The Willows

Mission St. and 18th St. | map | 

 

Opened: This "suburban resort" was running by the early 1860s. The location was on the southwest corner of Mission St. and 18th, bordered by Valencia St. on the west and 19th St. on the south. The 1864 photo is from the San Francisco Public Library collection. 

 

A version of the photo appears on the Open SF History Project website from the Marilyn Blaisdell collection. They note that its a "View west to Corona Heights and Buena Vista Park, Mission Dolores in background."  They also have another version of it.

 

An early 1863 ad for shows in the "Grand Open Air Pavilion" at the park. It's an item in the San Francisco Public Library collection.

Ferdinand Gilbert was involved with the property evidently as early as 1863 when he was also running Gilbert's Melodeon and the Union Theatre/New Idea Melodeon. John Lumea comments:

"During this same period, it appears that Gilbert was leasing and running some, maybe even all, of The Willows, a popular resort just outside the city, located in an area that now is in the Mission District, around 18th Street between Valencia and Mission. 

 

"In fact, Gilbert and his family were living in the second floor of a house on the grounds, which burned down on 12 January 1864. The timing of the fire couldn’t have been worse for Ferdinand Gilbert, who had just launched his latest project two weeks earlier." 

 

That "latest project" that John refers to was Gilbert's Museum and Menagerie on Market St., opening in late 1863. He closed that venue in mid-1865 and moved his collection to The Willows. John notes: 

 

"Gilbert moved the whole kit and caboodle of his Museum, including both live and taxidermied animals, to The Willows when he took over the lease there in June 1865." 

 

 

 

A May 30, 1865 ad from the Daily Dramatic Chronicle that was located by John Lumea and added as a comment to a post on the San Francisco History Facebook page. He notes: 

 

"Sunday May 4th for the date of the re-opening of The Willows was a misprint; the planned date was Sunday June 4th. Ultimately, the re-opening took place a week later, on Sunday June 11th."

 

 

Another item appearing in the May 30, 1865 Daily Dramatic Chronicle. Thanks to John for locating this and for investigating Gilbert's various venues. Much of his research appears in "The Emperor Was Not Amused," his article for the Emperor Norton Trust.

 

 

A horse-drawn car "To the Willows" in front of Wells Fargo & Co. at the corner of California and Montgomery. It's in the San Francisco Public Library collection where they date it as 1865. 

 

The image can also be seen on the Open SF History Project website from the Martin Behrman Negative Collection of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. They attribute it to Lawrence and Houseworth.

 

 

A stereo card by Carleton E. Watkins titled "Out at the Willows" that was copyrighted in 1867. It's in the San Francisco Public Library collection. A non-stereo version of this marked 1864 is in the Martin Behrman Negative collection of the Golden Gate National recreation Area. It appears on the Open SF History Project site.

The 1865 Langley city directory listed "Willows" with the address as the "SW cor Mission and 18th" and Frank Kelly as proprietor. Presumably he was the gentleman running it before Gilbert took it over.

Ferdinand Gilbert's listing in the 1865 directory was "proprietor Gilbert's Museum N side Market bet Montgomery and Sansome also Willows cor Mission and 18th."

 

The 1867 directory listing was "Willows Hotel and Pleasure Gardens, Alfred J. Welch, proprietor, SW cor Mission and Eighteenth."

Closing: The date is unknown.

More information: Sorry, there isn't any yet. 

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