The Dutch Windmill is the northern of two functioning
windmills
A windmill is a machine operated by the force of wind acting on vanes or sails to mill grain (gristmills), pump water, generate electricity, or drive other machinery.
Windmills were used throughout the high medieval and early modern periods; ...
, the other being
Murphy Windmill, on the western edge of
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...
in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
. It was completed in 1903, and placed on the
San Francisco Designated Landmark
This is a list of San Francisco Designated Landmarks. In 1967, the city of San Francisco, California, adopted Article 10 of the Planning Code, providing the city with the authority to designate and protect landmarks from inappropriate alteration ...
list on December 6, 1981.
History
In the 1870s and 1880s, Golden Gate Park was planted on sand dunes and required substantial irrigation. In 1902, the
Park Commission authorized the construction of two windmills to pump groundwater for park irrigation rather than purchasing water at exorbitant costs from the
Spring Valley Water Company
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is a public agency of the City and County of San Francisco that provides water, wastewater, and electric power services to the city. The SFPUC also provides wholesale water service to an addit ...
. The Dutch Mill was completed one year later and pumped 30,000 gallons per hour.
Electric water pumps replaced the need for windmills in 1913, and the mill fell into disrepair. By the 1950s, the mill was in a state of ruin.
Restoration
The windmill in 2012 with flower bed.
In 1964, the San Francisco Citizens Commission for the Restoration of the Golden Gate Park Windmills was formed and led by Eleanor Rossi Crabtree, daughter of former San Francisco mayor
Angelo Rossi. The windmill was restored in 1981. The
Queen Wilhelmina
Wilhelmina (; Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria; 31 August 1880 – 28 November 1962) was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as ...
Tulip Garden is located next to the Dutch Mill.
Events
In the Spring (February-April), colorful
tulips
Tulips are spring-blooming perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes in the ''Tulipa'' genus. Their flowers are usually large, showy, and brightly coloured, generally red, orange, pink, yellow, or white. They often have a different coloure ...
are planted in the gardens in front and along the base of the Windmill.
See also
*
List of windmills in the United States
This is a list of "traditional" windmills in the United States, which usually are gristmills.
In this nation more than others, "windmill" is often used to refer to what are properly termed windpumps bringing up water for agriculture. This is at ...
References
External links
{{Commons category, Dutch Mill, Golden Gate Park (San Francisco)
San Francisco Recreation & Parks Departmentkings day
Golden Gate Park
Buildings and structures in San Francisco
Windmills in the United States
Windmills completed in 1903
1900s architecture in the United States
San Francisco Designated Landmarks
Agricultural buildings and structures in California
1903 establishments in California
Wind power in California