1 The Presidio

The Presidio

San Francisco, CA USA

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 largest area "Main Post" is managed by the Presidio Trust, a Congressionally chartered nonprofit organization. The park is characterized by many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the San Francisco Bay.

The Presidio was recognized by Congress as a [National Historic Landmark, the highest historic designation that can be given in the U.S. This designation is given to a collection of structures and their related landscape which have nationally important historical integrity. The Presidio Trust Act calls for "preservation of the cultural and historic integrity of the Presidio for public use." The Act also requires that the Presidio Trust be financially self-sufficient by 2013. The result of these two imperatives are conflicts between maximizing income by leasing historic buildings, permitting public use despite most structures being rented privately, and preservation of the integrity of the National Historic Landmark District by maintaining the historic "sense of place" despite new construction, competing pressures for natural habitat restoration, and requirements for commercial purposes that impede public access. To date (2007) there is only a rudimentary visitors' center to orient visitors to the Presidio's history.

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History

The Presidio was originally a Spanish colonization of the Americas|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 1846, officially opened in 1848, and became home to several Army headquarters and units, the last being the US Sixth Army|United States 6th Army. Several famous U.S. generals from William Sherman to John Pershing made their homes here. During its long history, the Presidio was involved in most of America's military engagements in the Pacific. Importantly, it was the assembly point for Army forces that invaded the Philippines in the Spanish American War, America's first major military entanglement in the Asia/ Pacific region. It was the center for defense of the Western U.S. during WW II. The infamous order to inter Japanese-Americans, including citizens, during WW II was signed at the Presidio. Until its closure in 1995, the Presidio was the longest continuously operated military base in the United States.

There is a military cemetery here. Among the military people interred here is General Irvin McDowell who commanded the Union Army in the early days of the American Civil War and was defeated by the Confederates in the first major battle of the war, Bull Run (or Manassas). After he retired, he moved to California and died here in 1885 of a heart attack.

From the 1890s, the Presidio was home to the Letterman Army Hospital|Letterman Army Medical Center which was named, in 1911, for Jonathan Letterman, the medical director of the Army of the Potomac (American Civil War|Civil War). LAMC featured in every US foreign conflict during the 20th century by treating thousands of war wounded with high quality medical care.

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Chronology of Selected Historical Events

1776 Spanish Captain Juan Bautista de Anza leads 193 soldiers, women, and children on an epic trek from present day Tubac, Arizona, to San Francisco Bay.

September 17, Presidio begins as a Spanish garrison to defend 1776 Spain’s claim to San Francisco Bay and to support Mission Delores. The Presidio becomes the northernmost outpost of the declining Spanish Empire.

1794 Castillo de San Juaquin, an artillery emplacement built above present-day Fort Point, complete with iron or bronze cannon. Six may be seen in the Presidio today.

1776-1821 The Presidio is a simple fort made of adobe, brush and wood. It often is damaged by earthquakes or heavy rains.

Presidio soldiers’ duties are to support the Mission by controlling Indian workers, maintain order, and also to farm, ranch, and hunt in order to supply themselves and their families. Support from Spain is very limited.

1821 Mexico becomes independent of Spain. The Presidio receives even less support from Mexico. Residents of Alta California, which include the Presidio, debate separating entirely from Mexico.

1835 The Presidio garrison, led by Mariano Vallejo, relocates to Sonoma. A small detachment remains at the Presidio, which is in decline.

1846 American settlers and adventurers revolt against Mexican rule in Sonoma. Mariano Vallejo is imprisoned for a brief time. (Bear Flag Rebellion) Lieutenant John C. Fremont, a U.S. Army officer, with a small detachment of soldiers and frontiersmen crosses the Golden Gate in a boat to “capture” the Presidio against no resistance. A cannon “spiked” by Fremont remains on the Presidio today.

1846-1848 U.S. Army occupies the Presidio. The Presidio begins a long era directing operations to control and protect Native Americans as headquarters for scattered Army units on the West Coast.

1853 Work is begun on Fort Point, which becomes a fine example of coastal defenses of its time. Fort Point is the keystone of an elaborate network of fortifications to defend San Francisco Bay. These fortifications reflect 150 years of military concern for defense of the West Coast. Fort Point now stands beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

1861-1865 The American Civil War involves the Presidio. Colonel Albert Sydney Johnston protects Union weapons from being taken by Southern sympathizers in San Francisco. Later, he resigns from the Union Army and becomes a general in the Confederate Army. He is killed at the battle of Shiloh.

The Presidio organizes regiments of volunteers for the Civil War and to control Indians in California and Oregon during the absence of federal troops.

1872-1873 Modoc Indian Campaign (Lava Bed War) involves some Presidio troops and command in this major battle, the last large scale U.S. Army operation against Native Americans in the Far West.

1890 - 1914 Presidio soldiers become the nation’s first “park rangers” patrolling the new Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.

1898-1906 The Presidio becomes the nation’s center for assembling, training, and shipping out forces to the Spanish American War in the Philippine Islands and the subsequent Philippine-American War (Philippine Insurrection). Letterman Hospital is modernized and expanded to care for the many wounded and seriously ill soldiers from these campaigns. The Philippine campaign is an early major U.S. military intervention in the Asia/Pacific region. The Presidio will repeat this role as a launching point for forces or a receiving point for war wounded in later interventions and World War II in Asia as well as the Vietnam conflict and the Korean War.

1903 President Theodore Roosevelt visits the Presidio. His honor guard is from the African American “Buffalo Soldier” 10th Cavalry Regiment, then at the Presidio. This regiment took a large role in Roosevelt’s famous charge of San Juan Hill in Cuba.

1906 The San Francisco Earthquake of April, 1906 leads to immediate Army response directed by General Frederick Funston, who had earned the Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Philippines. Army units provide security and fight fires at thedirection of the city government. After the fire which resulted from the earthquake, Presidio soldiers provide security and give aid, food, and shelter to refugees.

1914 - 1916 The Presidio Commander, General John J. Pershing leads a Punitive Expedition against Mexico with the mission to eliminate the threat of Pancho Villa, a Mexican rebel and bandit, who conducted raids across the U.S. border. General Pershing’s family died in a tragic fire while he was away. Pershing later commanded all U.S. ground forces in Europe during WW I.

1915 Part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition is located on the Presidio water front, which is expanded by landfill for the purpose. Soldiers support with parades, honor guards, and artillery demonstrations. The Exposition was to celebrate opening of the Panama Canal.

1917 - 1918 The Presidio rapidly expands with new cantonments and training areas for World War I. Recruiting, training, and deploying units again become the Presidio’s role. A major officers training camp is located here. The waterfront area is covered by quickly assembled buildings and the railroad track into the Presidio is busy with wartime traffic.

The 30th Infantry Regiment, “San Francisco’s Own,” fights with distinction and earns the title “Rock of the Marne.”

1918 - 1920 The Presidio is the center for forming and training the Siberian Expeditionary Force. This is a little-remembered force that moves into Siberia at the end of the Russian Revolution. The mission of this force changes often. It encounters hostility from another part of the Expeditionary Force, Japan, fights bandits, and protects Allied civilians.

1920- 1932 The Presidio becomes home to Crissy Field, the major pioneering military aviation field located on the West Coast. Trailbreaking transpacific and transcontinental flights take place. At Crissy, future Generals “Hap” Arnold develop techniques as military aviators. Arnold later commands the Army Air Corps in WW II.

1941 - 1946 World War II sees intense activity at the Presidio. It continues as a coordinating headquarters, deployment center, and training site, as it was for most of its existence.The Western Defense Command is responsible for the defense of the West Coast. For a time this includes supervising combat in the Aleutian Islands.

The Presidio again is crowded with temporary barracks and training facilities. Letterman Hospital becomes crowded with casualties. At one point, entire trains arrived at the Presidio filled with war wounded from the battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

A Japanese Language School is set up to train Japanese- Americans to be interpreters in the war against Japan. Ironically, some of these soldiers would have their families interred in camps for the rest of the war, while they performed bravely in the Pacific.

1941 - 1945 The Commanding General of the Western Defense Command, General John L. DeWitt, responds to public hysteria directed against all Japanese on the West Coast. He recommends removing all Japanese, including citizens, from the Western Seaboard. The F.B.I. and some Western politicians also express alarm, although no incidents of sabotage occurred. President Roosevelt signs Executive Order 9066 on February 19, 1942, to direct removal of ethnicJapanese residents to internment camps.

1946 After WW II, the Presidio command is redesignated the Sixth U.S. Army. It is responsible, again, for Army forces in the Western U.S., training, supplies, and deployment. It also becomes the federal agency to coordinate disaster relief by the military.

A United Nations Committee visits the Presidio for the purpose of examining its suitability as the site of the future U.N. Headquarters.

1950 - 53 The Korean War again tasks the Presidio’s headquarters and support functions. Again, Letterman Hospital is mobilized to care for casualties from the war.

1951 The Presidio hosts ceremonies for signing the ANZUS Treaty, a security pact of Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. The U.S.- Japan Security Treaty is signed at the Presidio, while the Japanese Peace Treaty is signed in downtown San Francisco. These events again show the Presidio’s role in America’s growing involvement in Asia and the Pacific.

1961 -1973 The Presidio takes a supporting role in the Vietnam War. Antiwar demonstrations take place at the Presidio’s gates. A mutiny occurs at the Presidio stockade (prison). In the midst of Vietnam War turmoil, most local civilians continue to support the soldiers. For example, thousands volunteers help wounded soldiers at Letterman Hospital.

1991 The Presidio sends its few remaining units to war for the last time in Desert Storm, the First Gulf War. The role of Sixth Army is management of training and coordinating deployment of National Guard and Reserve units in the Western U.S. for Desert Storm.

1994 Sixth Army is inactivated. The Presidio is transferred to the National Park Service.

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Preservation

Image:Presidio trust.jpg|left|100px| After a hard-fought battle, the Presidio averted being sold at 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 most of 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 District|Marina in the East and on the Golden Gate Bridge in the West.

Image:Presidio sanfran.jpg|left|250px 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. Others include The Gordon Moore Foundation, Tides Foundation, Internet Archive, and a soon to be established museum in the memory of Walt Disney. Many various commercial enterprises also lease buildings on the Presidio.

The Presidio of San Francisco is the only U.S. national park with an extensive residential leasing program.

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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 [1] 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, California|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.

Image:Presidio_sf_kobbe.jpg|left|190px| 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.

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Popular culture

In the fictional universe of Star Trek, the Presidio is the location of Starfleet Academy.
In the final episode of "Star Trek: Voyager", Admiral Janeway points out to her present-day self that the U.S.S. Voyager is preserved and located on the grounds of the Presidio.
The Presidio (film)|The Presidio, a 1988 American action movie starring Sean Connery, is set in and around the military base.
The 2005 television movie Murder at the Presidio is loosely based on actual events.
In the 2004 Metallica movie, "Some Kind Of Monster" the guys in Metallica start recording their new album at the Presidio. James Hetfield then leaves the band to attend rehab. The sessions were never used on the final album.

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External links

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An account by the builder of the Presidio
The National Park Service's official site of the Presidio
Taking the Waters at El Polin: Freshwater spring in the Presidio of San Francisco was the legendary source of pre-Columbian viagra.
The California State Military Museum, on the Letterman Army Hospital
WebCam showing Seacliff, Lands End and Pacific Ocean from the Presidio's Baker Beach
Letterman Digital Arts Center website
S. F Chronicle article regarding self-sufficiency
2002 article about Real Estate in the Presidio and its development
Presido Mutiny
Presidio RX: San Francisco running group that meets for recreational runs on the Presidio trails.
[2] Historical association which is active at the Presidio.

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