Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, locally called Stern Grove, is a recreational site in the

Sunset District, San Francisco, California The Sunset District is a neighborhood located in the southwest quadrant of San Francisco, California, United States. Location The Sunset District is the largest neighborhood within the city and county of San Francisco. Golden Gate Park forms the ...

. It is administered by the city's Recreation and Parks Department and is the concert setting for the

Stern Grove Festival The Stern Grove Festival is an admission-free series of performing arts events held during the summer months in San Francisco. Established in 1938, the festival is held at Sigmund Stern Grove, a eucalyptus-wooded natural amphitheater on a site ...

, which has taken place annually since 1938.

History

The site, along Sloat Boulevard between 19th and 34th Avenues about two miles (3 km) south of the

Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, United States, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. It is administered by the San Francisco Recreation & Parks Department, which began in 1871 to oversee the development ...

, was donated to the city in 1931 by

Rosalie Meyer Stern Rosalie may refer to: People * Rosalie (given name) * Rosalie Levasseur (1749-1826), French soprano billed as Mademoiselle Rosalie * Rosalie Rendu or Sr. Rosalie (1786–1856), venerated by the Roman Catholic Church Film and theater *Rosalie (mus ...

. She was the daughter of

Marc Eugene Meyer Marc Eugene Meyer (1842–1925) was an American businessman and was president of Lazard Frères in the United States. Biography Meyer was born to a Jewish family, the son of Sephora (née Loeb) and Isaac Meyer, in Strasbourg, France. His father w ...

, who named the park for her late husband

Sigmund Stern In Norse mythology, Sigmund ( non, Sigmundr , ang, Sigemund) is a hero whose story is told in the Völsunga saga. He and his sister, Signý, are the children of Völsung and his wife Hljod. Sigmund is best known as the father of Sigurð the d ...

, a philanthropist, nephew of

Levi Strauss Levi Strauss (; born Löb Strauß ; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisco ...

, and son of

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of ...

. The original Stern Grove landscaping and facilities were built by the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

. It consists of several park sections including the Concert Meadow, the West Meadow, and Pine Lake Park. The grove's Pine Lake is one of three natural lakes in the city of San Francisco. In 2005, Stern Grove underwent a $15 million renovation, designed by landscape architect

Lawrence Halprin Lawrence Halprin (July 1, 1916 – October 25, 2009) was an American landscape architect, designer and teacher. Beginning his career in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, in 1949, Halprin often collaborated with a local circle of modernist a ...

. New features included drainage improvements and erosion control, an expanded outdoor stage and performance facilities, and terraces and additional bleacher-style seating, built of stone walls, along the slope opposite the stage. Since 1932, the

has presented weekly concerts and performances in the outdoor

amphitheater An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

during the summer months. Supported entirely by contributions, the concerts have always been free to the public. Crowds have often exceeded 20,000 people.

Notes

References

A 1953 history of Stern Grove
from the Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco
Early history of Stern Grove
from the Western Neighborhoods Project
Renovation of Stern Grove
by landscape architect

, ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...

'' article.

External links

* Parks in San Francisco Music venues in San Francisco Sunset District, San Francisco Outdoor theatres Theatres in San Francisco Historic American Buildings Survey in California Works Progress Administration in California Bay Area Ridge Trail {{SanFrancisco-geo-stub

History

See also

Notes

References

External links