The Presidio has a rich history spanning back to the time of the native Ohlone people. The Spanish arrived in 1776 to establish the northernmost outpost of their empire in western North America. The Presidio fell under Mexican rule for 24 years before the U.S. Army took control in 1846. Over 148 years, the U.S. Army transformed the Presidio grounds from mostly windswept dunes and scrub to a verdant, preeminent military post. In 1962, the Presidio was designated a National Historic Landmark and the site has been part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1994.

Source: NPS Website (2019)

Establishment Presidio of San Francisco — October 1, 1994 (NPS)

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The contents of brochures, site bulletins and trading cards (denoted with a colored caption) can be viewed by clicking on the cover. Most modern-day brochures, however, are cover only (denoted by a white caption) due to photograph copyrights. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning. The dates under each brochure do not reflect the complete range of years that a particular brochure was issued.

Presidio Army Museum Exhibit Opens Honoring Black Soldier Date Unknown		The Spanish-American War & the Presidio 08/2006		The Spanish-American War & the Presidio Date Unknown
Frequent Flyers of the Presidio 2005 - 2011		Frequent Flyers of the Presidio 2014		The Natural Presidio 12/2007 - 09/2011
The Natural Presidio 2/2015		Presidio of San Francisco Under Three Flags Date Unknown		Presidio Insects and their plant hosts 09/2006 - 9/6/2012
Presidio Historic Trail Guide 1963		The Presidio of San Francisco Main Post Walk Date Unknown		El Presidio de San Francisco Archaeological Site Tour 2001
Presidio Army Museum Date Unknown	The Presidio of San Francisco Date Unknown	The Presidio of San Francisco Its History and Points of Scenic Interest January 1962	Bay Area Ridge Trail Guide 1999
Trading Cards
(©Jefferson National Parks Association)

An Annotated List of Birds Found on the Presidio of San Francisco (1966 through March 1988) (Mary Louise Rosegay, April 1988)

Cultural Landscape Analysis: Presidio of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California (Land and Community Associates, April 1992)

Cultural Landscape Report: Presidio Gate, Broadway Gate and Vicinity, Presidio of San Francisco (October 1996)

Defender of the Gate: The Presidio of San Francisco, A History from 1846 to 1995, Historic Resource Study Draft (Erwin N. Thompson, July 1997)

El Presidio de San Francisco, Spain and Mexico, 1776-1846: Historic Resource Study, Presidio of San Francisco, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, California (John Phillip Langelier and Daniel Bernard Rosen, August 1992)

Fort Scott: A Cultural Landscape Assessment (March 2008)

From Post to Park: A Profile of the National Park Service Draft General Management Plan Amendment for the Presidio of San Francisco (Fall 1993)

Historic Resource Study: El Presidio de San Francisco — A History under Spain and Mexico, 1776-1846 (John Phillip Langelier, August 1992)

National Register of Historic Places Nomination Forms

Presidio of San Francisco National Historic Landmark District (Paul Alley, Leo R. Barker, Gordon Chappell, Carey Feierabend, John P. Langellier, David Quitevis and Sally A. Dean, October 16, 1992)

Presidio and Valles Caldera: A Preliminary Assessment of Their Meaning for Public Resource Management (Sally K. Fairfax, Lauren Gwin and Lynn Huntsinger, extract from Natural Resources Journal, Vol. 44 Issue 2, Spring 2004, ©University of New Mexico School of Law)

Presidio Gate, Broadway Gate and Vicinity Cultural Landscape Report (October 1996)

Presidio Trust Management Plan: Land Use Policies for Area B of the Presidio of San Francisco (May 2002)

Presidio Trust Management Plan: Land Use Policies for Area B of the Presidio of San Francisco Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume I (May 2002)

Presidio Trust Management Plan: Land Use Policies for Area B of the Presidio of San Francisco Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume II Response to Comments (May 2002)

Presidio Trust Management Plan: Land Use Policies for Area B of the Presidio of San Francisco Final Environmental Impact Statement Volume III Appendices (May 2002)

Reference History of the Presidio of San Francisco, California (Herbert A. Gale, 1973)

The Founding of The Presidio of San Francisco Registered Landmark #79 (Russell C. Ewing, 1936)

The Last Word in Airfields: A Special History Study of Crissy Field, Presidio of San Francisco, California (Stephen A. Haller, 1994)

The Path of the Presidio Trust Legislation (Donald J. Hellmann, extract from Golden Gate University Law Review, Vol. 28, Issue 3, 1998)

The Presidio of San Francisco 1776-1976: A Collection of Historical Source Materials (1976)

The Presidio of San Francisco: An Architectural History (Kristin L. Baron, November 1998)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the handbooks and books which have been published for this park. NPSHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

cover only Presidio Gateways Roger Kennedy 1994

cover only Post and Park: A Brief Illustrated History of the Presidio of San Francisco Stephen A. Haller 1997

cover only The Presidio: From Army Post to National Park Lisa M. Benton 1998