Saint Mary's Square is a park and urban square across California Street from Old St. Mary's Cathedral in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

, in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

History

Designed in 1957 by Robert Royston the square is a rooftop park located on the top level of a parking garage in San Francisco's Chinatown neighborhood. At the time, rooftop gardens were promoted in the city by real estate developers as a means to maximize buildable areas, and were most often sited on two‐story, above‐ground parking structures. being one of the first below ground parking structures, the rooftop garden was put into the designs as an afterthought. the current existing park was redesigned from the historic park that occupied the space prior to the implementation of the underground parking.

Design

Royston's design used a system of grids and multiple tones of concrete to draw attention from the geometry of the space, imposed on it by the virtue of being above a parking garage. by implementing low seat walls and the curved nature of the planting beds, he divided up the pedestrian spaces, generating a feeling of nature within the space. The park has access to the street via a wide concrete staircase on one end and an at-grade entrance at the other. An existing row of poplar trees was retained as backdrop for the park, and a sculpture of Sun Yat-Sen by local artist Benny Bufano provides a focal point for the space. The park also includes a playground and refreshment stand.

Prominent features

The park features several culturally significant implements to the surrounding area, being a central community hub for the Chinatown area.

The “Women’s Column of Strength”

A privately funded statue that was placed in 2017 after being approved by the Board of Supervisors. The memorial is controversial as the sculpture honors the

comfort women Comfort women were women and girls forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces in occupied countries and territories before and during World War II. The term ''comfort women'' is a translation of the Japanese , a euphemism ...

who were women and girls forced into

sexual slavery Sexual slavery and sexual exploitation is an attachment of any ownership rights, right over one or more people with the intent of Coercion, coercing or otherwise forcing them to engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activities. This includ ...

by the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

in occupied territories before and during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The mayor of

Osaka, Japan is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third-most populous city in Japan, following the special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a populatio ...

stated he would sever the

sister-city A sister city or a twin town relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties. While there are early examples of inte ...

relationship with San Francisco as "the relationship of trust has completely been destroyed".

Statue of Sun Yat-sen

The

statue A statue is a free-standing sculpture in which the realistic, full-length figures of persons or animals are carved or Casting (metalworking), cast in a durable material such as wood, metal or stone. Typical statues are life-sized or close to ...

Sun Yat-sen Sun Yat-senUsually known as Sun Zhongshan () in Chinese; also known by Names of Sun Yat-sen, several other names. (; 12 November 186612 March 1925) was a Chinese physician, revolutionary, statesman, and political philosopher who founded the Republ ...

by Beniamino Bufano is a 14-foot statue made of red granite and stainless steel, stands in St. Mary's Square. It is inscribed: "Dr. Sun Yat Sen 1866-1925 Father of the Chinese Republic and First President Founder of the Kuo Min Tang Champion of Democracy Lover of mankind: Proponent of friendship and peace among the nations, based on equality, justice and goodwill".

Memorial plaque

A memorial plaque in dedication to the Americans of Chinese ancestry who gave their lives for America in World Wars I and II. Reads, "We Salute these Americans of Chinese Ancestry who gave their lives for America in World Wars I and II".

Other points of note

ginkgo biloba ''Ginkgo biloba'', commonly known as ginkgo or gingko ( ), also known as the maidenhair tree, is a species of gymnosperm tree native to East Asia. It is the last living species in the order Ginkgoales, which first appeared over 290 million year ...

tree planted in March 2017, honors Chinatown activist Rose Pak. St. Mary's Square includes the former location of the Kong Chow Temple.

References

External links

* {{Chinatown, San Francisco Chinatown, San Francisco Parks in San Francisco Squares in San Francisco Odonyms referring to religion