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8.B. - Page 21 <br /> WELLESLEY PARK <br /> HALS NO. CA-44 <br /> PAGE 6 <br /> streets, soils, and plantings, were outlined, and the picturesque effects of the <br /> curving roads and mature landscaping emphasized. <br /> The development was intended to be exclusive: "In order to effectually protect <br /> the interest and comfort of those who make their homes in Wellesley Park, the <br /> name of each intending purchase is submitted to a committee of gentlemen <br /> selected from the share-holders, who pass upon his desirability as a resident. <br /> Should he be deemed an unwelcome addition, the price of a Wellesley homestead <br /> is set so far beyond his reach that the hint is conclusively positive" (O'Connell, <br /> 1889:6). <br /> The suburbanization and ease of access to the Santa Clara Valley as described in <br /> the brochure was premature: "With this increased population will arrive the <br /> necessity of a more perfect system of railroad facilities. A double-track is the <br /> inevitable sequence of the general land distribution which has distinguished this <br /> year. This project is generally known as the `shore line' and will bring Redwood <br /> City within thirty-five minutes of San Francisco. Therefore, within the very near <br /> future, Wellesley Park will be as accessible to San Francisco as the Western <br /> Addition" (Views of Wellesley Park). The suburban boom did not happen until <br /> after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire, and the subdivision was not <br /> substantially developed until after the 1920s, when it became more easily <br /> accessible by car. <br /> Daniel O'Connell <br /> Daniel O'Connell, who conceived Wellesley Park, was a journalist and founding <br /> member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco. O'Connell was from Ireland <br /> and arrived in America as a midshipman in the British Navy. After two teaching <br /> positions, he found his vocation as a reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle. He <br /> is said to have penned the name "Bohemian Club," and was especially popular for <br /> his contributions to entertainment venues of the club (The Bohemian Club, 1872 <br /> 1972:104). <br /> O'Connell's project to develop the Wellesley Park subdivision fell short due in <br /> part to the Panic of 1893 and he retired first to Monterey and then Sausalito, <br /> where he died of pneumonia in 1889. His eulogy attested to the great esteem with <br /> which he was held by his Bohemian Club colleagues, despite his failures as a real <br /> estate magnate. It affectionately read, "It occurred to them [fellow members of <br /> the Bohemian Club] that of all men to be publicity and promotion manager Dan <br />