Editing Presidio of San Francisco (section)

== History ==

===Military use===
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2014}}
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. The [[limestone]] used to build the presidio was mined by [[Ohlone]]s at the [[Rockaway Quarry]].<ref name="Historic Resource Study">{{cite web |title=Historic Resource Study for Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Mateo County. |url=https://www.nps.gov/goga/learn/historyculture/upload/san-mateo-hrs-part-iv-mori-point.pdf |website=National Park Service |publisher=Department of Interior |access-date=4 August 2023}}</ref> In 1783, the Presidio's garrison numbered only 33 men. Upon [[Mexican War of Independence|Mexican independence]] from [[Spanish Empire|Spain]] in 1821, it was briefly operated as a Mexican fortification.[[File:Victor Adam after Louis Choris - Vue du Presidio san Francisco, 1822.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|The Presidio in 1817|left]] The Presidio was seized by the [[United States Army|U.S. military]] at the start of the [[Mexican–American War]] in 1846. It was officially reopened by the Americans 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, such as [[William Tecumseh Sherman]], [[George Henry Thomas]], and [[John J. Pershing]], made their homes here.

During its long history, the Presidio was involved in most of America's military engagements in the [[Pacific Rim]]. Importantly, it was the assembly point for army forces that invaded the [[Philippines]] during the [[Spanish–American War]], America's first significant military engagement in the region.

Beginning in the 1890s, the Presidio was home to the [[Letterman Army Hospital|Letterman Army Medical Center]] (LAMC), named in 1911 for [[Jonathan Letterman]], the medical director of the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]–era [[Army of the Potomac]]. LAMC provided thousands of war-wounded with high-quality medical care during every US foreign conflict of the 20th century.

One of the last two remaining cemeteries within the city's limits is the [[San Francisco National Cemetery]]. Among the military personnel interred there are General [[Frederick Funston, Sr.|Frederick Funston]], hero of the Spanish–American War, [[Philippine–American War]], and commanding officer of the Presidio at the time of the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]]; and General [[Irvin McDowell]], a Union Army commander who lost the [[First Battle of Bull Run]].

The Marine Hospital operated a cemetery for merchant seamen approximately {{convert|100|–|250|yd}} from the hospital property. Based on city municipal records, historians estimate that the cemetery was used from 1885 to 1912.<ref>{{cite web|last=McCann|first=Jennifer|year=2006|title=The Marine Hospital Cemetery, Presidio of San Francisco, California|url=http://www.presidio.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C44EF70A-582E-4F00-976C-4EA2F06AE09C/0/MHCreportpart1accessible.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309162023/http://www.presidio.gov/NR/rdonlyres/C44EF70A-582E-4F00-976C-4EA2F06AE09C/0/MHCreportpart1accessible.pdf|archive-date=March 9, 2012|publisher=The Presidio Archaeology Center}}</ref> As part of the "Trails Forever" initiative, the Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the Presidio Trust partnered to build a walking trail along the south side of the site featuring interpretive signage about its history.<ref name="Preidio">{{cite web|title=The Marine Hospital Cemetery|url=http://www.presidio.gov/explore/trails/Pages/marine-cemetery-vista.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916025756/http://www.presidio.gov/explore/trails/Pages/marine-cemetery-vista.aspx|archive-date=September 16, 2012|access-date=September 14, 2012|publisher=The Presidio Trust}}</ref>
[[File:Presidio 1937.jpg|thumb|Street map of 1937 of the Army Base]]

The Presidio was the home of the [[Western Defense Command]] headquarters during [[World War II]]. It was here that Lieutenant General [[John L. DeWitt]] signed 108 Civilian Exclusion Orders and directives for the [[internment of Japanese Americans]] under the authority of [[Executive Order 9066]] signed by President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] on February 19, 1942.<ref>{{cite web|title=Remembering Executive Order 9066 – Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/goga/anniversary-executive-order-9066.htm|access-date=22 September 2020|website=National Park Service}}</ref>

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

===Preservation===
After a hard-fought battle, the Presidio averted being sold at auction and came under the management of the Presidio Trust, a U.S. [[State-owned enterprise|government corporation]] established by an act of Congress in 1996.<ref name="sfc1" /><ref>{{cite news|title=Title unknown|newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=http://www.realestatejournal.com/regionalnews/west/20020510-grid.html}}</ref>{{failed verification|date=August 2012}}

The Presidio Trust now manages most of the park in partnership with the National Park Service. The trust has jurisdiction over the interior of 80 percent of the Presidio, including nearly all its historic structures. The National Park Service manages coastal areas. Primary law enforcement throughout the Presidio is the jurisdiction of the [[United States Park Police]].

One of the main objectives of the Presidio Trust's program was achieving financial self-sufficiency by fiscal year 2013, which was reached in 2006. Immediately after its inception, the trust began preparing rehabilitation plans for the park. Many areas had to be decontaminated before being prepared for public use.

The Presidio Trust Act calls for the "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. These imperatives have resulted in numerous conflicts between the need to maximize income by leasing historic buildings and permitting public use despite most structures being rented privately. Further differences have arisen from the divergent needs to preserve the integrity of the National Historic Landmark District in the face of new construction, competing pressures for natural habitat restoration, and requirements for commercial purposes that impede public access.

Crissy Field, a former airfield, has undergone extensive restoration and is now a popular recreational area. It borders on the San Francisco [[Marina District, San Francisco|Marina]] in the east and on the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] in the west.
[[File:GGBridge_Old_Coast_Guard_Station.jpg|left|thumb|The Old Coast Guard Station and Golden Gate Bridge]]
The park has a large inventory of approximately 800 buildings, many of them historical. By 2004, about 50% of the buildings on park grounds had been restored and partially remodeled. The Presidio 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 and Betty Moore Foundation]], [[Tides Foundation]], the [[Arion Press]], Sports Basement Presidio, and [[The Walt Disney Family Museum]], a museum in the memory of Walt Disney.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Walt Disney Family Museum|url=http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/exhibits/articles/presidiovisit/index.html|access-date=2012-08-05}}</ref> Many various commercial enterprises also lease buildings on the Presidio.

The Thoreau Center for Sustainability preserved sections of the Letterman Army Hospital .<ref>{{cite web|title=Thoreau Center for Sustainability San Francisco|url=http://www.thoreau.org/san-francisco/index.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120711235754/http://www.thoreau.org/san-francisco/index.html|archive-date=2012-07-11|access-date=2012-08-05}}</ref>

The Presidio of San Francisco is the only site in a [[national recreation area]] with an extensive residential leasing program.

The Presidio has four creeks that park stewards and volunteers are restoring to expand their riparian habitats' former extents. The creeks are [[Lobos Creek|Lobos]] and [[Dragonfly Creek|Dragonfly]] creeks, [[El Polin Spring]], and [[Coyote Gulch (California)|Coyote Gulch]].

===1999 – present===
[[File:Contruction near the Presidio.JPG|thumb|right|upright|Presidio Parkway construction seen from Storey Avenue in October 2013]]
The Trust entered a significant agreement with [[Lucasfilm]] to build a new facility called the [[Letterman Digital Arts Center]] (LDAC), which is now Lucasfilm's corporate headquarters. The site replaced portions of what was the Letterman Hospital. [[George Lucas]] won the development rights for {{convert|15|acres}} of the Presidio, in June 1999, after beating out several rival plans, including a leading proposal by the Shorenstein Company. LDAC replaced the former Lucasfilm headquarters in [[San Rafael, California|San Rafael]]. The $300 million development includes nearly {{convert|900000|sqft}} of office space and a {{convert|150000|sqft|adj=on}} underground parking garage with a capacity of 2,500 employees. Lucasfilm's [[Industrial Light & Magic]], Lucas Licensing, and Lucas Online divisions reside at the site. George Lucas's proposal included plans for a high-tech Presidio museum and a {{convert|7|acre|adj=on}} "Great Lawn" that is now open to the public.

In 2007, [[Donald Fisher]], founder of [[Gap (clothing)|the Gap]] clothing stores and former board member of the Presidio Trust, announced a plan to build a {{convert|100000|sqft|m2|adj=on}} museum tentatively named the Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio, to house his art collection. Due to opposition,<ref>{{cite news|last=King|first=John|date=March 18, 2008|title=Architect waxes poetic with Presidio museum|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/18/DDOHVJA7E.DTL&hw=fisher+museum&sn=004&sc=735|access-date=2012-08-05}}</ref> Fisher withdrew his plans to build the museum in the Presidio and instead donated the art to the [[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]] before he died in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|last=King|first=John|date=July 2, 2009|title=Fishers give up on plan for Presidio art museum|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/07/02/MNJL18HMBA.DTL|access-date=2012-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Baker|first=Kenneth|date=October 2, 2009|title=SFMOMA gets Fisher art collection|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/09/25/MNVC19S49B.DTL|access-date=2012-08-05}}</ref>

[[File:Aerial view - Presidio-crop.jpg|thumb|left|An aerial view of the Presidio]]
As the [[Doyle Drive]] viaduct was deemed seismically unsafe and obsolete, construction started on the demolition of Doyle Drive in 2008 to replace the structure with a flat, broad-lane highway with a tunnel through the bluffs above [[Crissy Field]], called the [[Doyle Drive Replacement Project|Presidio Parkway]]. The project cost $1 billion and was scheduled to be completed by 2016.<ref>{{cite news|last=Cabanatuan|first=Michael|date=January 12, 2010|title=Closure of Doyle Drive off-ramp goes smoothly|newspaper=[[San Francisco Chronicle]]|url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/12/BAJC1BGPFB.DTL|access-date=2012-08-05}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->|title=Presidio Parkway Construction Schedule|url=http://www.presidioparkway.org/construction_info/schedule.aspx|access-date=September 13, 2014|website=presidioparkway.org|archive-date=July 20, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140720074749/http://www.presidioparkway.org/construction_info/schedule.aspx|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Trust plans to create a promenade that will link the Lombard Gate and the new Lucasfilm campus to the Main Post and, ultimately, to the Golden Gate Bridge. The promenade is part of a trail expansion plan that will add {{convert|24|mi}} of new pathways and eight scenic overlooks throughout the park.

In October 2008, artist [[Andy Goldsworthy]] constructed the first of a series of sculptures in the Presidio, the ''Spire''. It is {{convert|100|ft|m}} tall and located near the Arguello Gate. It represents the tree replanting effort that has been underway at the Presidio.<ref>{{cite web|title="Spire" by Andy Goldsworthy|url=http://www.presidio.gov/experiences/spire.htm|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512192134/http://www.presidio.gov/experiences/spire.htm|archive-date=May 12, 2009|access-date=2009-09-05|publisher=Presidio Trust web site}}</ref> ''Spire'' was followed by ''[[Wood Line]]'' in 2011,<ref>{{cite web|title=Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line |url=https://www.presidio.gov/places/andy-goldsworthys-wood-line |publisher=The Presidio Trust |year=2011 |access-date=1 May 2020 }}</ref> ''Tree Fall'' in 2013,<ref>{{cite web|title=Andy Goldsworthy's Tree Fall |url=https://www.presidio.gov/places/andy-goldsworthys-tree-fall |publisher=The Presidio Trust |year=2014 |access-date=1 May 2020 }}</ref> and ''Earth Wall'' in 2014.<ref>{{cite web|title=Andy Goldsworthy's Earth Wall |url=https://www.presidio.gov/places/andy-goldsworthys-earth-wall |publisher=The Presidio Trust |year=2014 |access-date=1 May 2020 }}</ref>

In 2010, a trampoline park called [[House of Air]] was built using an old aircraft hangar.<ref>{{cite web|title=Presidio House of Air brings flight to the flightless|url=http://blog.sfgate.com/ontheblock/2010/09/14/presidio-house-of-air-brings-flight-to-the-flightless/|website=blog.sfgate.com}}</ref>

As of 2023, it is estimated that there may be at least four coyote families living in the park.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coyotes in the Presidio |url=https://www.presidio.gov/presidio-trust/planning/coyotes-in-the-presidio.html |access-date=2023-07-18 |website=Presidio |language=en}}</ref>