Presidio of San Francisco

The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former <a href="/facts/U.S._Army/WACWBEK9">U.S. Army</a> post on the northern tip of the <a href="/facts/San_Francisco_Peninsula/H08uG0rx">San Francisco Peninsula</a> in <a href="/facts/San_Francisco/cb9l7hbC">San Francisco</a>, <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a>, and is part of the <a href="/facts/Golden_Gate_National_Recreation_Area/FJuC9zen">Golden Gate National Recreation Area</a>.
It had been a fortified location since September 17, 1776, when <a href="/facts/New_Spain/NYaDwcqK">New Spain</a> established the <a href="/facts/Presidio/JNMMcWJt">presidio</a> to gain a foothold in <a href="/facts/Alta_California/lU4fwI8h">Alta California</a> and the <a href="/facts/San_Francisco_Bay/gupuMeaU">San Francisco Bay</a>. It passed to Mexico in 1820, which in turn passed to the United States in 1848. As part of a military reduction program under the <a href="/facts/Base_Realignment_and_Closure/4nWLJFg7">Base Realignment and Closure</a> (<a href="/facts/Base_Realignment_and_Closure_Commission/4nWLJFg7">BRAC</a>) process from 1988, Congress voted to end the Presidio's status as an active military installation of the <a href="/facts/U.S._Army/WACWBEK9">U.S. Army</a>. On October 1, 1994, it was transferred to the <a href="/facts/National_Park_Service/KyR15FW6">National Park Service</a>, ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public use.
In 1996, the <a href="/facts/United_States_Congress/mJlU46K7">United States Congress</a> created the Presidio Trust to oversee and manage the interior 80% of the park's lands, with the National Park Service managing the coastal 20%. In a first-of-its-kind structure, Congress mandated that the Presidio Trust make the Presidio financially self-sufficient by 2013. The Presidio achieved the goal in 2005, eight years ahead of the deadline.
The Presidio is at the southern end of the <a href="/facts/Golden_Gate_Bridge/vGk0GVg1">Golden Gate Bridge</a>, and is crossed by the bridge approach road.
The park has many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the <a href="/facts/Golden_Gate/4dgL0yIr">Golden Gate</a> itself, the Bridge, San Francisco Bay, and the <a href="/facts/Pacific_Ocean/bdxgXRVM">Pacific Ocean</a>. It was recognized as a <a href="/facts/California_Historical_Landmark/lhzothgo">California Historical Landmark</a> in 1933 and as a <a href="/facts/National_Historic_Landmark/gSl4aEdv">National Historic Landmark</a> in 1962.

Presidio of San Francisco open-in-new

Presidio of San Francisco