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The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or Royal Presidio of San Francisco) is a park on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in the City and County of San Francisco. It is operated by the National Park Service of the United States as a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The park is characterized by many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the San Francisco Bay.
History The Presidio was originally a Spanish fort sited by Juan Bautista de Anza on March 28, 1776 built by a party led by José Joaquín Moraga later that year. It was seized by the U.S. Military in 1848 and was home to the United States 6th Army. Several famous U.S. generals from William Sherman to John Pershing made their homes here. Until its closure in 1995, it was the longest continuously-operated military base in the United States. Preservation After a hard-fought battle, the Presidio averted an auction and came under the management of the Presidio Trust, a US Government Corporation established by an act of Congress in 1996. The Presidio Trust now manages the park in partnership with the National Park Service. The Trust has jurisdiction over the interior 80 percent of the Presidio, including nearly all of its historic structures. The National Park Service manages coastal areas. One of main objectives of Presidio Trust’s program was achieving financial self-sufficiency by fiscal year 2013. Thanks to rents from residential and commercial tenants, this happened well ahead of schedule, in 2006. Immediately after its inception, the Trust began preparing rehabilation plans for the park. Many areas had to be decontaminated before they could be prepared for public use. Crissy Field, a former airfield, has undergone extensive restoration and now serves as very popular recreational area. It borders on the San Francisco Marina in the East and on the Golden Gate Bridge in the West. The park has a large network of buildings (~ 800), many of them historical. By 2004 about 50% of the buildings on park grounds have been restored and (partially) remodeled. The Trust has contracted commercial real estate management companies to help attract and retain residential and commercial tenants. The total capacity is estimated at 5,000 residents when all buildings have been rehabilitated. Among the Presidio's residents is The Bay School of San Francisco, a private coeducational college preparatory school located in the central Main Post area. The Presidio of San Francisco is the only U.S. national park with a residential program. Letterman Digital Arts Center and Lucasfilm A major financial win for the Trust was the deal it signed with Lucasfilm. The company has built a new facility called the Letterman Digital Arts Center (LDAC) which is now the headquarters of Industrial Light and Magic and LucasArts. The site was formerly home to the Letterman Hospital. George Lucas won the development rights for 15 acres (61,000 m²) of the Presidio, in June 1999, after beating out a number of rival plans * including a leading proposal by the Shorenstein Company. A massive $300 million development with nearly 900,000 square feet (84,000 m²) of office space and a 150,000 square foot (14,000 m²) underground parking garage with planned capacity of 2,500 employees has replaced the former ILM and LucasArts headquarters in San Rafael. Lucas Learning Ltd., Lucas Online, and the George Lucas Educational Foundation also reside at the site. Lucas' proposal included plans for a high-tech Presidio museum and a seven acre (28,000 m²) "Great Lawn" that is now open to the public. The Trust plans to create a promenade that will link the Lombard gate, the new Lucasfilm campus to the Main Post and ultimately to the Golden Gate Bridge. The promenade is part of a trails expansion plan that will add 24 miles (39 km) of new pathways and eight scenic overlooks throughout the park. Popular culture See also | ||||||||
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