Presidio Grand Opening Celebration
Come out with your family, friends, and neighbors for a community day to celebrate the free Grand Opening of the Presidio Visitor Center, your new gateway to the 1,500-acre park.
Be among the first to discover the center’s dynamic exhibits, inspiring videos, and high-tech tools – all created to help you enjoy the Presidio. Then head out into the park and enjoy a special day of fun, including live music and dance, kids’ activities, food trucks, and guided tours.
Presidio Visitor Center Grand Opening Celebration
Saturday, February 25, 2017 | 10 am-4 pm
Presidio Visitor Center, Lincoln & Anza, The Presidio
FREE – RSVP on EventbriteArrive on MUNI or take the free PresidiGo Shuttle from downtown San Francisco. Paid parking is limited.
Schedule of Events & Activities
Live Music + Dance
10:10 am – Ohlone Welcome Dance by the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe (Lawn Stage)
10:45 am – Performance by the Loong Mah Dragon and Lion Dancers (Lawn Stage)
11 am – “Music to Go” from the SF Conservatory of Music (Presidio Officers’ Club)
11:30 am – Performance by the Tatsumaki Taiko Drummers (Lawn Stage)
12 pm – Music and Dance by Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno (Presidio Officers’ Club)
12:15 pm – Ohlone Dance by the Costanoan Rumsen Carmel Tribe (Lawn Stage)
1 pm – Latin Fusion Music by Peregrinos Cosmicos (Lawn Stage)
1 pm – “Music to Go” from the SF Conservatory of Music (Presidio Officers’ Club)
2 pm – Performance by the Tatsumaki Taiko Drummers (Lawn Stage)
2 pm – Music and Dance by Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno (Presidio Officers’ Club)
2:30 pm – Dance of the San Francisco Garter Snake (Lawn Stage)
3 pm – Latin Fusion Music by Peregrinos Cosmicos (Lawn Stage)
3 pm – Performance of “Dancing Across Cultures” by the Presidio Dance Theatre (Presidio Officers’ Club)Ranger-led History Walks
11:30 am – Ranger-led History Walk – Buffalo Soldiers: Gone but Not Forgotten (front of the Presidio Visitor Center)
1 pm – Ranger-led History Walk: National Cemetery (front of the Presidio Visitor Center)
2:30 pm – Ranger-led History Walk – Patriotism and Prejudice: Japanese American Experience during WWII (front of the Presidio Visitor Center)Family Fun
10 am to 4 pm – Snap a Selfie at the Presidio Photo Booth (Anza Esplanade)
10 am to 4 pm – Lawn Games and Activities by the Presidio Community YMCA (Anza Esplanade)
11 am to 4 pm – Creative Family Fun: Craft-making for Kids (Presidio Officers’ Club)
1 to 4 pm – Whiffle Ball provided by the Presidio’s Batters’ Box SF (Anza Esplanade)
About the Presidio Visitors Center
The William Penn Mott, Jr. Presidio Visitor Center is housed in a refurbished historic guardhouse (circa 1900) in the heart of the park with views overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. It features a two-room layout that preserves many aspects of its historic use and distinctive architecture, while updating the space with contemporary exhibitions.
Dynamic Interactive Exhibits
Just inside the entrance is a large-scale Presidio model surrounded by touchscreen panels that help visitors plan their day in the park. A large video wall features a calendar of daily events and dramatic imagery of the Presidio.
A dynamic, digital, interactive table in English, Chinese and Spanish, invites visitors to make connections among people, places, and events that have shaped the Presidio across two centuries. Other exhibits include a “Voices of the Presidio” display in which several community members use shadowbox art to share what the park means to them.
Additional exhibits showcase the history and natural setting of the park’s four major regions: the Main Post (the cultural heart of the Presidio), the Golden Gate (iconic views), Crissy Field (recreation), and the Southern Wilds (nature exploration).
What’s Next for The Presidio? Tunnel Tops!
The William Penn Mott, Jr. Presidio Visitor Center sits at the pinnacle of a site once dominated by a freeway. Parts of that roadway, formerly known as Doyle Drive, have been hidden in tunnels, allowing for the creation of a spectacular new 14-acre landscape currently being designed by James Corner Field Operations, the makers of New York City’s High Line.
The project, known, as the Presidio Tunnel Tops will open in 2019 (marking the Presidio’s 25th anniversary as a national park) will create a brand new outdoor space connecting the Presidio with Crissy Field and provide iconic 360-degree views not visible from any other San Francisco location.
