Landini's 1585 Fountain of
the Tortoises, Piazza Mattei, Rome |
At California
and Taylor Streets, Huntington Park is a charming, distinctly cosmopolitan
public park at the top of Nob Hill on the site of a once great mansion. Features
here include a tree lined court, fountains, playground, and formal lawns.
At the front of the park, where parlors were located in Crocker's palace,
is the beautiful bronze Dancing Sprites. The centerpiece of the park is a copy of Landini's 1585 Fountain
of the Tortoises. The original (seen here) is at the Piazza Mattei
in Rome. Bella Farrow - the socialite and
philanthropist whose Nob Hill Foundation oversaw a recent restoration of
the Huntington Park fountain - says plainly, "Ours is better." Mister SF
agrees. For weary grown-ups, no visit to Huntington Park is complete without
a ride on the children's swings. |
