32 REPORT OF PARK COMMISSIONERS 



Along the line of Fulton street and between Eleventh and 

 Thirteenth avenues, a large quantity of material has been de- 

 livered for the fill required in that neighborhood. Twelve 

 thousand cubic yards were needed. The surplus taken from the 

 Geary Street railroad was delivered free of cost to the Park 

 Commission. 



The annual repairing of roads and drives required a large 

 quantity of oil and many loads of rock. -The material was 

 used chiefly on the Main Drive to the Beach, the Great High- 

 way and the Middle and South Drives. 



THE MUSEUM 



The Fine Arts Building of the Midwinter Fair was given 

 to the city in 1894 for a Memorial Museum. The collection of 

 pictures, relics, statuary, and other articles, is indeed interest- 

 ing, but the building in which the treasures are stored is in- 

 adequate in space and not well suited in design. However 

 the Museum is growing in worth and popular appreciation. 

 The attendance of visitors is growing larger every year. The 

 records of the turnstile show that 579,321 visitors entered the 

 Museum in 1911. The value of the collection, if value of this 

 character can be measured by a money standard, is more than 

 one million dollars, but the only insurance carried is that which 

 covers the collection of paintings and fabrics loaned to San 

 Francisco by Miss Sarah M. Spooner, of Philadelphia. Owing 

 to the meagre allowance for park purposes in the Charter, 

 the Commissioners have not at their disposal means for the 

 adequate insurance of the entire collection, hence every pre- 

 caution is taken to guard against loss by fire or theft. It should 

 be noted again, to the end that the Board of Supervisors may 

 clearly appreciate the situation, that the cost of maintaining 

 the Museum comes out of the allowance for the maintenance 

 of parks. Reference to the financial statement of the Secretary 

 which is embodied in this report shows that the sum required 

 for the Museum is not inconsiderable. For salaries, lights, fire 

 extinguishers, fuel, and general supplies, the Commissioners 



