First: Scrawled up Ingleslide Terrace Sundial – had no idea this even existed until a few days ago!
“Unless you live near Ocean Avenue, or read a rare reference about it, there’s a good chance you don’t know that a big white sun dial exists. Because it stands within the original circular configuration of where the Ingleside Race Track operated between 1895-1905, a bogus story took root that the monument was an ornament left over from the track’s heyday. Many people believed the story, perhaps visualizing that gamblers should quit while their luck still shines.
Touted as the world’s biggest sundial when it was built, this tranquil monument dominates a quiet cul-de-sac within the Ingleside Terraces residential area, an area of upper income homes created by the Urban Realty Improvement Company in 1909.
The secret: On October 13, 1913, fifteen hundred people attended the opening ceremony for this twenty-eight foot marble and concrete gnomon. It was to become the focal point of its own park and Ingleside Terraces. Oddly, the party for this sun-dependent clock was conducted at night. The timing had various symbolic reasons. That week the Atlantic and Pacific oceans kissed for the first time at the Panama Canal. It celebrated the planned opening of San Francisco’s Twin Peaks Tunnel, whose fast, reliable, and clean streetcar line was designed to serve people living away from the downtown area. And it was a romantic setting that would appeal to any young couple considering a new house.
The narrator of the Sun Dial Park ceremony was Joseph A. Leonard, manager of the real estate company. Among the dignitaries present was Supervisor Charles Murdock, and the city’s most celebrated engineer, Michael O’Shaughnessy. With the Coast Artillery Band providing the music, grade school children costumed as sylphs unveiled each fixture. Beneath the sundial was a circular reflecting pool fed by a fountain. This had two brass seals and was surrounded by colored lights. A child emerged from the pool and represented the releasing of the water’s spirit. Encircling the area is a thirty-four-foot diameter clock face with Roman numerals.”
definite slide down: 🙂
BONUS ** encounter with Leo and son Noah. From Russia, Leo moved here with his wife 12 years ago and had Noah 6 years ago. Love speaking with new faces and learning about their history. This life is a wild intersection of characters. We are all a teeny part of a huge, unfathomable whole. Love it. Live with your eyes wide open.
GET FIT WITH KATE 