Eucalyptus tree falls down on historic Trocadero Clubhouse
Relentless storms caused a giant eucalyptus tree to fall on the Trocadero Clubhouse in San Francisco’s Stern Grove early Saturday morning, destroying the elegant 19th century historic landmark.
An alarm drew San Francisco Recreation and Park Department rangers to the wooded area off 19th Avenue at about 5:30 a.m., when they learned an 85-foot tree had crushed the roof and eave of the inn, park officials said in a statement. The blow caused wood to splinter and left giant holes where gables and butter-yellow siding had been, while setting off a sprinkler system that flooded the interior.
Faced with extensive structural and water damage, officials at the Department of Building Inspection declared the clubhouse uninhabitable.
“This is soul crushing,” Phil Ginsburg, Rec and Park general manager, lamented in a statement. He urged residents and political leaders to rally their resources to save the local treasure, a onetime roadhouse for dancing and roulette betting most recently rented out for weddings, b’nai mitzvah, quinceañeras and other events.
City Supervisor Myrna Melgar was also despondent, tweeting photos of the wrecked house in a tangle of felled tree trunks and branches.
“It will be very expensive to repair, if repair is even possible,” she tweeted.
Several trees have toppled or wobbled in Stern Grove during the recent spate of storms, forcing officials to close most of the park to the public. A portion of the grounds has been closed since 2021 pending repairs to a pipe that burst, prematurely ending the Stern Grove Festival’s 2021 season.