Gates of reclaimed steel, tile add to neighborhood

Welded steel gates festooned with leaves, flowers and a whimsical butterfly provide inviting entrances to the Visitacion Valley Greenway Project´s Children´s Play Garden near Monster Park.

The gates were designed by SF Recycling & Disposal employee Jim Growden at the behest of his wife Fran Martin. As cofounder of the Greenway Project, Martin helped turn six publicly owned vacant parcels into a two-acre greenbelt that is now home to a children´s playground, and community, herb, agriculture and native-plant gardens that function as outdoor classrooms and recreation areas.

Growden, whose avocation is sculpture, forged his connection with SF Recycling & Disposal in 1990 as one of the first participants chosen for the company´s Artist In Residence Program. Since the program´s inception, 65 artists have created showpieces from objects found at the city dump to inspire others to recycle more.

In 2000, Growden joined SF Recycling & Disposal as an employee with the Waste Acceptance Control Program.

When he´s not inspecting incoming loads at the transfer station, Growden designs garden gates and works on other sculptures. He cuts and forms the steel himself, then SF Recycling welders prepare the gates for installation.

"When I first asked my employer for permission to search for materials to construct the gates, I received much more than I had hoped," Growden says. "I also was told I could have work space for the project and the help of company welders Peter Bross and John Amador."

SF Recycling & Disposal also paid for the gates´ construction and provided landscaping materials and compost. The steel Growden used for the gates was pulled out of the garbage at the city dump.

Three sets of gates have been completed and four more are planned. The Greenway Project, which received two San Francisco Beautiful Awards, has rejuvenated the Visitacion Valley neighborhood, Martin says.

As if on cue, an 8-year-old boy runs through the gates to the play structure.