Friends of Sunnyside Conservatory

Our Next Event: Be My Valentine

Show your Sweetie(s) some Love. Returning Saturday afternoon, February 11, 2012.

Note New Time this Year: 2-4 pm. Rain or Shine

The Valentine Card Party–the first community event held in the restored Conservatory–is now in its 3rd year. Like the Upcycled Holiday Card Party, we will have lots of examples and inspiration for making handmade cards using recycled, found, salvage, and everyday materials, along with some cardstock, punches, and other materials. Check out the event’s signature Envelope Bar where you can learn… Read More

Award-Winning Restoration

We couldn’t have been more pleased when the restoration of the Conservatory won Project of the Year Award 2009 for Historic Restorations (under $5 million). The award was granted to the San Francisco Department of Public Works by the Northern California chapter of the American Public Works Association covering 11 counties. See the restored Conservatory lit at dusk.

Learn more about the colorful history of the Conservatory. Curious about our custom paint palette?

Project: City + County of SF Recreation and… Read More

Concert: Lawrence-LaFlamme Ensemble

Friday March 9, 2012

8 pm. Doors open at 7.

$20 suggested donation. At the door or Brown Paper Tickets. Complimentary snacks and drinks available during intermission.

Legendary Rock violinist David LaFlamme, and vocalist wife, Linda, from the iconic 1960’s San Francisco group, It’s a Beautiful Day, join up with mandolin virtuoso Phil Lawrence and his accomplished sidemen, and fly on the wings of a White Bird into the Sunnyside Conservatory. They are playing a rare San Francisco performance, to… Read More

Enjoy the Quiet Gardens and Palm Grove.

After a busy fall and holiday season of events at the Conservatory, things quiet for public events January and the beginning of February. Take this opportunity to visit the Conservatory and grounds on your own.

Historic Chilean wine, Canary Island date, and Chinese windmill palms grace the exquisite Conservatory Garden. Jason Dewees of the Palm Broker @ Flora Grubb wrote a wonderful blog post about the Conservatory’s historic palm grove.

Shout-outs are in order to principal guardian angels of the Garden. San Francisco’s… Read More

Stay Tuned for our 2012 Live @ the Conservatory Concert Series!

At our last concert, Eliyahu Sills and Jason Ranjit Parmar, appearing as a duo, brought their inspiring musical talents for an intimate evening of the ney, (reed flute of the Middle East), Bansuri (bamboo flute from India), oud, Indian tablas and various percussion, for a contemplative evening of Indian Ragas along with Jewish & Sufi music from The Middle East and North Africa.

Travis Wernet, aka Outlaw Dervish, opened with an energetic, meditative solo didgeridoo set, drawing on Australian Aboriginal musical traditions in… Read More

Sunnyside Menagerie

We’re thrilled with our Menagerie in the Conservatory garden. When the Friends asked for “inventive delights” and “wonder, whimsy, and the stubbornly quirky and daring,” Wowhaus understood us. It was a joy to work with Scott + Ene during the process. Visitors always comment on the “fabulous,” “wonderfully odd,” “weird and groovy” sculptures, and the “elegant” design choices.

Sunnyside Menagerie is a collection of 23 fantastical bronze creatures designed by the artist team of Wowhaus. Commissioned by the SFAC’s

Foliage Exchange + Wreath Making

Thanks to everyone who shared the holiday spirit—and evergreen bounty from your garden—in our restored Conservatory. It was a great day of wreath and garland making with a hyper-local twist. Through a foliage exchange, participants created a holiday treasure—and tradition—in which the uniqueness and generosity of neighborhood shines through. A big thank you to loyal Friend Sally Ross for organizing us once again.

Our 4th annual event was held on a crisp Sunday, December 18, 2011, 12-3, Free.

A variety of greens

Winter Concert

Winter Choral + Harp Concert

A first-time addition to our Live @ the Conservatory Concert Series and what we hope to be a new holiday tradition.

Join us on Friday December 9th at 8:00 p.m. for a heartwarming Winter Choral Concert celebrating the season of peace, light, and community, performed by the Old First Church Choir under the direction of Dr. Jay A. Pierson.

The choir will feature professional Bay Area soloists and will be accompanied by Ron Valentino,… Read More

Grand Re-Opening

The Grand Re-Opening Day (December 5, 2009) was more wonderful that the Friends dared dream. Over 400 people showed up. We made that morning’s San Francisco Chronicle with a photo on the front page, the sun shone, bagpipes played, the mayor and dignitaries came, family and friends were there, the ribbon was cut, tours were given, the high-tea spread was bountiful, kids made souvenir buttons, and the community came together.

Here’s a three-minute video of Mayor Newsom saluting the Friends… Read More

History

How rare to come upon an authentic space of wonder in the middle of the city grid.

William Augustus Merralls, a British engineer and inventor, built this Victorian oasis next to his home on an old dairy farm, in the new Sunnyside District in 1898. Merralls’s original vision was to gather up exotic treasures for his own private delight. His home (now 258 Monterey) still stands today. A serial entrepreneur, Merralls made his money in the invention and sale of… Read More