A to Z 2021 – D is for Dragon Gate and Dolores Park

When I was searching for things to fill the letters for my A to Z Challenge this year, I opened Google Maps of San Francisco and searched for a few of the places that I knew of off the top of my head. As I enlarged the map all kinds of things started popping up and one of them was Dragon Gate. I thought that would make a terrific “D.”

Dragon gate is the south facing gate marking the entrance to Chinatown in San Francisco. It was built in 1969 and dedicated in 1970. There are three portals, an east and west portal for pedestrians and then a middle portal for cars. It is one of the most photographed parts of Chinatown and I can see why.

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Once again, this was just a drive by but I think you can get the feel of it.

The other “D” I have for today is Dolores Park.

Named after nearby Mission Dolores and sitting on land that was once a Jewish cemetery, Dolores Park is almost 16 acres of open space with lots of beautiful palm trees, 6 tennis courts, a basketball court, a playground and two off-leash dog areas, among other things. The park was bought by the City in 1905 and in 1906 was used as a refugee spot for 1,600 people dislocated after the earthquake. It is also used for rallies and other public gatherings.

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  Mission Dolores

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During part of last year, in an effort to encourage social distancing, large 6-foot circles were painted onto the grass so you could continue to enjoy the area but be socially distant. There was no evidence of those circles when I went by today. However, there was a lot of graffiti on the walls surrounding the area, that’s why I didn’t take any pictures of the pathway to the park.

There is a statue of Miguel Hidalgo, the father of Mexican Independence. Unfortunately, someone had painted all over that as well.

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It is sad to see things like this. There was a very friendly worker from the Parks and Rec department who was watering the plants around the statue and she said that someone would be coming by to clean it. I was particularly taken by this woman as she had a pleasant thing to say to everyone who passed by her.

As you can tell the coloring page is not finished but I decided I could either color or write the post. Writing the post won! I just took the pictures this morning too! I was marginally prepared for this A to Z. Hope you are enjoying and will come back tomorrow for “E.”

Disclaimer notice. The coloring book pages are from the inserts the San Francisco Chronicle put out and I mentioned them in my theme reveal so you can go to that to get the info about the artists if you are interested. I did the coloring and took the pictures.