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Photo: Robert Campbell, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Gently sloping park and picnic area with views of the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco Bay, and downtown San Francisco, weather permitting. Includes playground, cafes, restaurants and food trucks.
The Presidio of San Francisco is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.
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Built in 1864, it displays Italianate and Greek Revival architectural styles. Constructed during the Civil War, it is one of the oldest standing buildings on the Presidio. The original structure was modified by adding wings and enclosing the porches. In 1897, an octagonal surgical tower with windows on all sides was added to provide a well-lit operating room.
Opened in 2009, this museum focuses on the life of Walt Disney and his accomplishments. The museum is not run by The Walt Disney Company, meaning that while it views Walt Disney in a favorable light, it doesn't come off as corporate propaganda. The collections have some fascinating Disneyana, including the Oscar awarded to Disney for Snow White, a multiplane camera used prominently in Disney animated films, and a number of posters promoting early Disneyland rides. This is an absolute must-see for Disney enthusiasts, but even casual Disney fans will be impressed by the material here, which does a very good job of showing how a man with a gift for cartooning built what would become a modern media empire.
The Main Post is at the heart of the Presidio. It marks the site of a Spanish garrison established here in 1776 and it is home to the oldest buildings in the Presidio, dating back to 1861.
Buildings 101 through 105, known as "Infantry Row," were constructed to accommodate troops consolidated at the Presidio after the Indian Wars. These were some of the first brick barracks constructed in the west, showing that the Presidio was to be a permanent post. Built in the late 1890s, these barracks display Colonial Revival style architecture with Romanesque elements.
Known by many names — "The city's front yard" and "The Golden Gate promenade" — this used to be one of the country's most active and strategic military airstrips. Today, under the care the Golden Gate National Parks Association, the 28 acre site has been transformed into recreational space for joggers, cyclists, walkers, and picnickers. There is also a significant project underway to return 18 acres back to its original tidal marshlands. With this effort, Crissy Field is fast becoming a great place to see local wildlife such as migrating long-billed curlews, semipalmated plovers and western sandpipers.
With its beautiful Spanish Colonial Revival-style exterior, it was dedicated in 1949 as a first-class service club for enlisted men and women and was the site of several historic treaty signings during the early days of the Korean War. Stylishly remodeled, the club is now a full-service conference and events center.