© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 94129
Former
military base, now a park, 1,480 acres. Possibly the oldest “neighborhood” in
San Francisco. Located east and west of the Golden Gate Bridge. One of the
choicest spots in the City and probably in the world. Its hills look over the
Golden Gate. www.mccormacks.com
In
2005, the City turned out to welcome the Letterman Digital Arts Center, the new
headquarters for LucasFilm of Star Wars fame, and to rub shoulders with George
Lucas.
Click for regional or detailed map
The
center, built on the site of Letterman Hospital (military), consists of four
buildings, each four stories. Three were occupied by 1,500 Lucas employees; the
fourth, leased to another firm or firms. The site was landscaped to include a
lagoon and a stream and planted with a variety of shrubs and trees.
Besides
supplying jobs, the center boosts San Francisco as an entertainment leader, a
sort of Hollywood north.
Settled
first by the Spanish who built the fort (Presidio). Later taken over by the
U.S. Army and for 140 years or so used as a military base. Thousands of
soldiers were stationed at the Presidio and treated at its hospitals.
When the
Soviet Union went belly up and the Cold War collapsed, the Pentagon gave up the
Presidio to the Golden Gate National Recreational Area. www.mccormacks.com
Left
intact were 550 homes and barracks that were later turned to use as rentals
(about 1,200 units). Golf course and renovated pool and gym open to public.
Many of the more dilapidated buildings have been demolished and dozens of
private firms or organizations have moved into the remaining structures.
Along the
shore, the park, to the west, ties in with another large park, which includes
the Palace of the Legion of Honor (a lovely art museum) and another golf
course.
Under the
Golden Gate Bridge is Fort Point, one of the oldest forts in the west, nicely
restored. Politicians, environmentalists and local officials are trying to
secure federal money to restore and improve the Presidio, which is supposed to
make itself self sufficient (and seems to doing so).
Pacific
Heights and Presidio Heights border the Presidio, lovely neighborhoods but few
houses. Most of the nearby housing will be found in the Richmond District.
So
pleasant an assignment was the Presidio that at its closing, the commanding
general said, “It is said that an officer has three wishes: to be a general, to
go to the Presidio and to go to heaven.” www.mccormacks.com
• After
taking over the Presidio, the park service commissioned studies on its
buildings and history. The research disclosed the location of a graveyard with possibly 600 to 700 merchant seamen. In the late 1800s and early
1900s, a hospital that specialized in the care of sailors stood near the site. In
those days, sailors were often immigrants with few connections to family.
Records revealed that many died in their 20s, often from tuberculosis. The
hospital was later replaced by a larger facility and somehow the graveyard was
buried under rubble. The park service is working on a memorial for the site.
•
Community groups monitor building plans for the Presidio. When they don’t like something,
they speak up, loudly. The park planners wanted to convert some buildings into
350 apartments. By the time the neighbors finished, the number came down to no
more than 186. In planning stage, hotel-lodge for visitors.
• Perhaps
the only park in the City that allows overnight camping.
• Low
crime but watch traffic. Jogger, a young woman, killed in 2006. Hit and run.
• In 2007 Haas family (Levis) donated $15 million to build 24 miles of trails and six scenic overlooks and renovate the campgrounds.
