The Presidio is a National Historic Landmark District, first claimed by the Spanish in 1776. It was chosen to house a fortress: El Presidio Royal De San Francisco. Built from adobe that dissolved when it rained, the Presidio was less than impressive in its earlier days. Mexico eventually gained control of the fortress and kept it peaceful for twenty-four years. The U.S. Army finally took charge in 1846, when the land was comprised mostly of sand dunes. The Army spent the next century and a half transforming it into a lush, thriving military post.
The district's 470 historic structures include the Presidio Museum, barracks from the 1890s, and a WWII Memorial. The museum was actually the post's first hospital, a well-aged wooden building built in 1863. The WWII memorial honors not the men who passed on there, but 413 members of the Armed Forces, all of whom were lost or buried far offshore. So many lives were affected at the Presidio, America's first western defense headquarters. It was the place where Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, which forced American Citizens of select foreign descent to join internment camps. It was also where train loads of injured soldiers were treated after the battles of Iwo Jima and Okinawa.
Many contributions from the Presidio led to success during WWII. The revered landmark district is home to Crissy field, the first Air Coast Defense Station ever built on the West Coast. The station was named after Major Dana Crissy, who died piloting in 1919, part of the Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test across North America. He is currently buried at the Presidio's San Francisco National Cemetery. Other notable men buried there include General Irvin McDowell, who served during the Mexican Civil Wars, and an honorable Buffalo Soldier named William Thompkins.
The Presidio, in addition to being coastal defense headquarters, was once a refugee camp for earthquake victims. On April 18th, 1906, a brief earthquake sparked fires that destroyed the homes of nearly half a million people. The city's water pipes had been broken during the earthquake, so there was no hope of extinguishing the fires quickly. Soldiers from the Presidio and nearby bases patrolled the streets, offering medical treatment, handing out supplies, and firefighting. The homeless were supplied with food, water, and shelter (i.e., tents) on post. Who knows how many live have been saved there since its inception?
Up until the mid-nineties, the Presidio was the oldest military base still in operation. It was shut down because of the Base Realignment and Closure Act. The National Park Service took over since the Presidio was already part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Now it attracts about five million visitors per year. People from all walks of life come to explore 1,491 acres of cultural history, architecture, and ample flora and fauna. Incredible views of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz Island, and the Marin Headlands are just the icing on the cake.