18.10.06

F I R S TP R E V410NEXTLAST

Identified Object, Golden Gate Park
While the history of this Kasuga Lantern is known (it was given to the city in 1969 by the people of Japan to honor those Japanese who emigrated to the U.S. since 1869), the origin of some other objects in the park are a little more uncertain.

In 1990 a city worker dumped a solid granite traffic bollard in the park near John F. Kennedy Drive. The phallus-shaped structure began to attract Hindus and other worshippers who saw it as a Shiva Linga, the symbol of the god, Shiva. The worshippers assembled a shrine around it, made pilgrimages, prayed, and gave offerings. The faithful even attempted to cordon off area for devotions. A lawsuit by the city followed but the religious group won and in 1994 the bollard was moved from the park to a sacred spot inside the Hindu Kali Dass in the Sunset District.
[ MAP I-8 ]


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