Presidio plans challenged by report
By: John Upton
April 18, 2009
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Historical site: The Presidio Trust has proposed a shift of the modern art museum from the Main Post to Crissy Field. (Cindy Chew/The Examiner)
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SAN FRANCISCO — A modern art-museum could be built in the Presidio National Park without damaging the area’s federally protected historical value, but only if the proposed location is changed, a federal agency concluded.
Gap Inc. founder Don Fisher has proposed building a museum in the Main Post of the Presidio to house the modern art he has collected in partnership with his wife, Doris.
The proposal is controversial in part because of the Main Post’s historical significance.
The Main Post is considered to be the heart of the park and it was the Presidio’s operational center throughout the 218 years that it served as a military base.
In a bid to help the park reach economic self-sufficiency, which is a goal that’s required by federal law, and to bring new vibrancy to its most important area, the park’s governing body is planning to make a number of changes at the Main Post.
The Presidio Trust has proposed construction of a new museum and a new lodge, demolition of some existing historical buildings, expansion and revitalization of a shuttered theater, closure of three roads, installation of traffic lights and rehabilitation of landscaped areas, among other things.
The National Parks Service recently outlined the likely impacts of the Presidio Trust’s proposal in a report to the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation — a federal agency created by the National Historic Preservation Act to advise the president and Congress on national historic preservation policy.
“The proposed undertaking will have a significant adverse effect on an irreplaceable National Historic Landmark that is singular in its history and significance,” wrote report author Elaine Jackson-Retondo. “Fortunately, there are alternatives that would potentially avoid an adverse effect, or at the very least minimize and mitigate the effect.”
The report makes a number of recommendations, including locating Fisher’s museum elsewhere in the Presidio, such as at the commissary site at Crissy Field. It recommends reducing the size of the proposed lodge, preserving historical buildings and eliminating the need for traffic lights.
The Trust recently extended the public comment period related to Main Post planning efforts to June 1, and spokeswoman Dana Polk said the report will be considered “public comment” and will be taken into consideration.
“Nothing in the report was really a surprise,” Polk said.
Fisher spokesman Alex Tourk described the 64-page report as a “comment letter like any other” and said the Fisher family is committed to building the museum, known as the Contemporary Art Museum at the Presidio, at the Main Post.
“We are optimistic about the momentum within the community in support of the CAMP project,” Tourk said in an e-mail.
The council’s report could support legal challenges against construction of the museum, according to project opponent Whitney Hall of the Presidio Historical Association.
Maintaining history
Recommendations to protect the Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Landmark
- Shift a proposed modern-art museum from the Main Post to Crissy Field
- Reduce the size and height of the proposed lodge and break it up into separate buildings
- Protect historical buildings to preserve a visible World War II-era layer of historic fabric
- Reduce the amount of new construction planned
- Reduce the number of historic roads identified for closure and pedestrianization
- Eliminate the need for new traffic lights
Source: National Park Service, Pacific West Region
