When George Lucas’s Letterman Digital Arts Center took over 23 acres of the Presidio in 2005, it stoked a controversy that had been simmering for years. While some had feared that development would blight the area’s natural beauty, others pointed out the park had to woo tenants to eventually become self-sufficient.
As it turned out, the center took pains to preserve green space and blend in architecturally with the existing buildings, but other bones of contention soon cropped up. Proposals now under consideration by the Presidio Trust—and raising hackles among preservationists—include 230 apartment units to be built near Lake Street and a museum honoring Walt Disney. Ironically, the trust has also taken flak for its own preservationist tendencies, most recently for considering the idea of shutting down a couple of athletic fields to help restore the creek that runs underneath.
Regardless of whether you view the trust as a benign steward or an indifferent landlord, its success at transforming former U.S. Army barracks into multiuse rental units is what has enabled park managers to turn their attention back to their raison d’être—restoring the wilderness within the city. With the rent money from its various tenants, the park can afford to undertake projects such as replanting 300 acres with Monterey cypress and pines and restoring the 270-acre Tennessee Hollow watershed. Now frequented by hardy dog walkers, Tennessee Hollow is bound to become one of the park’s top destinations for nature lovers of all stripes.
THE TALK
With 225 corporate and nonprofit tenants and 2,650 residential renters, the Presidio Trust has become a major landlord, and some residents have complained that it’s not responsive enough to plumbing problems and the like. Renters everywhere voice similar complaints, but Presidio dwellers, who live on federal land, lack the protection of S.F. rent control laws when disputes arise. For other residents, though, the national park’s beauty outweighs such concerns.
WHAT IT COSTS
…to rent: $2,150 for a two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in the Quarry neighborhood.
…to buy: $6.5 million for a five-bedroom, 6,200-square-foot Georgian home at 2600 Lyon St. (across from the Presidio).
THE GRUB
Curbside Too, an intimate bistro just outside the Lombard Gate, serves delicious New York steaks with green peppercorn sauce; a small but superb wine list complements its French fare. 2769 Lombard St.
Housed in a 100-year-old building jazzed up by designer Olle Lundberg, the Presidio Social Club, slated to open in December, will be an elegant 150-seat restaurant featuring steak, chops, oysters, and cocktails. Diners on the veranda will gaze out at the forest and the bay. 563 Ruger St.
At the casual Perk Presidio Café, dog walkers and digital artists linger over smoothies, lattes, and shots of wheatgrass, carrot, or beet juice. 1 letterman Dr., Bldg. C.
Slow Club founder Steve DeCosse was one of the first tenants at the new Presidio when he opened the Acre Café in the Thoreau Center for Sustainability. Come for the organic soup, quesadillas, or salads and stay for the artwork in the gallery down the hall. 1013 Torney Ave.
Curbside’s owner Antoine Alliaume has joined forces with esteemed chef Laurent Katgely to create the upscale French La Terrace, due to open in November as of press time. Destination diners will enjoy live music, a full bar, and a glorious view of the Golden Gate. 215 Lincoln blvd.
HANGOUTS
The flags of three countries have flown over the Presidio. To delve into its history, visit the NPS visitor center located in the Spanish-tiled Officers Club, built in the 1820s. Trailheads to the Ecology Trail and Lovers’ Lane are nearby. 50 Moraga Ave.
Don’t judge a book by its cover. If you can find the unassuming entrance to SenSpa you’ll enter a luxurious Asian-themed health spa featuring an aromatherapy bar, infusion teas, and an extensive menu of massage therapies, facials, and nutritional counseling. 1161 Gorgas Ave.
It’s the oldest surviving streetscape in San Francisco. Funston Avenue’s Victorian Officers Row features Greek Revival frame houses built in 1862 for army officers during America’s Civil War. Funston Ave. between Moraga ave. and lincoln blvd.
Built in 1989, the Presidio Bowling Center was one of the army’s last hurrahs in the park. In 2004, the Presidio Trust made repairs on the 10-lane bowling alley and added state-of-the-art video animation to keep track of your score. moraga ave. and montgomery st.
Now a one-mile hike, Lovers’ Lane is one of the oldest travel corridors in the city. Spanish soldiers and Franciscan missionaries originally carved out a path all the way to Mission Dolores, and off-duty U.S. soldiers strolled the lane to meet their sweethearts in the 1860s. At the intersection of Presidio Boulevard and Barnard Avenue, cross the footbridge to find the trail marker at MacArthur Avenue.
CELEB
The San Francisco Film Centre is a hub of postproduction and special-effects companies. You might rub shoulders with Sean Penn, Alec Baldwin, or Robert Redford at a fund-raising gala or lecture in the Palm Room. 39 Mesa ave. in the Main Post.
ON THIS SPOT
The overlook at the San Francisco National Cemetery frames the roiling surf and the Marin Headlands in a scene worthy of Hitchcock’s Vertigo. If you like what you see, thank Congressman Phil Burton, buried here in 1983. He wrote the 1972 bill making the Presidio a national park if the U.S. Army ever left the base. 1 lincoln Blvd.