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Lloyd Lake (San Francisco)
Encyclopedia
Lloyd Lake is a lake
in Golden Gate Park
, San Francisco, that is the home to a wide variety of non-native, non-migratory bird
s. Birds to be found within the lake area include geese, Peking duck
s, Muscovy ducks
, Campbell ducks, mallard
s, gull
s and pigeons.
The lake is also home to some early San Francisco architecture : the remains of Alban Nelson Towne's 1101 California Street, Nob Hill
house can be found by the lake, between JFK Drive and Crossover Drive. After the 1906 earthquake
and fire devastated the building, his wife presented the portico, popularly known as "Portals to the Past", to the park in 1909.
Lloyd Lake is named in memory of Reuben Headley Lloyd, the park commissioner.
The site is mentioned in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Vertigo" (1958) as a place where
Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak
) enters a trance and becomes possessed. In their book "Footsteps in the Fog", Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal note the care with which Hitchcock described the precise location of "Portals of the Past" even though the site is never actually shown in the film.
A number of urban myths exist concerning both Lloyd Lake and the Portals. Some relate sightings of ghostly figures or small floating luminous globes. The location was described by Spiritualists of the early 20th century as "a place that opens the receptive soul to dangerous influences. It should not be visited carelessly." No corroboration or evidence of any kind exists to support such urban legends concerning Lloyd Lake. The Portals are often referred to by locals as the "Shadowbox" because of supposed occult occurrences and sightings.
Arthur Conan Doyle
, an avid Spiritualist, visited the site during his 1923 stay in San Francisco. There is no record of Conan Doyle's reaction.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
in Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park
Golden Gate Park, located in San Francisco, California, is a large urban park consisting of of public grounds. Configured as a rectangle, it is similar in shape but 20% larger than Central Park in New York, to which it is often compared. It is over three miles long east to west, and about half a...
, San Francisco, that is the home to a wide variety of non-native, non-migratory bird
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
s. Birds to be found within the lake area include geese, Peking duck
Peking Duck
Peking Duck, or Peking Roast Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era, and is now considered one of China's national foods....
s, Muscovy ducks
Muscovy Duck
The Muscovy Duck is a large duck which is native to Mexico and Central and South America. A small wild population reaches into the United States in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas...
, Campbell ducks, mallard
Mallard
The Mallard , or Wild Duck , is a dabbling duck which breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand and Australia....
s, gull
Gull
Gulls are birds in the family Laridae. They are most closely related to the terns and only distantly related to auks, skimmers, and more distantly to the waders...
s and pigeons.
The lake is also home to some early San Francisco architecture : the remains of Alban Nelson Towne's 1101 California Street, Nob Hill
Nob Hill, San Francisco, California
Nob Hill refers to a neighborhood in San Francisco, California, centered on the intersection of California and Powell streets. It is one of San Francisco's 44 hills, and one of its original "Seven Hills."-Location :...
house can be found by the lake, between JFK Drive and Crossover Drive. After the 1906 earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
and fire devastated the building, his wife presented the portico, popularly known as "Portals to the Past", to the park in 1909.
Lloyd Lake is named in memory of Reuben Headley Lloyd, the park commissioner.
The site is mentioned in Alfred Hitchcock's film "Vertigo" (1958) as a place where
Madeleine Elster (Kim Novak
Kim Novak
Kim Novak is an American film and television actress. She began her career with her roles in Pushover and Phffft! but achieved greater prominence in the 1955 film Picnic...
) enters a trance and becomes possessed. In their book "Footsteps in the Fog", Jeff Kraft and Aaron Leventhal note the care with which Hitchcock described the precise location of "Portals of the Past" even though the site is never actually shown in the film.
A number of urban myths exist concerning both Lloyd Lake and the Portals. Some relate sightings of ghostly figures or small floating luminous globes. The location was described by Spiritualists of the early 20th century as "a place that opens the receptive soul to dangerous influences. It should not be visited carelessly." No corroboration or evidence of any kind exists to support such urban legends concerning Lloyd Lake. The Portals are often referred to by locals as the "Shadowbox" because of supposed occult occurrences and sightings.
Arthur Conan Doyle
Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
, an avid Spiritualist, visited the site during his 1923 stay in San Francisco. There is no record of Conan Doyle's reaction.