Golden Gate Park, Urban park in San Francisco, United States.
Golden Gate Park is a rectangular urban park stretching about three miles east to west and half a mile north to south between the Richmond and Sunset districts, from Ocean Beach toward the city center. Its 1,017 acres hold artificial waterways, a waterfall, lakes such as Stow Lake, and two Dutch-style windmills at the western end. Paths and roads link the de Young Museum, the Conservatory of Flowers and the Japanese Tea Garden.
Work began in 1870 on an area of sand dunes that was stabilized by planting thousands of trees. Landscape architect William Hammond Hall designed the original plan, while John McLaren directed the planting for decades and transformed the site into a green space.
The park takes its name from the nearby Golden Gate Strait. Makoto Hagiwara, official caretaker of the Japanese Tea Garden from 1895 to 1925, is sometimes credited with inventing the fortune cookie. The park hosts the Outside Lands music festival and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass.
A free shuttle runs through the grounds on weekends and holidays, connecting the main attractions. Bike rental stations are located at the eastern entrance and along the main paths, which offer wide routes without steep grades.
A paddock in the western part of the park has housed a small herd of American bison since the 1890s. The animals live in an open area that walkers can observe from the fence, and they are among the oldest residents of the grounds.
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