The Statue of a Heroic Crusader who Spent his Life Fighting to Keep Statues out of Golden Gate Park.

Statue of John McClaren in Golden Gate Park.

John McLaren statue, McLaren Rhododendron Dell, Golden Gate Park. John McLaren, Supervisor of Golden Gate Park from 1890 until his death in 1943, detested statues. He hated them with such a passion that he defied the City authorities and persisted in his lifelong crusade to keep Golden Gate Park statue-free. It is fitting, then, that for his efforts McLaren was immortalized in the form of--what else? --a statue, which may be found near the entrance to the Rhododendron Dell that bears his name. Interestingly, the McLaren statue is placed at the very back of a hedged-off grassy space, far from the gaze of visitors. Perhaps those responsible for the statue felt a tinge of guilt. By attempting to conceal the McLaren statue, they were following McLaren's own policy of “if you can't beat 'em, hide 'em.” When McLaren lost his battles against those who wanted to erect a statue, he exacted revenge by re-arranging the park to make the statue as unobtrusive as possible. Usually he did so by planting trees, shrubs, and assorted verdant objects on all sides of the offending idol. To this day, most of the dozens of statues that grace (or deface) Golden Gate Park are so well-concealed by McLaren's greenery that few visitors even suspect their existence. If you boldly follow the less-trodden paths through the eastern half of the park, you will undoubtedly experience the thrill of blundering upon some of the hidden statues. Like the explorers who discovered the overgrown ruins of ancient Mayan temples, you will marvel at nature's (and, in this case, McLaren's) power to take back what civilization has wrought.

--Dr. Weirde

Contributors to this page include:

Carlsson,Chris - Photographer-Artist

Weirde,Dr. - Writer

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