{"id":28165,"date":"2023-08-27T13:45:30","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T20:45:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28165"},"modified":"2023-08-27T13:45:31","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T20:45:31","slug":"a-freeway-through-the-panhandle-it-almost-happened-until-these-heroes-stopped-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/08\/27\/a-freeway-through-the-panhandle-it-almost-happened-until-these-heroes-stopped-it\/","title":{"rendered":"A freeway through the Panhandle? It almost happened, until these heroes stopped it"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/peter-hartlaub\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/peter-hartlaub\/\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Hartlaub<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aug. 26, 2023  (SFChronicle.com)<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/feed?app_id=137086563877087&amp;link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fpanhandle-freeway-san-francisco-citizen-revolt-18331030.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dfacebook.com%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&amp;name=A%20freeway%20through%20the%20Panhandle%3F%20It%20almost%20happened%2C%20until%20these%20heroes%20stopped%20it&amp;description=In%20the%201950s%20and%201960s%2C%20an%20eight-lane%20freeway%20almost%20obliterated%20most%20of%20the%20Panhandle...&amp;picture=https%3A%2F%2Fs.hdnux.com%2Fphotos%2F01%2F34%2F15%2F72%2F24174268%2F3%2FrawImage.jpg&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fpanhandle-freeway-san-francisco-citizen-revolt-18331030.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3DUTMSOURCE%26utm_medium%3DUTMMEDIUM\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fpanhandle-freeway-san-francisco-citizen-revolt-18331030.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dt.co%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&amp;text=A%20freeway%20through%20the%20Panhandle%3F%20It%20almost%20happened%2C%20until%20these%20heroes%20stopped%20it&amp;via=sfchronicle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Your%20friend%20has%20shared%20a%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle%20link%20with%20you%3A%20&amp;body=A%20freeway%20through%20the%20Panhandle%3F%20It%20almost%20happened%2C%20until%20these%20heroes%20stopped%20it%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fvault%2Farticle%2Fpanhandle-freeway-san-francisco-citizen-revolt-18331030.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dshare-by-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%0A%0AIn%20the%201950s%20and%201960s%2C%20an%20eight-lane%20freeway%20almost%20obliterated%20most%20of%20the%20Panhandle...%0A%0AThis%20message%20was%20sent%20via%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.hdnux.com\/photos\/01\/34\/15\/72\/24174268\/3\/1200x0.jpg\" alt=\"Feb. 24, 1966: San Francisco citizens rallying against the proposed Panhandle Freeway sit in the front row at a Board of Supervisors committee meeting.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Feb. 24, 1966: San Francisco citizens rallying against the proposed Panhandle Freeway sit in the front row at a Board of Supervisors committee meeting.Bill Young\/The Chronicle<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The words \u201cPanhandle Freeway\u201d sound nonsensical in 21st century San Francisco.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a city where citizens last year&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/sf\/article\/car-free-JFK-Drive-17126175.php#:~:text=Park%20on%20Tuesday.-,The%20Board%20of%20Supervisors%20voted%20Tuesday%20to%20keep%201.5%20miles,Drive%20permanently%20closed%20to%20cars.&amp;text=Supporters%20said%20keeping%20the%20road,museums%20and%20those%20with%20disabilities.\">overwhelmingly voted<\/a>&nbsp;to permanently close John F. Kennedy Drive to car traffic, who would dare suggest&nbsp;<em>adding<\/em>&nbsp;a highway through Golden Gate Park?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for about 15 years in the 1950s and 1960s, plans for an eight-lane freeway down the center of the Panhandle were all but set, proposing to obliterate most of the Panhandle greenery, while ripping up a few hundred Golden Gate Park trees&nbsp;\u2014 including some redwoods&nbsp;\u2014 for good measure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The plan was initially supported by California\u2019s governor, the state Department of Highways, San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, both major newspapers, Mayor George Christopher and all but one city supervisor.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But instead of a new sea of asphalt with little objection, the clash turned into one of the greatest underdog stories in San Francisco history. An unlikely coalition, led by hundreds of housewives, stood up to the massive political machine and didn\u2019t just save the Panhandle&nbsp;\u2014 they stopped the encroachment of freeways throughout the city.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Panhandle Freeway was first revealed in 1947 in the Chronicle, buried in a bigger story about a planned expanded freeway network for the Bay Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chronicle stories were presented as if no dissenting voices existed&nbsp;\u2014 as if the entire city viewed paving over the city\u2019s greatest park as \u201cprogress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Plans accelerated on May 12, 1951, when Gov. Earl Warren announced funding for hundreds of miles of new freeways in California cities. The proposal included a web of highways through San Francisco that included a \u201cPanhandle Freeway,\u201d and a second equally disruptive addition connecting&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/oursf\/article\/1958-photos-of-the-Embarcadero-Freeway-A-13970285.php\">the planned Embarcadero Freeway<\/a>&nbsp;to the Golden Gate Bridge through the Marina District.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chronicle\u2019s cheerleading story the next day was headlined \u201cDream of Complete Bay System is Coming True.\u201d&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe Bay Area\u2019s freeways of tomorrow&nbsp;\u2014 $517 million worth&nbsp;\u2014 are developing into reality today,\u201d the front page article began. \u201cGovernor Earl Warren, who is as proud of California\u2019s expanding highway system as he is of California\u2019s poppies, took to television the other night to discuss his program with the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The concept drawings, still sitting in a folder in the Chronicle archive, are harrowing to look at. In some, the freeway dominates the park \u2014 leaving small strips of greenery on the sides. Later drawings place the freeway in a below ground trench, adding tiers of concrete structures around it that look like they were conceived by the same architects&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=B-0MZZ07dLE\">who designed the Death Star from \u201cStar Wars.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>San Francisco Supervisor William Blake was the only major politician to speak against the plan in the 1950s, calling for a system of subways instead of surface freeways that would destroy parks and properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSan Francisco\u2019s most precious asset is its breathtaking geographical beauty,\u201d Blake said in 1959.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He was mocked and threatened with political ruin. Foes (including the Chronicle editorial pages) derided him as \u201cTunnel Bill.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But two movements helped his cause: Growing political power in the neighborhoods, and the concrete monstrosity of the&nbsp;Embarcadero Freeway. After being promised the double-decker freeway wouldn\u2019t hinder San Francisco\u2019s beauty, citizens watched the structure&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/oursf\/article\/1958-photos-of-the-Embarcadero-Freeway-A-13970285.php\">go up in 1958<\/a>&nbsp;and muscle the Ferry Building and Embarcadero waterfront aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Panhandle Freeway rebellion started at a March 16, 1961, meeting at Dudley Stone School, where a panel stacked with pro-freeway labor leaders and the city\u2019s planning director were scheduled to talk about jobs created by the freeway. One hundred and fifty residents showed up in opposition, led by San Francisco State philosophy Professor Art Bierman and a group of Haight-Ashbury homeowners, dominating the meeting with their protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>City leaders thought little of the uprising initially. But they must have known they were in for a fight on May 17, 1962, when thousands descended on&nbsp; Golden Gate Park to protest. San Francisco-born songwriter Malvina Reynolds, famous&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=-Cjk0zst3Cs\">for the song \u201cLittle Boxes,\u201d<\/a>&nbsp;penned a new tune for the event&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=dKqZmYE-yI8\">called \u201cThe Cement Octopus.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sample lyric:&nbsp;<em>\u201c<\/em><em>That octopus grows like a science-fiction blight\/The bay and the Ferry Building are out of sight\/The trees that stood for a thousand years\/We watch them falling through our tears\/Oh stand by me and protect that tree\/From the freeway misery.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Chronicle story the next day noted that the largest demographic was middle-aged women. At a time when the entire Board of Supervisors was male and the mayor was Republican, residents surrounding the park felt empowered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More Reading<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-sf-water-18001216.php\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-sf-water-18001216.php\">S.F.\u2019s legendary Hetch Hetchy Reservoir turns 100 this month. What\u2019s in store for the next century?<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-sf-water-18001216.php\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-sf-water-18001216.php\"><\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-water-tunnel-17878821.php\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-water-tunnel-17878821.php\">This huge, century-old tunnel holds the key to S.F.\u2019s Hetch Hetchy water supply<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-water-tunnel-17878821.php\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/climate\/article\/hetch-hetchy-water-tunnel-17878821.php\"><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI live next door to the mayor,\u201d said Peggy Greenfield, a mother of three. \u201cIf I have to, I\u2019ll yell across the court at him and let him know how I feel about the whole thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mayor Jack Shelley, elected in 1964, was even more pro-highway than was Christopher. He called the freeways \u201cinevitable\u201d and worked behind the scenes to remove Supervisor Blake from a city streets commission with influence over the decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe signed the final report and we\u2019ll stand by it,\u201d said Mario Ciampi, one of the architects who studied the freeway and drafted plans. \u201cI believe these freeways will enhance the city.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But momentum had already shifted. By 1964 the Chronicle had switched to the pro-parks side, engaging in a war with the competitor Examiner, which continued lobbying in favor of the Panhandle Freeway until the end. Chronicle columnist Harold Gilliam, an environmentalist, authored a multi-part front page series called \u201cS.F.\u2019s Freeway Revolt.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He pointed out that many of the thousand-plus residents who would be displaced from their homes by the project were the same African American and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/sf\/article\/japanese-relocation-photo-history-16921301.php\">Japanese families<\/a>&nbsp;who were victimized during World War II and 1940s redevelopment in the Western Addition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cHow many times do you roust people out of their homes, particularly members of minority groups who have trouble finding housing elsewhere?\u201d Gilliam wrote. \u201cSuch human values are unmeasured in the slide-rule calculations of the Division of Highways.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After initial plans were voted down by city supervisors in 1964 and several subsequent delays, Shelley thought he had the votes for a compromise-filled plan that saved much of the Panhandle greenery by starting the tunnel earlier but kept the freeway concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hundreds of women showed up on March 21, 1966, to what the Chronicle called \u201cthe wildest freeway hearing in the long history of such events at City Hall.\u201d Anti-freeway forces wore \u201cSAVE US FROM THE FREEWAY\u201d posters on their heads like crowns, chanting, \u201cBulldoze the mayor, preserve our parks\u201d and \u201cRecall Mayor Shelley,\u201d while defying calls for order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTunnel Bill\u201d Blake walked into the chambers to a standing ovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Both proposals \u2014 for the Panhandle Freeway and Marina freeway \u2014 were voted down by 6-5 votes. The day\u2019s events effectively ended plans for more freeways in San Francisco. (Although it would take intervention by the 1989&nbsp;Loma Prieta earthquake to finally demolish the Embarcadero Freeway.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The uprising had national implications.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Architecture Forum magazine described it as \u201cthe first concerted revolt of a city against the highwayman\u2019s single-minded urge to drive freeways through \u2026 without regard to the city\u2019s tissue and fabric of life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But the events have mostly been forgotten locally, written about much less frequently in the Chronicle than a similar attempt to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/chronicle_vault\/article\/The-legend-of-the-woman-who-saved-the-cable-cars-10872009.php\">save San Francisco\u2019s cable cars<\/a>&nbsp;that was also led by women.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Marc Zimmerman, who was 7 years old in 1964, protested with his mother Gina Penestri in Golden Gate Park. Quoted in a 2003 Chronicle article, he put the moment in perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe amazing part was that a group of dedicated women at that time referred to as \u2018housewives\u2019 and initially laughed at could fight City Hall and win,\u201d Zimmerman said. \u201cIt taught me firsthand that if your cause was just, and you were organized and persistent, you could affect change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Reach Peter Hartlaub: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @PeterHartlaub<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/projects\/podcasts\/fifth-and-mission\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fifth &amp; Mission<\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/peter-hartlaub\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written By <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/peter-hartlaub\/\" target=\"_blank\">Peter Hartlaub<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SFChronicle\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/peterhartlaub\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicle&#8217;s culture critic and co-founder of Total SF. The Bay Area native, a former Chronicle paperboy, has worked at The Chronicle since 2000. He covers Bay Area culture, co-hosts the Total SF podcast and writes the archive-based Our SF local history column. Hartlaub and columnist Heather Knight co-created the Total SF podcast and event series, engaging with locals to explore and find new ways to celebrate San Francisco and the Bay Area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/img\/logos\/black\/logo.svg\" alt=\"San Francisco Chronicle Homepage - Site Logo\"\/><\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/img\/core\/hearst_newspapers_logo.svg\" alt=\"HEARST newspapers logo\">\u00a92023 Hearst Communications, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Peter Hartlaub Aug. 26, 2023 (SFChronicle.com) The words \u201cPanhandle Freeway\u201d sound nonsensical in 21st century San Francisco. In a city where citizens last year&nbsp;overwhelmingly voted&nbsp;to permanently close John F. Kennedy Drive to car traffic, who would dare suggest&nbsp;adding&nbsp;a highway through Golden Gate Park? But for about 15 years in the&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/08\/27\/a-freeway-through-the-panhandle-it-almost-happened-until-these-heroes-stopped-it\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[995],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28165"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28165"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28165\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28166,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28165\/revisions\/28166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}