California Pacific Medical Center – courtyard, Pacific Heights, Buchanan at Clay, San Francisco
Labyrinths are maze-like paths used for thousands of years in design and public structures. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, I have seen two types of public labyrinths: those inspired by the design on the floor of Chartres Cathedral (from around the year 1250) with 11 circuits and a distinct flower-like center, and the much-older classical Greek or Cretan patterns. Walking a labyrinth is a popular form of meditation, particularly in hospitals and Christian church buildings and gardens. Some groups think so highly of this calming exercise, that they have painted portable labyrinths on canvas for spiritual retreats in places where no permanent labyrinth exists. Some of the public labyrinths in the San Francisco Bay Area may be visited at:
- Grace Cathedral – main floor inside, San Francisco – Nob Hill
- California Pacific Medical Center – courtyard, Pacific Heights, Buchanan at Clay, San Francisco (pictured above)
- All Saints Episcopal Church – courtyard, 555 Waverly Street at Hamilton, Palo Alto (pictured below)
- El Camino Hospital – inside main lobby, 2500 Grant Road, Mountain View (pictured below)
- Saint Thomas Episcopal Church – courtyard, 231 Sunset Avenue, Sunnyvale (pictured below)
- Saint Francis Episcopal Church – courtyard, 1205 Pine Avenue, Willow Glen – San Jose
- Lincoln Avenue downtown bench near Meredith Avenue, Willow Glen – San Jose (pictured below)
Other Labyrinths in the area are listed here:
You can even have your own home labyrinth by buying a rug of that pattern from the Signals catalogue (pictured below).
El Camino Hospital – inside main lobby, 2500 Grant Road, Mountain View:
Saint Thomas Episcopal Church – courtyard, 231 Sunset Avenue, Sunnyvale:
Lincoln Avenue downtown bench near Meredith Avenue, Willow Glen – San Jose:
All Saints’ Palo Alto CA – Added March 2013:
Images Copyright 2011-2013 by Katy Dickinson
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