Photo Essay - A Sample of Historic Buildings in the Presidio

Building 50. the Officers’ Club. The Officers’ Club is the oldest building in the Presidio and is the largest surviving Spanish Colonial military building in California. The building was built

between 1776 and 1824. Today the buildings is rented as event space and is the current home of the National Park Service’s visitor center.

Building 102 was once a men’s barracks. It was built in 1895. After the transition from military post to national park the building was used for a time as the National Park Service’s visitor center. They moved out and into the officers club in order to do retrofitting on building 102. However, the cost of the retrofitting became too expensive. Plans for the building are now on hold.

Building 36 was constructed in 1886. The army built two of these Italianate style barracks. One of the buildings was removed in 1912 to make room for new buildings. Building 36 is currently serving as the Presidio Graduate School.

Building 59 was constructed in 1885 in the Queen Anne style, which was imported from England during the mid nineteenth century. It was constructed as officer’s quarters for an officer with a family. The house is currently a residential home.

Building 45, Chapel of Our Lady, was originally constructed in 1864 but was redone in 1952 and 1970. The building is still a religious structure.

Building 1016 was constructed in 1899 as the administration building for the general hospital. It is currently leased out to nonresidential organizations.

Building 1007 was built in 1901 as women’s barracks. It is currently used as government offices.

Building 225 was constructed in 1910 as a storehouse. It was built in the Utilitarian style. This style often employed inexpensive materials and limited applied details. The function of the building usually dictated the style. The building is still used for storage.

Pilot’s Row home. The houses in the Pilot’s Row neighborhood, located directly across from Golden Gate Bridge, were built in 1921. The 13 houses were constructed in the Colonial revival style to accommodate pilots who were based at Crissy Field. They are currently residential homes.

Building 1204 was built in 1910. It is a good example of a Presidio building in the Mission Revival style. It was originally built as enlisted men’s barracks.

Building 1450 was constructed in 1942 as part of the War World II building campaign in the Presidio. It was originally a radio transmitter and warhead supply shop built to serve the coastal defense batteries.

Frank Dean Talks about Historic Preservation

On Nov 18 at the Old Presidio Golf Club Frank Dean, a superintendent of the National Golden Gate Recreation Area spoke to a small audience on the role of the National Park Service in historic preservation and in education in history at national parks and the challenges it faces.

While the talk focused on the treatment of historical properties by the National Park Service on a largerscale the audience seemed more interested the Presidio Trust’s plans for development as well as the National Park Service’s role in the Presidio.

The Presidio Historical Association hosted the talk, which began with an introduction by the association’s president, Gary Widman. Widman made an announcement that the Presidio Trust is still planning on building a hotel in the main post area as well as tearing down the bowling center and building something new in its location.

Dean, who 30 years ago gave tours of the Presidio as an interpretive park ranger, has found himself coming full circle to again work in the same location.

Dean said that working with the Presidio Trust has been a unique process. Noting that they have a different mission then the National Park Service and that they have to cover their costs. The park service was given Area A, which includes Crissy Field and they were given interpretation, park rangers explaining the history of the park, they also have formal programs in place. However Dean says that he “would like to spice it up a bit.”

He said that the Presidio Trust wants to see an agreement in broad terms about what will happen at a site, but the National Park Service whose opinion holds some weight needs more information, “ we can’t approve anything without knowing more.”

As far as main post planning goes Dean said, “keep it constructive, keep it positive.”

Lucia Bogatay, a member of the audience, asked if the Presidio Trust were to give the Presidio back to the park service, would they want it back?

Dean replied by saying that, “it looks good, I don’t always agree with them [the Presidio Trust] but they have done good things.” He continued by saying that the trust has legal flexibilities that the National Park service does not have.

To questions about creating a modern visitor center in the Presidio Dean responded by saying that they need to get back to the main post. A visitor center was located in building 102 on the main post but they moved out for retrofitting, which became too expensive. The visitor center for the Presidio is temporarily located in the Officer’s Club.

Dean also spoke about there being 12 national registered properties, 739 historical structures and 61 archeological sites within the National Golden Gate Recreation Area, which includes the Presidio.

The Walt Disney Family Museum

The newly opened Walt Disney Family Museum, located in a wonderfully restored building in the Presidio, is an experience for all ages. While it focuses mainly on the life of Walt Disney and seems designed for older visitors there are still plenty of interactive exhibits to keep the attention of children.

The museum takes you step by step through the life of Walt Disney. It features a War World 1 era ambulance similar to the one Disney drove during his time volunteering for the Red Cross, the earliest known drawings of Mickey Mouse, family photographs of the Disneys, various cameras used by Disney including a multiplane camera, a full wall with stills from the animation “Steamboat Willie,” and a Disneyland model.

The building is located in one of the old barracks in the Main Post area of the Presidio. In a row of six barracks the museum is the only one in use and the only one that has been fully restored and modernized. The buildings were built sometime between 1895 and 1909. From the outside the building looks basically untouched, however on the inside few of the elements are original. The museum proves that restoration of the historical buildings is possible but at a high price, the project budget was $52 million.

The museum also houses a theatre. From Nov 1-20 they will be screening “Sleeping Beauty” three times daily. On the Nov 14^th the San Francisco International Animation Festival will be screening the Alice Comedies. The Alice Comedies are short films featuring a live action girl placed in a cartoon that were created by Disney from 1923 to 1927.

The museum contains 10 galleries on 2 floors. Each gallery recounts a different phase of Walt Disney’s life and career. Plan to spend at least a full afternoon or morning exploring the exhibits. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Monday.

For more information see the museum's website.