Golden Gate Park - Bay Area Young Survivors Breast Cancer Memorial Garden

Completed and Opened to the Public, May 3, 2025!

Background

Bay Area Young Survivors (BAYS) is a suppor

t and action group for young people in the San Francisco Bay Area diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 45 or younger. In 2015, BAYS began volunteering in Dorothy Erskine Park under the guidance of Recreation and Park Department staff. BAYS inquired about opportunities to honor women who had passed away due to breast cancer. Over the years, BAYS and Recreation and Park Department staff discussed the possibility of a landscape improvement project with memorial elements.

Inspired by the success of the beautiful AIDS Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park as an example of both a public amenity and a dedicated memorial space, the team eventually settled on a small seating area also located in Golden Gate Park. In alignment with the Golden Gate Park Master Plan, the proposed rejuvenated seating area offers the public respite from daily life, a place to sit either alone or with others, admire nature, connect to community, contemplate lives lost and reflect on survivors.

Scope of Work

• Demolition of an existing seating area and pathway (approx. 800 sq. ft. paved area) at the intersection of Conservatory Drive East, Conservatory Drive West and Arguello Blvd in Golden Gate Park. This includes removal of existing asphalt and concrete paving, two benches, and chain link fencing.

• Creation of a new path to a new plaza in concrete or stone with metal strips of inscriptions.

• A new seating area to include a curved wood bench, smaller stone bench, and stone paving with metal strips with inscriptions

• A metal memorial element for names of BAYS members lost, and any future members to be commemorated over time

• New plantings, largely in keeping with the Oak Woodlands plant palette found on the other side of Conservatory Drive, and other natives

• Clearing of invasive plants to encourage multiple existing small oaks which ring the area

• Removal of some asphalt to replace with rock outcrops, shrubs, and flowering plants in a new planting area

• Signage

  

Funding

Total project budget was approximately $745,000 and was funded by BAYS.

Partners

• Bay Area Young Survivors

• InsideOut Design

  

  

Project Schedul e

Planning , 2023

Design , 2023

Construction begins , Late 2024

Open to the Public , May 3, 2025

Get Out and Play! Thanks for supporting park improvements in your San Francisco parks! To stay informed and involved, we encourage you to subscribe to Rec and Park eNews . If you would like to receive updates about all our active capital improvement projects, please visit the News Flash section of our webpage and subscribe to “Rec Park Improvements | All Project Updates,” or pick-and-choose your subscriptions by project name.

You can also explore Rec and Park volunteer opportunities – We have park needs in every corner of the city and volunteer opportunities that are as diverse as your interests, skills, and abilities. Have fun in your parks, and get out and play!