Prayerbook Cross

The Prayerbook Cross stands fifty-seven feet tall as a massive monument constructed from sixty-eight blocks of sandstone. It was unveiled on New Year's Day in 1894 to coincide with the San Francisco Midwinter Fair. The structure was paid for by a wealthy Philadelphia publisher named George Washington Childs. While it remains a looming presence in the park today, it was designed with the intention of being a visible maritime landmark that ships entering the bay could see from miles away. Over time, however, dense trees have grown up around the site, effectively hiding the monument from both the ocean and the nearby park paths.