John McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell

The John McLaren Memorial Rhododendron Dell contains a life-size bronze statue of the man who served as the superintendent of Golden Gate Park for over fifty years. McLaren was a Scottish horticulturist who spent his life transforming the park’s original dunes into a lush landscape. He held a well-known disdain for statues and repeatedly fought city officials to keep them out of his park. When he lost these battles, he often ordered his staff to plant trees and shrubs around the monuments to hide them from view.