Recreation & Fun

This morning I visited with gardeners, recreation staff, custodians and community members at the Palace of Fine Arts and Moscone Recreation Center.

At the Palace of Fine Arts, an operational headquarters for Neighborhood Service Area 2, which covers the Marina, Presidio, North Beach, Pacific Heights and Chinatown neighborhoods, I spent time with several gardeners who work in parks all across the this area of town.

It is obvious to me how much pride most gardeners take in their work and my staff was eager to share with me their suggestions for improving our Department and for tackling some of their greatest day-to-day challenges, which include gophers, off-leash dogs and a century-old irrigation system that is falling apart.

One department gardener, Sheila Bradford, has built up quite a reputation as the department's best gopher hunter. At Alta Plaza, a park plagued by a broken irrigation system and an increasing gopher population, Sheila has displayed an uncanny knack for trapping and dealing with those pesky gophers. Since our department does not use any poisons, toxins or heavy artillery, I asked our own “Carl Spackler” about the secret to her gopher hunting strategy. With a twinkle in her eye, Sheila responded, "Tenacity, Phil. Just tenacity." Look for Sheila in the coming days over at Big Rec in Golden Gate Park, another of our troubled gopher hot spots.

After spending time with the gardeners, I met up with some of my recreation staff at Moscone Rec Center. What an awesome facility! This recreation center was renovated in 2008 as part of the 2000 Neighborhood Parks Bond. The result is a world-class facility that blends both modern aesthetics and historic elements of the original 1924 building. The spacious terrace right outside the center overlooking the baseball fields could be a good spot for a concessionaire to offer some tasty and refreshing treats to park users.

We watched a Tiny Tot program in session and I learned how this rec center is given such great support by the Friends of Moscone Park and Recreation Center, a dedicated community group that supports this facility and its programs whenever we need them.

Our staff at Moscone is also great. This Tiny Tot program is one of the most popular in the city and I can see why. The staff was engaging and made class time fun for both the parents and little ones.

Did you know?
From 1934-1942, the Recreation and Park Department operated 18 lighted tennis courts at the Palace of Fine Arts.