On the northeast side of San Francisco’s Russian Hill, just a block from the base of the famous crooked street (Lombard), sits Fay Park. Distinguished by its twin gazebos and easily visible from the street and sidewalk, it has welcomed visitors since 1998. It is the only private residential garden in California designed by San Francisco’s pre-eminent landscape architect of the 20th century, Thomas Dolliver Church (1902-1978) that is open to the public. Visitors are delighted to find this lovely surprise on Russian Hill--a remnant of days gone-by when the neighborhood was known for its fine homes in gardened settings.
Tommy Church designed the garden in 1957 for Brigadier General Paul D. Berrigan (1905-1997) and his wife, Mary Eugenie Fay (1911-1988). In his book, Your Private World, and in an article he wrote for the San Francisco Chronicle Sunday magazine, Bonanza (October 25, 1959), during his tenure as their landscape consultant, he described it as a design problem that began as a large, frustrating space with a specimen pepper tree (Schinus molle) at its center and exposure from three sides. The existing paths “plodded up the slope”, as Church put it, but didn’t lead to anything. Meeting the challenge to develop a functioning outdoor space, Church converted the 80’ x 138’ lot into a usable, accessible and attractive garden by building terraces for the flowers Mary wanted to grow, two lawn areas and several hard-surface areas for entertaining and enjoying the garden, a spacious deck next to the house to integrate the interior and exterior, and even a crow’s nest at the top the property from which the General could enjoy the view of the north Bay and admire his roses.
View of north San Francisco bay from the General's crow's nest.
The unique design feature of the garden are the twin gazebos, which are a reference to the castle towers on the logo of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers--General Berrigan was a Division Engineer for the Corps.
The latticed gazebos are an appropriate construction in the foggy city--casting delicate shadows on the ground plane and light silhouettes against the dark green hillside.
Church’s distinctive design reflected his Beaux Arts training, but with a modern interpretation typical of this middle stage in his career. The Berrigan garden is partly symmetrical and partly axial in its layout, but not at the expense of destroying the only significant tree on the site. Church felt it was more important to save a noteworthy tree than to adhere to a strict axis in developing the garden--a lesson he said he learned from Fletcher Steele. The repetition of evergreen hedges, reminiscent of the Italian Rensaissance gardens that he loved, not only gives form to the spaces but also ensures the year round visual appeal of the garden.
At the main living level of the house, Church redesigned the existing deck off the sun room and kitchen with a basketweave pattern (the same design was used at the 1948 Donnell garden in Sonoma) that eliminates the linearity inherent in a more typical wood deck and lends an informality to the space. As the sun room opens directly onto the main terrace of the garden, the deck is effectively an extension of the interior living area. This relationship of the indoor-outdoor spaces is a signature design element in Church’s work. To integrate the Edwardian house with the more “modern” garden he designed a classic balustrade--which is repeated at different levels--as the guard rail of the deck and the upstairs porch.
Off the west end of the deck, exposed aggregate concrete walks with wood joints emanating from the shape of the lawn panel--a rectangle with mitered corners--define the flower and herb beds for the main level of the garden. Exposed aggregate with wood joints was a favorite paving choice of Church's that has endured in most of his surviving gardens.
In the corners close to the street side, Church specified Pittosporum undulatum standards to help screen the imposing apartment building across the street from view.
Lawn panel with sundial.
Mirroring the Victoria box are two dwarf lemon trees next to the deck--one was existing and Church added the other to balance the composition.
The second tier is composed of three spaces: the central one is formed by a cobblestone wall to retain the specimen pepper tree. Church designed the beds around this area with a semi-circle and preserved the ground under the tree as a flat plane.
California pepper tree in central planting bed.
The central bed is flanked by twin stairs that reinforce axial design. To the west, a series of three terraces for perennials, flowering shrubs and roses was designed using the informal cobblestones to retain the beds perpendicular to the stairway.
On the east side, rectangular raised beds for more shade-tolerant plants are parallel to the stairway. The central axis was thereby developed without the usual symmetry of the garden areas on each side of the stairs.
To screen the close neighboring house along the east border of the garden, Church planted a hedge of Pittosporum eugenioides (Tarata), while retaining a “palm” tree (actually Dracena draco).
East side with "hedge" now grown as trees and stairway with new railing.
At each end of the sloping bed, he specified Canary Island pines (Pinus canariensis), no longer present. Wide, low-rise steps running parallel to the bed follow the slope of the hill down to the lower garden at the northeast corner of the lot.
Semi-circular planting bed near pepper tree and balustrade at overlook.
The third tier of the upper garden may be reached by either set of stairs leading to another deck, or “overlook” as designated by Church, with several options for dining, entertaining and enjoying the views. A belvedere, with another elegant balustrade, frames this deck in front of the upper lawn panel.
The twin gazebos are anchored by four parterres forming a central octagon, with rose standards in beds framed by clipped boxwood hedges.
Floor of gazebo: exposed aggregate hexagon.
The composition of the parterres formed the balanced cross of the axial layout. The Berrigans furnished the belvedere with a dining table and each gazebo sheltered a small table and chairs (see bird's eye view photograph at beginning of article).
The original planting concept included six flowering cherry trees wrapping around the top tier wall as a backdrop, with a location for a figurative sculpture designated, but the trees were apparently not planted as they do not appear in any record photographs of the garden. The emphatic Agapanthus were planted and remain.
Wood seat wall with Agapanthus and Cotoneaster.
Church's plan repeated the Canary Island pines from the east side in two other locations: one on the west side in the second tier and one on the uphill side of the small garage (located at the southwest end of the property).
Crow's nest.
A small stair along the east side of the hill leads to the crow’s nest, which is framed by another balustrade. The rocky slope below is covered with ivy and was to be planted with Aleppo pines (Pinus halepinsis) and Acacia verticillata, selected for their adaptability to poor conditions. Only one out of six specified trees survived to 1997.
To screen the garden from passersby along the street side, Church designated two additional Victorian box (Pittosporum undulatum), duplicating the lower pair, and a hedge of Monterey cypress (Cupressus macrocarpa) which was to be kept at the fence height. The cypress was substituted with Pittosporum crassifolium (Karo). (See bird's eye view photograph at beginning of this article.)
One of the hallmarks of every Church garden is the seamlessness of the circulation. He emphasized the importance of being able to get around and through the entire space. The walkways and stairs not only achieve this but were designed in conjunction with the necessary retaining walls and with a careful attention to the integrity of the design. Each planting bed is easily accessible for viewing and care. The steps adhere to the Church formula for the rise and run relationship, so there is ease in ascending and descending and always a feeling that the stairway, walks and spaces are more than ample.
Church chose structural planting to support and complement the existing plants favored by his clients. His selections included Pittopsorum tobira ‘Variegata’ (Variegated Tobira), Pittosporum undulatum, Pittosporum eugenioides, Eugenia myrtifolia (now known as Syzygium paniculatum), Myrtus communis (Myrtle), Buxus microphylla japonica (Japanese boxwood), and Cupressus macrocarpa, mostly planted as hedges and often repeated through the garden to unify it. His palette was typically restrained and provided the backdrop for his clients to select flowering perennials and annuals. The original planting sketch illustrated rose standards in the upper tier parterres and listed rose bush selections for the terraces along the western side, but they were likely Mary’s and included shades of pink, white and lavender flowers (‘Briarley’, ‘Fashionette’, ‘Pink Radiance’, ‘Sterling Silver’, ‘Ivory Fashion’ and ‘Kordes Perfecta’).
Topiaried Hollywood juniper.
As a nod to the formality of the layout, Church often used topiary, particularly at entries. At his own home, not far from here, the opera stairs leading to his front door were flanked by a matched pair of poodle-cut boxwoods. His plan for the Berrigans specified topiaried Hollywood junipers flanking the belvedere (overlook) as well as street side entry to the garden, near the house.
Church’s low-maintenance shrub and perennial choices, most of which also added floral scent and color, included Agapanthus africanus (Lily-of-the-Nile), Escallonia rubra, Camellia, Choisya ternata (Mexican orange), Andromeda (Pieris floribunda), Osmanthus fragrans (Sweet Olive) and Hebe.
Syringa x hyacinthiflora
For seasonal color and interest he specified flowering crabapple, purple-leaf plum, flowering cherry, Cotoneaster parneyi, Quince, Lilac and Weigela.
The plantings were carefully staggered with a heirarchy of sizes and forms to maintain a multiplicity of views within and beyond the garden walls. A garden is not stagnant, of course, and over time it evolved. Some plants disappeared and new species were introduced.
Typical of Church’s designs, there are built-in places to sit throughout the garden: all the walls are just the right height for sitting but not so high as to obstruct the view of any of the planting.
Sunburst lights in gazebo.
An early advocator of garden lighting to extend the livability of gardens, Church fitted the gazebos with sunburst light fixtures with multi-colored glass panels and two copper Copenhagen light standards (Church purchased these on a trip to Denmark and used them in selective gardens, including his own, over the latter half of his career) were installed at the base of the stairs on each side of the pepper tree to illuminate the main level of the garden. The garden’s ornamental accoutrements are also representative of Church’s stylistic choices and recommendations, including the Copenhagen lights, a sundial in the center of the lawn panel at the lower level and a figurative sculpture at the base of the hillside as the terminus of the axis of the garden.
The garden was bequeathed to the City of San Francisco by Mary Fay Berrigan and is named for her because the property had been in her family for over 100 years. The first house was built there in 1869 by Mary’s great uncle, David Fay, who made his fortune in soap manufacturing. The second house, which remains, was built in 1912 by Mary’s father, Luke Fay (1961-1933). Mary lived in the house as a child and for the last 35 years of her life. Mary’s bequest intended for the garden to become a park. In 2002, the landscape architectural firm of Royston Hanamoto Alley & Abey along with the San Francisco Recreation & Park Department, prepared a historic assessment report for rehabilitation of the garden, which had suffered from neglect and deferred maintenance. As a city park, the garden had to be adapted for safety and accessibility. Additionally, to maintain the park within budgetary constraints and the capabilities of the SFRPD gardening staff, many of the garden’s original materials and plants were changed and there have been alterations to access and egress points which also slightly altered the circulation through the garden. Visitors to the garden are unaware of the changes because the design character of the garden with its high degree of integrity is intact. True to most of Church’s work, there is a timelessness to the garden which may be its single most identifiable characteristic. It provides a peaceful respite from the hubbub of the city and a glimpse into the remarkable work of this great landscape architect.
Fay Park is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and is located at 2366 Leavenworth Street, corner of Chestnut, on Russian Hill in San Francisco, California.
Fay Park is maintained by the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department with oversight by the Fay Park Citizens Advisory Committee (composed of 12 members representing various neighborhood associations, a Fay-Berrigan family member, an architect, a landscape architect and a historian). The garden may be rented for events (weddings are the most common)--see the SFRPD website for contact information. The house is available to lease, with a rent-back option for much-needed repair and renovation. Contact Nicholas Kinsey: Nicholas.Kinsey@sfgov.org.
The garden will be featured on The Cultural Landscape Foundation's "What's Out There Weekend" in San Francisco tour September 17-18, guided by yours truly. (http://www.tclf.org)
The Berrigan-Fay garden is also documented in:
Gardens are for People - Second Edition, by Thomas D. Church; Grace Hall and Michael Laurie, editors, 1983, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York.
Here Today, San Francisco’s Architectural Heritage, by Roger Olmsted and T.H. Watkins, 1969, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.
House Beautiful, June 1960.
Your Private World, by Thomas D. Church, 1969, Chronicle Books, San Francisco, CA.
