You may now know Alamo Square Park by its name, but if you’ve ever watched the sitcom Full House that ran from 1987 to 1995, you are definitely familiar with it anyway. Alamo Square Park is the grassy land where the Full House characters frolic and play during the show’s opening credits, and the park overlooks the iconic victorian houses of San Francisco, California where the fictional Tanner family lives.
If you can conjure up an image of the Tanner family having a picnic in Alamo Square Park, you will remember the grass as lush and green. But 20 years after the Tanner said their goodbyes to evening TV, Alamo Square Park found itself in dire need of some restoration. The irrigation system has fallen into disrepair, the bathrooms were outdated, and the dog play area desperately needed new sod. On May 10, 2016, Alamo Square Park officially closed for at least nine months in order to make all of the necessary repairs.
The President of the Alamo Square Neighborhood Association, Lisa Zahner, explained to the public, “While the construction will inevitably be inconvenient for the neighborhood, in the long term, the replacement of the irrigation system, the re-sodding of certain sections of the park, and the brand new ADA-accessible bathroom will result in a better park for the community.”
One of the main elements of this long term construction project is the process of changing and upgrading the type of grass used. Alamo Square Park will now boast a special type of sod that can remain green and healthy even in times of drought, which California residents know are all too frequent. Between the more sustainable sod and irrigation repairs, the city of San Francisco can save three million gallons of water annually!
As of Tuesday, October 25, the sod was officially being laid and new trees planted, generating excitement among nearby residents for the park’s anticipated re-opening.