Natural History

A Reference for Ecological Restoration

Before the City of San Francisco was fully built and streets and parks were lined with trees, San Francisco was a rich mosaic of grassland hilltops, rocky radiolarian chert outcroppings, rolling sand dunes and hundreds of creeks, springs, lakes, and wetlands. Take a look at these images to get a glimpse of what natural history has to share about San Francsico.

Interdune freshwater pond in the Sunset District near the present site of Sunset Boulevard looking west, 1910c. Image from original glass negative. Willard Worden photographer.

Lake Merced looking west, 1910c. Image from original glass negative. Willard Worden photographer.

View from Twin Peaks (Eureka Peak) looking north, 1923c. Photo for a car ad. Image from original glass negative.

Conservatory after completion, 1879. Oak Woodlands, Lone Mountain and Odd Fellows Cemetery in background. Image from 35mm copy negative. Isaiah Taber photographer.

View from the summit of Buena Vista Park looking south to Eureka Valley with Twin Peaks and Corbett Road on the right, 1886. Image from 35mm copy negative. Charles Turrill Photographer.

Twin Peaks from Dolores Heights, 1953. Image from original acetate negative.

Twin Peaks coastal prairie looking north, 1915. Image from original glass negative. Charles Turrill photographer.

About These Photos

A collector who wishes to remain anonymous selected these historical San Francisco nature images. The complete collection can be found at OpenSFHistory and may be the greatest collection in private hands, amounting to over 100,000 negatives and prints.

Thanks to OpenSFHistory, a project of the Western Neighborhoods Project, for sharing these images and those from similar private collections, with the world!

Natural History

A Reference for Ecological Restoration

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