Music Concourse

The Music Concourse is an oval, sunken plaza defined by its rows of heavily pollarded London plane and elm trees. Created as the Grand Court of Honor for the eighteen ninety-four California Midwinter International Exposition, the nine-acre space was designed by civil engineer Michael O'Shaughnessy. After the fair closed, park superintendent John McLaren oversaw its conversion into a permanent public music venue, embedding the site into the landscape of Golden Gate Park.