Overview

Woodward's Gardens featured live musical and vaudeville-type entertainment in San Francisco, CA, in 1880.

Building History

This multi-featured pleasure garden offered San Franciscans a range of diversions. It contained an art gallery designed by the Irish-born architect John Plant Gaynor (born c. 1826 in Ireland-d. 1888 in San Francisco, CA) in about 1869. (This information came from art historian Ellen Halteman, who noted that she found a reference to Gaynor being the architect in the "Catalogue of Pictures and Statuary in the Art Gallery at Woodward's Gardens... 1869. [And in later editions thru 1880]." She noted, "The [Art] Gallery and accessories were designed by J. P. Gaynor, architect." Thank you to her for her email of 11/18/2021 to the author.)

In addition, two years later, Gaynor designed a skating pavilion for Woodward's Gardens. (Again, Ms. Halteman wrote: "SF Chronicle, March 7, 1871, p. 3: Architect for Woodward's Gardens skating pavilion, to be completed Spring of 1871." See email from Ellen Halteman to the author, 11/18/2021.)

PCAD id: 21436