The story of the Presidio's conversion from military post to national park.

What was once home to the native tribe known as the Ohlone, and functioning as guardian of the San Francisco Bay under Spanish, Mexican, and American flags, the Presidio has served as outpost as well as cultural barometer of the vast changes this country and the state of California have seen. For almost a century and a half, the U.S. military transformed these grounds into a logistical centerpiece for every American conflict and created a pioneering airfield for early flight experiments. The Presidio served as the headquarters for the Western Defense Command during World War II and until its closure in 1994. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area then embraced a unique opportunity to develop the Presidio into a mixed-use area where it once again became an influential icon as development tackled various social, cultural, and environmental issues to point northern California into a new century while simultaneously tracing this country's past.

Situated at the mouth of the Golden Gate is the Presidio of San Francisco, one of the nation's most famous former U.S. Army bases, currently a National Park in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and a distinguished National Historic Landmark. From its humble beginnings as a distant outpost of the Spanish Empire on the Pacific Coast, the Presidio evolved into the most important American military post in the Western United States, playing a key role in America's wars in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As an active military base and the guardian of the Golden Gate up to 1994, and as a National Park today, the Presidio has played an important role in the lives of the citizens of San Francisco, both during wartime, and in times of peace. The Presidio's stunning natural beauty and military and cultural importance make it one of our nation's historic treasures.

The Presidio of San Francisco fulfilled its mission to serve and protect the Pacific Coast for more than two centuries. Now part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, it continues to protect some of the parks' endangered and threatened plant and animal species; San Francisco's only free-flowing stream, Lobos Creek; and a veritable museum of military architectural styles. This book offers a pictorial history of the Presidio and a concise, thoughtful text that examines its various roles under three flags.