Last updated: June 11, 2024
Place
St. Francis Woods
Olmsted Archives
Quick Facts
Location:
San Francisco, CA
Significance:
Olmsted Designed Suburban Community
In 1912, the Mason-McDuffie Company purchased 175-acres of land with the hopes of creating one of the finest residential parks in the nation. Duncan McDuffie, who was responsible for numerous developments around the Bay Area, hired Olmsted Brothers to design the landscape of the community one year later.
The Mason-McDuffie Company had already employed Olmsted Brothers for several earlier developments. They were tasked with designing a curvilinear street plan, striking a perfect balance with the preservation of large open areas of nearby parkland.
Led by firm member James Dawson, Olmsted Brothers laid out the streets to conform to the site’s natural topography. In accordance with McDuffie’s request, all electrical and telephone wires were placed underground.
St. Francis Wood was designed to be a residential community, with wide streets and sweeping vistas of the nearby Pacific Ocean. As with many Olmsted projects, communication with the site’s architect was crucial. Today, much of the neighborhood remains as it was intended in Olmsted’s original design.
Source: "St. Francis Wood," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online
The Mason-McDuffie Company had already employed Olmsted Brothers for several earlier developments. They were tasked with designing a curvilinear street plan, striking a perfect balance with the preservation of large open areas of nearby parkland.
Led by firm member James Dawson, Olmsted Brothers laid out the streets to conform to the site’s natural topography. In accordance with McDuffie’s request, all electrical and telephone wires were placed underground.
St. Francis Wood was designed to be a residential community, with wide streets and sweeping vistas of the nearby Pacific Ocean. As with many Olmsted projects, communication with the site’s architect was crucial. Today, much of the neighborhood remains as it was intended in Olmsted’s original design.
Source: "St. Francis Wood," The Cultural Landscape Foundation
For more information and primary resources, please visit:
Olmsted Research Guide Online
Olmsted Archives on Flickr
Olmsted Online