The windmills stand at the western edge of Golden Gate Park near Ocean Beach. KQED explains that in the late 1800s the park’s west end was mostly sand dunes. Turning it green took a lot of water, and the only supplier, the Spring Valley Water Company, repeatedly threatened to shut off the water and was charging the city $1,000 a month. Park officials found aquifers under the park and proposed windmills like those in Holland to pump the water out.
The Dutch and the Murphy
KQED says construction of the first windmill began on May 23, 1902, and finished a year later. It was called the Dutch windmill after its Netherlands models, and it had a rotating cap so the sails could face the wind. By June 1903 the San Francisco Call reported it was pumping 15,000 to 20,000 gallons an hour. KQED says it paid for itself in a year and a half, and the park sold surplus water to nearby neighborhoods. In 1905, First National Bank president S.G. Murphy donated $20,000 for a second, larger windmill. Named for him, it was completed in 1908 and could pump almost four times as much water.
Decline and restoration
By 1913, electric pumps had made the windmills unnecessary, and maintenance stopped. KQED says sand and salt air had badly damaged them by the 1950s, and the city denied requests for money to repair or demolish them. Preservation groups eventually raised money. The Dutch Windmill was cosmetically restored in 1981, and a more extensive renovation of the Murphy was completed in 2011. KQED says they sometimes turn for special events or maintenance.
The tulip garden
The Queen Wilhelmina Garden lies below the Dutch Windmill at 47th Avenue and the Great Highway. Rec and Park says the Dutch Bulb Growers’ Association donates bulbs each year and the tulips are usually in full bloom in March. The lawn in front of the windmill can also be booked for weddings.
For more of the park’s west end, see our Bison Paddock guide.