Palms
California Nursery Palm History
The California Nursery Company provided palms and other trees and plants for three World's Fairs in San Francisco: The California Midwinter International Expostion in 1894, The Panama-Pacific International Exposition in 1915, and the Golden-Gate International Exposition in 1939-1940.
The Journey of the Niles Palms to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
From the 1915 nursery catalog "Trainload of large Phoenix canariensis. Were planted on Palm Avenue at 1915 Exposition."
This photo was taken at the Eberly spur which was named after W.V. Eberly, the manager of the California Nursery Company after John Rock died in 1904 and until some time after George Roeding purchased the nursery.
This is the photo that sucked me (Janet) in to this project.
"Were planted on Palm Avenue at 1915 Exposition"??? "Trainload"??? East Bay to SF with no bridges???
This was the beginning of the very long and interesting journey to track down the palms.
The Western Pacific spur called Eberly is where the palms were loaded. Rancho Arroyo Park is approximately where Eberly was located. Many mobile maps will say "Eberly".
A main feature at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition was the Avenue of Palms that ran in front of the Tower of Jewels. The Avenue of palms was lined with alternating Phoenix canariensis and Washingtonia robusta. One nursery order from the Exposition was for 71 Phoenix canariensis and 104 Washingtonia robusta.
The Exposition had a team that moved large trees. In 1914 it took teams of horses and men, 'trucks', derricks, trains of flat-bed railroad cars, and a ferry or barge to move these large palms from the California Nursery Company in Niles (now a district of Fremont) to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco (where the Marina District is now). The Exposition team was quite experienced in moving trees, and we see that they did use some California Nursery men, horses, and equipment at times.
See a photographic journey of the palm trees on History Pin starting from the Western Pacific Oakland mole. No photos were taken of palms between Niles and the Avenue of Palms in SF, but photos of the pier and rail system at the Exposition site are shown. If you take BART from Fremont to Oakland, you are traveling the exact route that the palms took. BART uses the original WP right-of-way.
See the Branson DeCou collection at UCSC for colored lantern slides. You will catch a glimpse of the palms at times.
In 2015, the park celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco.
For that event, the Fremont Main library hosted an exhibit with posters about the moving of the palms, slide shows (2D and 3D), and ephemera from the PPIE. Joyce Blueford and Janet Barton gave a lecture on the California Nursery and its role in California and in providing the palms and other landscaping plants for the grounds. The posters are currently at the museum at the park.
See Eden Magazine for the "Nursery Order for the Avenue of Palms" page 14-15 for a description of the work done by the Nursery to ready and ship the palms.
See "Remember When? Newsreels from San Francisco's Past" to see some clips of the Avenue of Palms and another from Frank W. Vail.
The Exploratorium used to have the PPIE in 3D. Not sure where they went.
Whither/Wither did the the Palms go?
From SFPL Image "Piling Pipes", (1916). Notice the palms lining the Avenue of Palms. The date could be estimated for the period of pipe salvage. Once the pipes are out, are the palms being watered?
Local legend is that they all came back to the nursery. The reasoning is that the nursery was never paid (unconfirmed) and so the trees were shipped back (unconfirmed from looking at nursery records). But if the nursery was never paid, who would pay for the labor and rail charges to send them back? The nursery who would be losing more money? The exposition who couldn't pay for the trees in the first place?
If they came back to the front of the park, that's a half mile from Eberly spur. Who paid for the hauling of these palms? It's more likely that the palms at the front of the park were the ones that were left behind. And photos from that era do show that there were palms still standing at the south east boundary. More likely, IF you were going to have them return, they would have been planted at Eberly spur where they could be easily shipped later.
Other local legends abound: that some went across the Golden Gate to Marin County...some went to Santa Anita. San Mateo Park?
Here's another one that I've started. That some were moved to the Main Post at the Presidio on Graham Street. What better exercise for your military personnel than moving large objects? There are Canary Island date palms alternating with Washingtonia palms, just like the Avenue of Palms. Coincidence? Or just a fun idea that bears repeating? The presidio has archives and someone might check there!
From SJPL San Francisco Chronicle, April 16, 1916. Note the palms.
"The palms meet with no demand, for the reason of their great size and the cost of taking them out and transporting them. They will probably be cut down."
The San Francisco Chronicle, 20 May 1916 (SFPL)
Did John McLaren rescue some of them for this neighborhood?
On Google maps, see Clark Street at cross street Costa Rica in San Mateo Park neighborhood. Note the Canary Island palms. There are about 30 large palms along Clark. Large enough? Maybe not.
John McLaren gave advice on boxing and moving palms in September 1916.