Woodward's viewed from 15th and Mission Streets

A visitor to the Mission District of San Francisco sees an impoverished, rundown, somewhat intimidating section of the city. A local recognizes a neighborhood with heart undergoing rejuvenation. I find the landmarks of my childhood and recall how it looked fifty years ago. What no one sees is evidence of the magic that existed there just over a hundred years ago when Robert Woodward opened his gardens to the public.

San Francisco Grocer Robert B. Woodward earned his fortune in 1849 with sweat and foresight--not in the gold fields of California but by opening a grocery store just off San Francisco's waterfront. Like many a successful businessman, he knew when to say 'enough' as the trend changed from a need for staples to a need for services. Woodward started investing his wealth in the burgeoning new economy. Seeing the demand for rooms and meals for those in transit as well as for the more permanent residents, he opened the What Cheer House on Sacramento Street, a hotel and club for men only that sold good food ala carte and only non-alcoholic beverages. The hotel provided clean and safe accommodations at low prices, an unbeatable combination. The What Cheer House multiplied Woodward's wealth.

Woodward's Estate
In 1857, Woodward's retrieved his family from Providence, Rhode Island. He purchased a four-acre tract of land from General John C. Fremont, located in the Mission District in the heart of the city. That district encompassed the original Spanish town of Yerba Buena, home to Mission Dolores originated by Father Junipero Serra. Like many a successful city investor, Woodward built a mansion for his family but unlike most, he enclosed the spacious grounds and planted magnificent gardens.

The former grocer traveled to Europe in 1861 on an extravagant buying trip that spanned a year and a half. Plants, animals and artifacts of all types were shipped back to California by the crate loads. During that trip he developed a taste for art and sponsored an aspiring painter, Virgil Williams to study in Florence, Italy for the purpose of copying masterpieces, a common practice of the times. Woodward displayed the results and his other purchases in his home and then in the What Cheer House, soon filling a library and small museum there with attractions from around the world. Copies of famous sculptures and busts soon followed the paintings. Display space became an issue. Woodward built a gallery and conservatory on his estate grounds to display his treasures. He longed for public and private museums and galleries in San Francisco to rival those of the east coast and set an example for others to follow.

The gardens of his estate soon became Woodward?s obsession and much of the profit from his investments went into them. He opened his estate in November of 1864 to friends and acquaintances with an appreciation for art and elegance. Word spread and requests for visits increased. People stood outside his gates on Sundays hoping to get a glimpse of the glory inside. It took little convincing to encourage him to open his gates to the public. Cooley Altrocchi relates in THE SPECTACULAR SAN FRANCISCANS, "One day at the Sunday dinner table Mr. Woodward exclaimed, "Did you ever see such a crowd of gapers and gazers? I might as well let the public have the run of the grounds." To which one of his daughters responded, "Well, why don't you, Father?" The philanthropist pondered this for a moment, then said, "Well, that's a thumping good idea. I think I will."

Open to the Public
Opening his estate to the public, Woodward gave up his private life in San Francisco. After moving his family to his Oak Knoll farm in the Napa Valley, he prepared Woodward's Gardens for the masses. The Gardens encompassed four city blocks bounded by Mission, Thirteenth, Valencia, and Fifteenth Streets. The main entrance stood at the intersection of Mission and Fourteenth Streets. Woodward quickly realized he needed more attractions so he set off for Europe, bringing back hundreds of crates full of the fine, the fascinating, and the odd. He befriended "thousands of skippers and sailor men from the Seven Seas" and they brought him curios from every port. "Beasts, birds, fish, fossils, antique relics, peculiar animal deformities, in great variety, confront the visitor at every turn, affording the student ample opportunity to increase his knowledge, and at the same time, interesting and instructing to a degree, the most superficial observer", stated B.E. Lloyd in his book, LIGHTS AND SHADES OF SAN FRANCISCO, 1876.

Woodward expanded his gateway, topping it with a pair of carved Grizzlies and a matched set of statues of the goddess California, the namesake of the state. Kids clamored at the gate even if they didn't have the price of admission. Woodward made it easy for them to slip in. The park included shows, museums, an aquarium, an extensive zoo, and curiosities from around the world including freaks of natures. Park attractions also included an amphitheater, a dance hall, multiple restaurants and a theater. Woodward became the "Barnum of the West." A patron saw it all at Woodward's. However, while one newspaper review touted Woodward's fine beer garden and a pitifully uninformed woman wrote back to her church headquarters (copied in a local newspaper editorial) that beer and whiskey were served more commonly than water, no alcohol was served there. Like the What Cheer House, Robert Woodward catered to teetotalers.

A restful moment at Woodward's Art Gallery

A Local Perspective
"We moved, mother and family, out to Twelfth Street about the time "Woodward's Gardens" became popular. This place was really a cultural center of attractions, brought together and maintained by the Woodward brothers, themselves gentlemen of refinement. Its trees, shrubs, flowers, and mosses were selected and so attractively arranged as to please the most critical patrons and engage the most casual eyes. The comfort of the animals was made evident to visitors, and a small gallery of art provided for the relaxation of visitors.

It was in this gallery I first saw a replica of the Naples bronze bust of Dante. I have never forgotten its effect upon me as I stood alone there, held by its austere dignity in the half gloom where it was pedestaled--what humility I felt, yet what strange reflections it stirred." - Michael Doyle

Japanese acrobats perfoming at Woodward's Pavillion

Strolling Through Woodward's gardens
Though today's residents of the city view that area of the Mission as flat and uninteresting terrain, visitors to that same area in 1866 described a rugged and untamed portion of the city. Crags, mounds, hills, caves, depressions, bogs and streams made up the base that Woodward carved to create his park. With an eye toward nature, Woodward's Gardens included a conservatory overflowing with exotic trees, plants and flowers. The sweet aroma coupled with the warm humid air created a sense of the tropics. The conservatory had one of the finest collections of ferns in the Western Hemisphere. A small lake hosted all forms of water birds at one end in a placid setting of water lilies and cattails. A water park complete with boats and Chutes, a skiff ride down a fast moving flume, dominated the other side of the main park. A second lake hosted seals and sea lions providing an opportunity to observe these animals in a natural setting. Streams and torrents wound through the entire garden area. A stroll in the Deer Park provided scenes that included the small tame deer from China and Japan. Walking paths dotted with benches wandered through sculptured gardens connecting the various attractions. Ostriches and goats wandered loose on the grounds. A tunnel ran under Fourteenth Street to provide access to a zoo from the Gardens.

Woodward's boasted the most complete zoo on the West Coast. A grand enclosure contained the large herbivores such as camels, zebra, buffalo, deer, llama and kangaroos. A long row of cages held various panthers (mountain lions), jaguars, foxes and small animals both from North America and around the world. Aviaries housed birds from diverse corners of the globe. Bear pits contained grizzlies and black bears. Families clamored for the opportunity to view creatures they would never otherwise see. Walter J. Thompson, reporter for the Chronicle wrote, "Near by was the bear pit, into which `Fat' Brown toppled one day to the consternation and positive embarrassment of the bears, who did not recover their nerve until `Fat' was fished out with a long pole with hook attached. Across the way was the Happy Family, where, by standing too near the bars, Sister Susy lost her hat and back hair to a simian hoodlum of the family, the members of which showed anything but agreeable manners at feeding time."

The zoo area also included an outdoor pavilion where acrobats from Japan and fire-eaters from Delhi performed for the crowds. Shows of every sort entertained the patrons. Attractions included bear wrestling, chariot races, comedy performances, Gilbert and Sullivan plays and beauty contests thinly disguised as dance reviews. Walter Morosco's Royal Russian Circus wowed the crowds with trapeze acts, acrobatic feats and tumbling. Heavily painted and feathered Warm Springs Indians, victorious veterans of the Modoc War of 1872, provided examples of tribal dances and music that put fear into young and faint hearts.

The aquarium opened in 1873 with sixteen tanks that held from three hundred to a thousand gallons of salt or fresh water apiece and for the first time ever, fish and crustaceans survived in salt-water tanks over an extended period. Sea and freshwater fauna and flora were displayed and fascinated all viewers. Illumination came from above the tanks lined up on both sides of a forty-foot hall. Animals normally hidden below the waves displayed themselves to the stares of those who had never seen them in their natural state. Crabs, lobsters and other crustaceans were of particular interest, busily foraging while making aggressive gestures at each other as they crossed paths. Trout flashed their colors as sport fishermen dreamed of the ultimate catch. Sharks, cod and perch cruised the tanks while flounders and rays disguised themselves in the sand. Octopi amazed the throngs with their fluid antics and intelligent eyes. A fish-hatching machine, an early version of a hatchery, created a sensation among park goers. The aquarium reigned as the most popular exhibit.

Woodward's home near the entrance became the "Museum of Miscellanies." Gigantic mastodon tusks some 10,000 years old framed the entrance. Mineral samples, fossils and zoological specimens made up the collection. The mineral display included crystals, volcanic stones, precious and semi-precious gems and at one point in time, the largest gold nugget ever found. Viewing the nugget cost twenty-five cents extra. Woodward originally paid twenty-five thousand dollars for the nugget that several years later yielded only twenty-three thousand dollars in twenty dollar gold pieces when smelted and coined. Of course, he made up the difference in the viewing fees charged. The zoological specimens included taxidermy and skins of every sort of animal and bird as well as fossilized wood, fish and creatures described as serpents. A rotating panorama displayed stuffed animals in their natural settings. Mischievous children liked to sneak onto one of the panoramas as it rotated away only to be displayed on that section's next appearance posed with a tiger or bear.

A plush gallery housed Woodward's art collection, a quite, restful interlude from the excitement of the museum next door. San Francisco's newfound appreciation for art made this a popular stopover. Culture follows money and the city's newfound wealth wanted worldwide status as a center of art and genteel living.

Still, curiosity dominated culture and Woodward searched long and hard for curiosities. He presented Chang from China, an eight-foot tall giant who paraded the grounds dressed as a mandarin. Patrons lined up beside Chang to compare their height. Woodward hired Admiral Dot, a 25-inch midget said to be smaller than Tom Thumb. He claimed P. T. Barnum offered 'the Admiral' a salary of twelve thousand dollars a year to join his circus.

On Jan. 19, 1873, twelve thousand people attended Woodward's Gardens to witness the ascension of Gus Buisley and a small boy in a balloon. Hot air balloons drew large crowds after their successful use in the Civil War. In the corner by the car barn stood a windmill that Buisley often bumped as he soared aloft hanging on to his big hot-air balloon. Buisley later lost his life in a flying accident.

General Ulysses S. Grant visited Woodward's Gardens in September of 1879. The former President's tour of the world neared completion and San Franciscans eagerly awaited his arrival from Japan. Wearing a top hat or 'tile' presented too dear an opportunity when he and others gathered for a speech in front of the bear enclosure. San Francisco's rambunctious boys pelted them with large (and rather hard) bouquets of flowers tossed by practiced arms and soon, all hats including Grant's were in the bear pit. Not to be outdone, a "pretty buxom girl suddenly broke from the ranks, and, throwing her arms about his neck, made him the victim of an unconditional surrender to an osculatory caress, the smack of which could be heard over in the camel paddock." All was quickly forgiven and the General shook the young hands of all those in a long receiving line and signed hundreds of autographs.

The End of an Era
The death of Robert Woodward in late 1879 sounded the death knell of Woodward's Gardens. Woodward's sons took over its management but the Gardens slowly declined lacking their father's enthusiasm and showmanship, finally closing in 1894. Auctions liquidated all the artifacts and animals with much of the statuary, taxidermy and oddities going to Adolph Sutro's Baths and Museum. Developers graded the land flat and sold it in tracts to provide homes for the working class of San Francisco. It punctuated the end of the century and signaled the end of an era for San Francisco.

All that remains as a reminder that Woodward's Gardens existed is a recently opened bistro on the corner of Mission and Thirteenth Streets called Woodward's Gardens and a small brass commemoration plaque mounted on side of the state armory at the corner of Mission and Fourteen Streets facing the site where Woodward's towering gates once stood.

Jim@HistorySmith.com