Golden Gate Park, Stow Lake 1890s, Boathouse and Prayer Book Cross, Monterey pines and Eucalyptus

This photo taken from Strawberry Hill shows young Monterey Pine trees (Pinus radiata, previously named Pinus insignis). Probably planted in the late 1870s, they were already creating a forest in the 1890s.  The tallest tree in this image is a Eucalyptus globulus. William Hammond Hall recorded that the three canopy trees grew at astonishing rates when given fertilizer and water. The pines and cypress trees were recorded at an average of 14 feet high in four years. In 1873 he reported that 22,000 trees had been set out and were growing well. 

Image courtesy of OpenSF History/wnp27.3676