By Carl Nolte, Columnist July 13, 2024 - San Francisco Chronicle
When Amy Meyer was a young woman just out of college living in Brooklyn and thinking of the next chapter in her life, she went to her father for advice. He was a lawyer, wise in the ways of the world. “I was thinking of going into law, or art or medicine,’’ she remembers. ‘Instead, he said, ‘You should become a secretary or a nurse.’ ’’
It was not that long ago: mid-’50s, in New York. “Women were expected to get married, stay home and raise children,” Meyer said. “ ‘Oh, no,’ I said. ‘I need to get away.’ ’’
And she did. She and her new husband, George Meyer, a psychiatrist, moved to San Francisco and changed this part of the world.
Amy Meyer was a key figure in the creation of a huge national park centered around San Francisco’s Golden Gate — a park that includes everything from Alcatraz Island, a redwood forest, a dozen beaches spread along a dramatic coastline, 140 miles of trails, 758 historic buildings covering more than 128 square miles, an area more than 2½ times the size of San Francisco. Last year it attracted 14.9 million visitors.
“No other city in America — or perhaps the world — has anything to compare to this,’’ the Sierra Club said.
The National Park Service calls Amy Meyer the “Mother of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.”
I caught up with Meyer a couple of days ago in her comfortable house in San Francisco’s Richmond District. It’s where the huge park began.
How one S.F. woman helped create the Bay Area’s grandest national park
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