Alamo Square, San Francisco

Alamo Square started as a lonely hilltop featuring a single cottonwood tree near a watering hole. In the nineteenth century, this spot served as a crucial waypoint for horse riders traveling between Mission Dolores and the Presidio. The name Alamo is the Spanish word for cottonwood, commemorating that solitary tree that once defined this windswept, rocky landscape. Mayor James Van Ness officially set aside these thirteen acres for public use in eighteen fifty-six, transforming a rugged watering stop into one of the city's first planned green spaces.