I took my dog for a walk at Golden Gate Park today and stopped by the Blue Heron Lake Boat House to buy a drink. I looked at the T-shirts and was struck by how boring and indistinctive “Blue Heron” Lake is. How – and more importantly, why – does an iconic San Francisco landmark have such a generic name?
Golden Gate Park’s Stow Lake is now called Blue Heron Lake after the lake’s original namesake William W. Stow’s antisemitic past was brought to light.
William W. Stow, the lake’s original namesake, was a State Assemblymember between 1854 and 1857 and served on the City’s park commission in the 1890s. He was also an antisemite who openly wished to rid California of its Jewish population, and attempted to tax Jews in order to discourage them from opening businesses.
A city supervisor will be seeking input from the public on a new name for Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park, after revelations that its traditional moniker honors a virulent anti-Semite led to a resolution to change it.
Minnesota-based nonprofit Wilderness Inquiry is bringing its nationally-recognized Canoemobile program to San Francisco, CA, April 1–6, 2023, where it will connect more than 300 youth and families to Lake Merced and Stow Lake.
Starting April 15, San Francisco Nature Education volunteers will show the herons and their chicks to the public through high-powered spotting scopes. The program runs six Saturdays and concludes May 20.
I would like to publicly nominate Patrick Quigley, a man whom no one has ever heard of, as the most deserving person for the honor of having this feature of Golden Gate Park renamed in his honor.
Another change for Golden Gate Park has been launched with an effort to rename Stow Lake, and the boathouse that serves it, after revelations that its namesake, the 19th-Century politician William W. Stow, was virulently anti-Semitic.
Four of the five nests have Great Blue Herons incubating eggs. The fifth nest is a newly constructed nest, and that pair of herons are now engaged in building the nest and courtship rituals.
SF Recreation and Park Department workers removed eight trees. While several of these trees were downed because they hung over the road, most were removed because they have upended the asphalt path east of the Boat House …
The Sweeny Observatory once graced the top of Strawberry Hill at Stow Lake in Golden Gate Park.
Six pairs of great blue herons are now sitting on their nests and incubating eggs in their island tree at Golden Gate Park’s Stow Lake. In April, eggs will begin to hatch in the various nests and a cacophony of squawking will be heard far and wide.
For the 26th year, great blue herons have returned to Stow Lake. They currently occupy six nests.
An arrest related to several arson fires in Golden Gate Park has been made, although as of press time charges tied directly to those fires have not been filed. Police say the investigation is ongoing.
Photo of Stow Lake in Golden gate Park, circa 1900.
Richmond Review/Sunset Beacon 