Patricia’s Green

David created a small Temple in a grocery store parking lot in San Rafael, California for the migrant day laborers there waiting and hoping to be picked for a job. They congregated on the sidewalks and under the shade of trees retreating from the hot sun. The small temple provided a space of their own offering solace as they waited to be hired. The City of San Rafael determined the structure was erected without permits and demanded it be removed. The story made the San Francisco television, newspaper and radio news. Mayor Gavin Newson saw the news story and directed his staff to contact David Best saying “I want that Temple in San Francisco”.

The result was a collaboration between the City of San Francisco, the San Francisco Arts Commission, and the Black Rock Arts Foundation created by Burning Man. The Tempel was erected in Patricia’s Green in Hayes Valley in a new park created from the destruction of a freeway off-ramp during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Patricia’s Green is now  a revolving site of large art installations managed by the San Francisco Art Commission.