Stern Grove Festival

The valley you are entering was once the site of the Trocadero Inn, an elite nineteenth century resort that served as a private retreat until prohibition forced its closure. In the early nineteen thirties, Rosalie Meyer Stern purchased the twelve acres of land from the owners to memorialize her late husband, Sigmund Stern, who was a prominent civic leader and executive at Levi Strauss and Company. She gifted the entire property to the city of San Francisco with the strict requirement that it forever serve as a recreational space for the public. Her vision for the site focused on its unique topography, specifically how its location below sea level creates a natural bowl that protects visitors from the city's signature cold winds and heavy fog.