The Presidio of San Francisco, established in 1776 as a remote Spanish colonial fort on the edge of the Golden Gate, is both the city’s most historic and hottest new destination. As its transition from U.S. Army post to national park reaches fruition, the 1,500-acre Presidio continues to unveil a stunning array of visitor attractions and event spaces that include restaurants, museums, ballrooms, conference rooms and recreation areas, many with spectacular views of forest and bay.
“Just three or four years ago we were a sleepy place that primarily drew weekend social events,” says Karen Maggio, director of hospitality for the Presidio Trust. “Now we’re busy all the time with corporate meetings, product announcements, company celebrations, teambuilding, you name it.”
With catering operations headed by Chef Traci Des Jardins, who runs several restaurants at the Presidio and elsewhere in San Francisco, events can take on a flavorful and creative twist, according to Maggio.
“When Facebook booked the Observation Post for what was to be a seated breakfast for 100, attendance quickly swelled to 300,” she says. “So Traci and her team changed things to a kiosk format where people could mix and mingle with breakfast burritos.”
Other recent events have including a team-building activity for Google employees with go-karts. Groups can also combine meetings with docent-led hikes that explore the Presidio’s nature trails as well as its public art installations.
Venue choices include the Presidio Officer’s Club, which emerged from a major renovation last fall with a new gallery devoted to the Presidio’s long and colorful past. It also features the second-floor Ortega Ballroom, which accommodates up to 300 people; Arguello, a new Mexican restaurant run by Des Jardins; and the Anza Room, a private dining room seating up to 30.
In March, the Presidio opened Transit, a casual restaurant that is available for private events at night.
“It accommodate up to 100 people with both indoor and outdoor spaces,” Maggio says. “You can have fun cocktail parties with pizzas right out of the oven.”
Among other venues is the Golden Gate Club, once the enlisted men’s service club and the site of several historic treaty signings, that offers seven meetings rooms accommodating from 20 to 250 people. Another choice is the San Francisco Film Centre, which features the Palm Room, an elegant setting with gleaming wood floors and French doors leading out to a terrace with Mexican tiles and rounded archways.
Lodging options within the Presidio, which currently consist of the 22-room Inn at the Presidio and the four-room Funston House, are also expanding. A 40-room hotel is expected to open in a row of historic barracks adjacent to the Disney Family Museum in 2017.
