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Sinkhole swallows up a 90-year-old heritage garden grove, a small forest of huge trees, a large house and more.. |
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The Ansel Adams Grove Site History
Site History
On December 11, 1995, this site caught the world's attention when the
100 year-old, brick-lined sewer underneath this
area suffered a catastrophic collapse, causing an enormous sinkhole to
develop overnight directly west of Lobos Creek at the beginning of 24th
Avenue. The chasm swallowed up a large home belonging to the Howard
Billman family, two vehicles, a pond surrounded by numerous mature
trees, a memorial redwood grove, as well as the expansive 90 year-old
garden grove planted and nurtured by Adams and his family on the
adjacent property, all of which had served as a natural buffer between
the residential neighborhood and the National Park.
Lobos Creek
For thousands of years, native Ohlone people came to Lobos Creek to
hunt and gather food such as acorns, cattail, and stinging nettle.
Today, Lobos Creek is the last remaining year-round free-flowing creek
in San Francisco, and serves as the main source of drinking water for
the Presidio, as well as an emergency water source for the City in case
of an earthquake or other disaster.
 The
creek's fragile ecosystem is being nurtured and gradually restored by
the National Park Service with the help of countless volunteers, who
come from all over the Bay Area on designated "restoration days". They
donate their time and effort because they recognize the priceless value
of this land for the wildlife habitat of the park, and the future
generations of Homo sapiens who will come to visit.
In June, 2005, for the first time in nearly 70 years, the western
bluebird has been found nesting in the Lobos Creek Dune restoration
area. As Josiah Clark, a consulting park ecologist states, "It's a
testament that something right is happening, that people are making
moves in the right direction toward attention to habitat restoration and
the local ecology". Lobos Creek is a unique, natural resource which
responsible environmental stewardship requires us to protect, to
preserve the same source of inspiration for today's children that so
profoundly influenced Adams as a young boy.
Learn More
To learn more about the Ansel Adams Memorial Grove Restoration and Preservation Project explore the web site or simply download the proposal.
Support the Project
Support the Ansel Adams Memorial Grove Restoration and Preservation Project:
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