“Great cities are not made by automobiles, freeways and high rises. Basically, they are made by open spaces and the people who use the open spaces.”
—Lawrence Halprin, c. 1987
It started in the 1950s with plans to … Read more
As a teenager, the land of Israel captivated Lawrence Halprin (1916–2009). In 1929, at 13, he marked the ritual transition into Jewish adulthood and responsibility (bar mitzvah) in Jerusalem (then British-governed Palestine Mandate), where he and his family … Read more
Before I had cancer, I lived my life in service of dance, and after I had cancer, I danced in the service of life. – Anna Halprin
The pioneer avant-garde dancer Anna Halprin knows a thing or two about the … Read more
At Anna Halprin’s workshop at Moa Oasis, an ecological retreat in the southern Israeli desert, participants from all over the world created a ritual for peace, followed by a spontaneous dance of joy.
“Martha Graham used to say … Read more
As 2015 comes to a close, so, too, does the year-long, worldwide 95th birthday celebration for the postmodern dance pioneer Anna Halprin. National and international tributes have brought a renewed focus to Anna’s contributions to performance, choreography, and dance education.… Read more
![Lawrence Halprin, Yosemite Studies, 1970, watercolor over photocopy on paper; courtesy of the Halprin Family Archive and Edward Cella Art + Architecture “Studying the granite formations, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls [of Yosemite] and their evolution has formed the basis of my design philosophy.” —Lawrence Halprin](https://experiments.californiahistoricalsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/21161_h500w820gt-300x186.jpg)
On October 1, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed legislation establishing the country’s third national park at Yosemite. Congress had recognized Yosemite as worthy of protection since 1864, when in the midst of the Civil War it granted the magnificent and … Read more
August 16, 2015, concludes the 78th Stern Grove Festival—the annual outdoor performing arts event sponsored by the City of San Francisco—at the historic Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove south of Golden Gate Park.
As the season closes, we recall the history … Read more
Fifty years ago, from August 11 to 17, 1965, a community was shattered. A city was torn apart. Property was destroyed. Lives were lost.
The Watts Riots in Los Angeles—to some a riot, to others a rebellion—were set off by … Read more
It was late April 1945 and the war in Europe was nearing an end. On April 29, German forces surrendered in Italy. The next day, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. A few days later in Berlin, Soviet forces captured the German … Read more
