December 5, 2024
Picture of the month prepared by Andrew Stone, Hydrogeologist, andrewstone@gmail.com
GOLDEN GATE PARK, SAN FRANCISCO, WIND PUMP
Ah! … This is NOT a windmill. Simple explanation is that this is a wind operated pump and not a wind operated mill. OK? Likewise, it is wind turbines, not windmills that are contributing to the national electricity grid.
Photo Credit: Andrew Stone
The origins of the San Francisco wind pumps (there were two) began in the late 1800s when irrigation water was needed or the west end of the 1,000-acre Golden Gate Park. Initially, water was supplied by the Spring Valley Water Company, but the City of San Francisco realized that pumping their own groundwater from the old sand-dune aquifer beneath the park was a much less expensive option. The first windpump was completed in 1903 and produced 2,000 gallons an hour. A second wind pump was constructed in 1908 with a pumping capacity of 40,000 gallons per hour. The George E. Dow Pumping Company installed the pump system(photo 1). Together, the two windmills pumped up to 1.5 million gallons a day to reservoirs in the park(photo 2). However, by 1913 the wind driven pumps were replaced by electric pumps. After many decades of disrepair, action by conservation groups has led to restoration of both windmills as historic monuments. (Few people know when they were built, what they were built for or are likely to ever call them by their correct functional name of windpump!)
WIND PUMPS (WINDMILLS) AT GOLDEN GATE PARK – SAN FRANCISCO
Photo Source: http://assets.ltkcontent.com/images/931020/golden-gate-park_3b74c0a0aa.jpg
For links and more information
Windmill Power for Golden Gate Park – 1914
Historical San Francisco News Update from 2000