The Revised Draft Main Post Update to the Presidio Trust Management Plan has been identified as the Preferred Alternative. It is analyzed in the Supplement to the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. View the Documents. This section briefly describes the Preferred Alternative.

Historic Open Spaces
The Main Post evolved around three open spaces — El Presidio, the Old Parade, and the Main Parade. These landscapes will be revitalized as focal points linking the Main Post experience. The Main Parade will be transformed from a seven-acre parking lot into a welcoming green where the community gathers. It will feature magnificent bay views, abundant seating, and a safe and clean environment. The parade grounds will be connected by the Anza Esplanade, a new pedestrian “Main Street.”

Officers’ Club & Heritage Center
Located within the historic Officers’ Club, a new Heritage Center will use the Presidio’s oldest building to explain the history of the Presidio and the American West. Media, exhibits, and a small theater will offer tools to help visitors explore the park. The archaeology lab, exhibits, classrooms, and library will be centered in the Club and surrounding historic buildings. The Officers’ Club will continue to serve as a venue for community and special events.

El Presidio
Spanish colonists established El Presidio in 1776 — it is the birthplace of San Francisco. Active archaeology digs will enhance understanding of this historic site and allow it to be commemorated above-ground. Nearby Pershing Square will remain landscaped with a new interpretive plaza.

Presidio Theatre
The 1930s-era theatre, unused for more than a decade, will be rehabilitated and expanded for film and other theatrical performances.

Montgomery Street Barracks
Built in the 1890s, the elegant brick Montgomery Street Barracks that frame the Main Parade will feature activities for visitors — restaurants, galleries, and cultural institutions. Activities will spill out on to the Barracks’ expansive front porches. The Walt Disney Family Foundation Museum and the International Center to End Violence will occupy two Barracks buildings.

Contemporary Art Museum
A new museum campus housing a nationally significant art collection will add a cultural institution of distinction to the Main Post. The art museum will consist of three buildings. A new gallery building south of the Main Parade, “back of house” facilities in a new building south of Moraga Street, and an arts education center located in one of the historic Montgomery Street Barracks. More than half of the new building’s square footage will be underground. (View the conceptual designs.)

Park Lodge
A new park lodge will be located between the Main Parade and Old Parade, at the site where Army barracks were located prior to the 1950s. In the tradition of park lodges, it will provide overnight accommodations and spaces for general park visitors, such as a restaurant, bar, and outdoor terraces. Sites for lodging within existing historic buildings have also been identified.

Main Post Bluff
Portions of Doyle Drive, the highway that connects San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge, will be placed underground as it passes in front of the Main Post, creating new open space, the Main Post Bluff, and restoring the Main Post’s connection to the waterfront. The historic buildings along Halleck Street will house services for the Presidio community and visitors to the park.

Parking and Transportation
Parking will be largely relocated to the perimeter of the Main Post to create a pedestrian district in the heart of the park. The number of parking spaces will remain about the same as today, 2,150. Short-term accessible parking will remain near buildings. The PresidiGo Shuttle will connect parking lots to key Main Post destinations. The Transit Center will remain the hub for MUNI and the Shuttle.

Main Post Projects Previously Studied

Building 100: The Family Violence Prevention Fund (FVPF) is proposing to rehabilitate Building 100 as the International Center to End Violence. The Center’s programs would be accommodated in the 33,800 square-foot historic Building 100 and in a new one-story, 3,800 square-foot addition that would infill the existing courtyard on the west side of the building. The Center would serve as the FVPF’s headquarters and include related general office use, exhibit space, an interactive learning center, meeting space, a training academy, storage, and a gift shop. The primary goal of the Center would be to engage the public on the issue of violence against women and children around the world through education, advocacy, and training programs. The Environmental Assessment for that project was completed in 2007.

Walt Disney Family Museum: The Walt Disney Family Foundation, a Presidio tenant since 2001, is establishing the Walt Disney Family Museum and Library in Building 104. The museum will provide a permanent source of information on Disney, his accomplishments, and the period of American history that he greatly influenced. It will include a children’s learning center with hands-on art programs, an extensive collection of artifacts and archival material, exhibits on animation and motion pictures, a research center for scholars, exhibits of art works influenced by Disney, a book store/gift shop, and a small café. It will open in October 2009. The Environmental Assessment was completed in 2006.

Main Parade Ground: At the Main Post’s core is a grand parade ground that was once used for military drills, troop exercises, and public ceremonies. For the last several decades this site has been used as a surface parking lot. The Presidio Trust is now re-establishing the Main Parade Ground as a vibrant gathering place, in context with other projects being considered in the Main Post Update and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. This project is a central aspect of plans for renewing the “heart of the Presidio.” The Environmental Assessment for this project was completed in 2007.