrinth: Made of hedges: the Labyrinth is a child size version of those found in ancient castles.
Outdoor Amphitheater: For public performances and youth productions.
Interactive Play Features (Stream & Fountain): Children will be able to interact with the flow of water, whether creating dams or irrigating the gardens.
|
