Larsen Park facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carl Larsen Park |
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| Type | Municipal (San Francisco) |
| Area | 6.58 acres (2.66 ha) |
| Created | 1927 |
| Open | daily, 5am – midnight |
| Public transit access |   ; Line 28 |
Carl Larsen Park is a 6.6-acre (2.7 ha) park in the Parkside District of San Francisco. It is located on the west side of 19th Avenue, near Vicente Street. The park is named after Carl Larsen, who used to be a chicken rancher. He gave the land for the park to the city in 1926.
Carl Larsen Park has a baseball field, tennis courts, a basketball court, a playground, and an indoor swimming pool. The pool was once called Larsen Pool, but it is now named Charlie Sava Pool, after a famous local swimming teacher.
The park was also known as Jet Plane Park because it had three old Navy jets from 1959 to 1993. Kids could play on these jets, which made the park a well-known spot. In 2015, a new sculpture and climbing structure, inspired by jets, were added to the playground. This happened after local people worked hard to raise money and ask for the changes.
Park History
Carl Larsen was a carpenter, restaurant owner, and chicken rancher in San Francisco. He gave the land for Larsen Park to the City in 1926. The park was built under the guidance of John McLaren and opened in 1927.
Larsen's gift is remembered with a special plaque on a rock at the corner of 19th and Ulloa. This plaque was made by a well-known sculptor named M. Earl Cummings. Carl Larsen was born in Odense, Denmark, in 1844. He moved to the United States when he was in his twenties and came to San Francisco in 1869. He helped build North Hall at UC-Berkeley, which is no longer there.
In 1879, Larsen started the Tivoli Cafe. Even though it was destroyed in the 1906 earthquake and fire, he rebuilt it along with the Hotel Larsen. When he donated the land, Larsen said he had always hoped to see a beautiful park on those hills. When it first opened, Larsen Park had outdoor card rooms, a baseball field, tennis courts, and a soccer field. The card rooms and soccer field are no longer there. The playground was updated starting in July 2014.
Jets at the Park
In 1959, the first old Navy jet, a Grumman F-9 Cougar, was brought to the park. It was moved by road from Moffett Field with help from the California Highway Patrol. At the playground, the jet was placed low to the ground. Its cockpit was filled with concrete, and its engine was replaced with a metal crawl space for kids to play in. A slide was also attached to the side of the plane.
The jet was taken away in 1993. City park officials decided not to pay US$40,000 (equivalent to $83,400 in 2022) to remove lead paint from it. The jet was later fixed up and is now on display at the Pacific Coast Air Museum (PCAM) in Santa Rosa. You can look at it there, but you can't climb on it.
The playground equipment got old and more pieces were removed over the years. In 2013, a city official noted that the playground was in poor condition. People worked to raise US$1,000,000 (equivalent to $1,260,000 in 2022) to fix it, including US$150,000 (equivalent to $188,000 in 2022) for a new jet-inspired sculpture. The new playground opened on November 21, 2015. City officials decided not to get another real plane because it would be too expensive and cause too many safety concerns. Instead, they chose a jet-inspired sculpture.
Charlie Sava Pool
Besides the unique jet sculpture playground, baseball field, and tennis courts, Carl Larsen Park also has an indoor swimming pool called the Charlie Sava Pool. This pool was once known as the Larsen Pool. It was renamed to honor Charlie Sava, a local swimming instructor who coached Olympic swimmer Ann Curtis.
The old pool building was taken down in 2007. A new Charlie Sava Pool opened in December 2008 in the same spot. It cost US$17,000,000 (equivalent to $23,110,000 in 2022) to build. The pool has eight lanes, each 25 yards (23 m) long. The new building was designed by architects Mark Cavagnero. The pool's water level is even with the floor. With large windows and the way the land slopes, swimmers in the pool get a great view of Stern Grove.
