Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”.
Bhutan • 11 days, 10 nights
Festivals & Temples of Bhutan
from
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The truth is out there—somewhere.
The Truth Is Out There at the Dreamland Resort (or Should We Say ‘Area 51?’)
21 days ago
Edward Payson Weston
How the 6-Day Race Became an American Spectator Obsession
22 days ago
Alresford Spy Toilet
This Public Bathroom in a Sleepy English Village Was an Epicenter for Cold War Espionage
24 days ago
Manhattan Well
The Manhattan Well: How Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton United to Solve a Murder Mystery
25 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States California San Francisco Site of the Golden Gate Speed Road

Site of the Golden Gate Speed Road

Once the site of speeding horses, now home to picnickers and public concerts.

San Francisco, California

Added By
Douglas
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
The Golden Gate Speed Road once cut through Hellman Hollow  
The Golden Gate Speed Road once cut through Hellman Hollow  
Map of Golden Gate Park in 1896, after the construction of Speed Road. Compare this route to the current map of Golden Gate Park.  
Map of Golden Gate Park in 1876, prior to Speed Road.  
  SEANETTA / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

The pastoral vision of Golden Gate Park's original designers incorporated miles of winding paths, perfect for quiet contemplation or a languid stroll. But some big names in San Francisco looked at the park's wide open spaces and saw the perfect place for something else - break-neck horse racing.

Golden Gate Park is a complete fabrication - a lush landscape imposed on a sea of sand dunes in the 1870s. The original plans for the park intended for people to explore slowly, on foot or on horseback. The speed limit for horses in the park was only ten miles an hour - nowhere near fast enough for the upper class gentlemen of San Francisco, where horse racing was a social event for the elite to see and be seen at, and naturally to bet on whose horse was the fastest.

Decades of red tape ($35,000 to fund construction and two groundskeepers, all to be raised privately) was intended to dissuade the affluent equestrian class from changing the character of the park. However in 1894 the new "Speed Road" was completed and opened for use, thanks to the deep pockets of local titans of industry including Leland Stanford, Adolf Sutro, Adolph Bernard Spreckels, and Charles Crocker. Just over one mile in length, the curved straightaway was divided for racing in both directions, and graded and paved with clay. At the outset it was a beauty, and must have been a lovely place. 

Sadly, Speed Road didn't last long, as the horse owners who petitioned for the track to be built soon forgot that they were responsible for maintenance, and it quickly fell into disrepair.

Beginning in 1904 the polo field was constructed nearly in the middle of Speed Road. Hardly any polo matches happen here these days, where it is more common to see a soccer or football game between local high school teams. The region around old Speed Road and the polo field is still the home of SF Equestrian pursuits, with the Golden Gate Equestrian Center just to the north and the Bercut Equitation Field to the west of the Polo Field.

The end of the Speed Road came with the Earthquake of 1906, when temporary refugee camps were erected in Golden Gate Park. "Camp Speedway" aka "Camp Six" housed approximately one thousand displaced San Franciscans alone. The encampment slowed construction on the polo field, and all but obliterated the Speed Road.

Recently, Speedway Meadows was renamed Hellman Hollow in tribute to the late Warren Hellman. Hellman was the financier behind the free, and incredibly popular annual "Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival." This festival brings in music lovers of all types from all over to Golden Gate Park. It is no small event, and features some of the biggest and best names in (mostly, but not always) American music.

Entertainingly, in the long run the bicycle ended up having a greater ultimate impact on the park than horses. A path was originally built for bicycle use along what would eventually become Kennedy Drive, one of the busiest thoroughfares in Golden Gate Park. The irony gets thicker, in that the remnants of the old Speed Road are by now mostly re-purposed into San Francisco Bicycle Path 830.

Regardless, the conspicuously open straight path through the planted trees is still a visual clue to the former path of Speed Road. With a little imagination, it is not hard to imagine the adrenaline fueled races that once charged through its center.

 

Related Tags

Plants Natural History Wondrous Performances

Community Contributors

Added By

Claymore

Edited By

SEANETTA

  • SEANETTA

Published

July 27, 2011

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://www.davidrumsey.com
  • http://www.outsidelands.org/moreNeighborhoodPhotos.php?n=Golden_Gate_Park&k=parks
Site of the Golden Gate Speed Road
Speedway Meadows
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco, California, 94122
United States
37.76904, -122.483519
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Site of 1906 Earthquake Refugee Camps

San Francisco, California

miles away

Portals of the Past

San Francisco, California

miles away

Prayer Book Cross

San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of San Francisco

San Francisco

California

Places 217
Stories 50

Nearby Places

Site of 1906 Earthquake Refugee Camps

San Francisco, California

miles away

Portals of the Past

San Francisco, California

miles away

Prayer Book Cross

San Francisco, California

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of San Francisco

San Francisco

California

Places 217
Stories 50

Related Places

  • Tulare County, California

    Mark Twain Stump

    The last remnant of a tree that helped prove to the world that sequoias are real—and they’re spectacular.

  • 'Plant Life Through The Ages'

    Northampton, Massachusetts

    'Plant Life Through The Ages'

    A series of murals depict the evolution of plant life from the Precambrian to the modern day.

  • A large burrow at the base of the tree.

    Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

    John Goodway Sycamore Tree

    This massive sycamore tree has been labeled as one of the largest in the state.

  • The rounded base of an Eospermatopteris stump.

    Gilboa, New York

    Gilboa Fossils

    This Catskills museum preserves stumps from the earliest known fossil forest on Earth.

  • Tree Climbing Planet

    Oregon City, Oregon

    Tree Climbing Planet

    This Oregon farm is dedicated to teaching people the professional art of tree climbing.

  • Brazil

    Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara

    Site full of incredible prehistoric paintings and archeological findings.

  • Sacramento, California

    Monkey Puzzle Tree

    Puzzling...this tree looks like an assemblage of dismembered monkey limbs.

  • The Palm house

    Edinburgh, Scotland

    The Royal Botanic Gardens of Edinburgh

    One of the oldest scientific gardens in Britain, containing more than 13,302 plant species in its core collection.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.