Path of Rhododendrons, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, circa 1932

About this postcard

A winding path cuts through dense beds of blooming rhododendrons in Golden Gate Park, with pink, red, and orange flowers framing a view toward a low ridge and pale sky. In spring the display drew thousands of visitors; the park was said to grow the greatest variety of rhododendrons in the United States, with plants ranging from about a foot to twenty feet tall. Golden Gate Park was laid out in 1870 by William Hammond Hall on sand dunes west of downtown San Francisco. Under John McLaren, superintendent from 1887, it became known for dense, mature plantings and for the rhododendron dell that anchored the spring display.