Yerba Buena Gardens

San Francisco California

When European settlers came to the San Francisco Bay Area, they found wild mint growing all over its hills. This inspired them to name their early community “Yerba Buena,” Spanish for “good herb.” Bordered by Third and Fourth Streets on the East and West, Mission and Howard on the North and South, we find the most serene area in downtown San Francisco, called Yerba Buena Gardens.

Shoppers who tire of the bustle of Union Square can now walk down the pedestrian walkway that runs along the east side of the Marriott Hotel past historic Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church. There they will find a diverse mixture of San Francisco residents and visitors from all over the world enjoying Yerba Buena Gardens’ three-acre meadow. If it’s the summer time, the San Francisco Symphony or Opera may be previewing works at Yerba Buena Gardens.  Local musicians, artists, dancers and filmmakers display their skills at Center for the Arts Theatre and Visual Arts Center. Right across Third Street is the San Francisco Museum Modern Art, which augments its collection of the sculpture and painting with traveling exhibits of the highest caliber.

Follow the esplanade through the Yerba Buena Gardens past its granite waterfall. Beneath the waterfall, you will find glass panels inscribed with quotations from Dr. Martin Luther King JR’s greatest speeches translated into the languages of San Francisco’s 13 sister cities as well as African and Arab dialects. The meadow also includes a memorial to the Ohlone Indians who resided in the Bay Area prior to European settlers. This memorial was designed by Native American artists.

Yerba Buena Gardens

Up the stairs and across Howard Street, we find the children’s center with a playground, a restored carousel, interactive museum, and bowling alley. Also, the Yerba Buena Gardens are bordered on the west by the state-of-the-art entertainment facility known as The Metreon, which includes an sixteen screen multiplex (with an IMAX screen), video arcades, a children’s area based on the works of author Maurice Sendak, and an international food court featuring the cuisine from some of San Francisco’s finest restaurants.

There’s no doubt: In the Yerba Buena Gardens one can easily spend a wonderful day without ever leaving this four-block urban Eden located in down town San Francisco!

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