Related stories: Monkey Puzzle Tree At Shore Acres State Park

☞ The Monkey Puzzle Tree and the origin of its name were described on a metal sign attached to the fence bordering the garden. ☞ The Monkey Puzzle Tree's branches were covered with thousands of spiked leaves. ☞ The Monkey Puzzle trees were tall and rose majestically in front of a high-rise office building. ☞ The garden had three Monkey Puzzle Trees on display. From a distance they looked like ordinary bare limbed trees. ☞ The trunk of the Monkey Puzzle tree was not as spiked as its branches, but was still very spiky indeed. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Julius Kahn Playground • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Paths • Signs • The Presidio In 1963 • Views From

☞ A vast lawn became the common front lawn for the brick buildings bordering it. The bay was crowded with sailboats all out there to watch the Fleet Week air show. ☞ A view of the back of one of the brick residences on the Presidio grounds. Steps led up to glassed in back porches. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Julius Kahn Playground • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Signs • The Presidio In 1963 • Views From

☞ Metal frames, individually filled with dirt, became stairs which made traversing a steep portion of path easier. Note, however, that one could also take a side path (next to the stairs) to walk down this hill. ☞ A yellow and pinkish fungus (Laetiporus Sulphureus ) and chalk graffiti decorated a log end alongside a path that ran along the north border of The Presidio. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Julius Kahn Playground • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Paths • Signs • Views From

☞ In 1963, contemporary cars (whereas now vintage cars) were parked diagonally on a hill facing a building on the Presidio grounds. A man (perhaps a workman) reached into the back of a parked pickup truck. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Julius Kahn Playground • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Paths • Signs • The Presidio In 1963

☞ A partly obscured view of the Golden Gate Bridge as seen through a forest of ivy covered trees. Sure there are better views of the Bridge, but there is something comforting about glimpsing the Bridge while walking along an amazingly long path through the Presidio. ☞ While traversing a path on a hill along the north side of the Presidio, a classic cityscape of downtown San Francisco appeared between two massive tree trunks. This view was a classic one, because it appeared to predate the Salesforce Tower, yet existed at the same time. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Julius Kahn Playground • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Paths • The Presidio In 1963 • Views From

☞ A bronze tablet was attached to a stone. It read in part, "This tablet marks the north west corner of the original Presidio of San Francisco founded by the Spaniards under Lieutenant Moraga, September 17, 1776." The current Presidio continues well beyond this 1778 border. ☞ A sign alongside a trail bordering the Presidio warned of a Coyote presence in the park. The sign read in part: "Dog Walker Alert, Coyotes Active In This Area." ☞ A small metal sign was nailed to a tree near the path into Julius Kahn Playground. It read: "Please keep dogs on leash, Hlth code sec. 41.12A, Please clean up after your dog. Hlth code sec. 40A." View all

Related stories: SF National Cemetery 2007

☞ The front gate was closed and blocked entry to the road that ran straight up into the cemetery. ☞ Another sign was etched in stone and bordered the trail. It read, "They say, our deaths are not ours; They are yours; They will mean what you make them." ☞ A view from above the Cemetery, where the bay was dotted with sailboats because of Fleet Week. Those moving white sails in the background echoed the immobile white grave stones in the foreground. ☞ The view of the cemetery from above, as seen from the dirt trail that borders the Presidio grounds. Note the Golden Gate Bridge in the background. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Paths • Signs • The Presidio In 1963 • Views From

☞ A sign listed the rules governing this park. ☞ The club house at Julius Kahn Playground was very inviting with its round windows and plants bordered stairs. The club house was closed on this Saturday. ☞ The Julius Kahn Playground was a large grass area with a playground and club house at the far end. The clubhouse was available to rent for events such as birthday parties. ☞ A rundown baseball field was at the other end of the Julius Kahn Playground. An off-leash dog headed for the border bushes. ☞ A fence surrounded the Julius Kahn Playground. Many children enjoyed themselves beyond the fence. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Julius Kahn Playground • Letterman Digital Arts Center Recycled Water Pond • Paths • Signs • The Presidio In 1963 • Views From

☞ Pale skinned logs lay on the forest floor. They appeared about to rise and wander the grounds as zombie trees. ☞ Ivy encased trees stood alongside the path. The foreground tree was a snag about to vanish under ivy. The tree to the left was still barely alive. ☞ A battlefield not long after one of the worst battles yet. Dead tree logs lay scattered like match sticks, as if waiting for vultures to arrive. ☞ Two felled trees that turned into logs, lay head to head as if two fallen lovers. ☞ Further along the trail was an entire forest whose trees were ivy encased. The effect was startling, both in its beauty and its sense of violence. View all

Related stories: Andy Goldsworthy • Brick Buildings • Cemeteries • Harmed Trees • Julius Kahn Playground • Paths • Signs • The Presidio In 1963 • Views From

☞ Black metal arches decorated one end of the pond. Roses in pots were present to soften the look of the arches. ☞ A closer view of a mallard duck on a rock in the middle of the recycled water pond. ☞ A grove of tall trees grew in a meadow next to the pond. They created a dramatic scene that made one feel small in comparison. ☞ Trees growing next to the pond created patches of shade. A person sat on a bench across the pond and listened to the quiet. ☞ A bench on a hill overlooking the recycled water pond was barely visible. An artist sat on the bench and used a pencil to create an artistic image. View all

Related stories: Spire 2009 • Wood Line 2011

☞ The only light for the exhibit was through a single open door. That cast shadows which yielded an ominous and foreboding feeling to the art. ☞ The Tree Fall exhibit was housed in the old Presidio powder magazine. This art was only open for viewing on weekends (Saturday and Sunday) from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ☞ The clay/hair mixture that covered everything had dried to form the appearance of cracked mud. ☞ The exhibit had a cooling and organic feeling to it. Like being underground and looking up at the roots of trees. ☞ The trees, that compose the Tree Fall exhibit, ran from wall to wall and appeared to terminate at the surface of the wall. View all

Related stories: Tree Fall 2013 • Wood Line 2011

☞ A closer view of the logs used to construct the Spire, here viewed much nearer to the top of the sculpture. ☞ The first indication that the Spire was ahead was found on a "Reforestation Project" sign. ☞ A video panning up the Spire to give some idea of how tall it rose in the middle of the forest. ☞ A closer view of the logs used to construct the Spire, here viewed at the very top of the sculpture. ☞ A closer view of the logs attached together to form the spire. ☞ A first view of the Spire was over trees that lined the trail. It was surprising to notice something so big out there above normal sized trees. View all

Related stories: Spire 2009 • Tree Fall 2013

☞ Once fully inside and able to gaze downhill, the vast sweeping design of the Wood Line becomes visible. It forms series of long S-curves down the forest floor between stands of tall eucalyptus trees. ☞ Just inside the forest, a line of wood could be seen running along the forest floor. If you were not looking for it, that wood line would be easy to overlook while walking along the Lovers Lane trail just outside the forest. ☞ Step inside the dark forest, and the wood line first appears to curve in the distance. Give your eyes a moment to adjust and step further inside the forest. View all

Related stories: The Plaza Itself

☞ The back side of the fountain was far more ambitious than the front side. This back side featured stepping stones that hovered over the water, and stairs that lead up and over to its other side. ☞ The fountain was composed of a single central block from the top of which flowed water. The water flowed two directions, towards the camera, and on the far side away from the camera. ☞ Concrete steps led into the fountain, under the branch of a low, but interesting, tree. ☞ The drain, in the center of the pond at the bottom of the fountain, was large and almost mythic. It almost resembled a whirlpool into which one could be sucked to his or her doom. View all