Presidio Visitor's Center/Heritage Center

Colleagues:

 

Displayed below are two messages concerning a Visitors Center (VC) (and perhaps a Heritage Center, HC) for the Presidio and two different meetings concerning that subject.

 

The first message dated May 24th is from Karen Braseth on behalf of Amy Meyer concerns the sixth of six "public workshops" that was scheduled a week later for May 31st and that was sponsored by the National Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service and the Presidio Trust and a meeting the very next morning of her "People for the Park/Presidio" group on that same approximate subject. 

 

The second message dated June 14th is from Sharon Gadberry and, in it, she reports on the next morning's meeting of the "People for the Park/Presidio"group and the reports it received from the previous night's public workshop. .

 

Participants in the six public workshops were informed that the three organizations sponsoring them would synthesize the recommendations from the workshops and then post them on the Presidio Trust's web site for public reviews, comments, questions and suggestions. 

 

Unless I have missed something, no specific dates have been announced for that posting or for the public review and comment period that will follow it. We will inform you of them when we know. Please direct any comments, questions or suggestions you may have sbout the substance or process to Sharon as she appears to be the only PAR director to have attended both meetings.

 

Ray 

 

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
CC: [email protected]
Sent: 5/24/2011 1:42:26 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: A Message from Amy Meyer

If you would like to respond to this e-mail, please send a note to Amy at [email protected] or phone her at 221-8427. Please do not respond to this e-mail address. 

AGENDA, PEOPLE FOR THE PARKS/PRESIDIO. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 1, 2011   

8:30 - 10:00 AM

THE MARINA ROOM, THE CONFERENCE CENTER, BUILDING A, FORT MASON CENTER  

Before I get to the agenda, I want to share with you a reminder and invitation from Noreen Hughes, Project Manager for the Presidio Visitor Center. The last VC workshop, the summary workshop, will be on Tuesday evening May 31^st at the Log Cabin, from 6-8 pm. Several of our "People" have been attending regularly, and others have come to one or more meetings.

 

"We have been working with the exhibit design firm The GW Group for several weeks on the conceptual framework for the visitor experiences at the Presidio, with a particular focus on the content, programs and activities that will be offered at the Visitor Center and the Heritage Center.

 

We have shared with the GW Group the William Penn Mott, Jr. interpretive plan, the 2000 Presidio Stories Symposium materials, the PHA museum planning document, suggestions from previous workshops and much more. In addition they have met extensively with staff from all three agencies on an array of topics - including archaeology, history, NPS interpretative goals, historic preservation, volunteerism at the Stewardship Center, Crissy Field programs, communications, archival materials and artifacts, public programming. We recently held an all day workshop with 18-20 tri-agency staff and they will return on May 19^th to present ‘what they have seen and heard’ and their initial thoughts about how to create a dynamic and engaging collection of experiences for visitors to the Presidio.

 

We are inviting the public to hear the GW Group make a presentation at the May 31^st workshop . It is a ‘work in progress’ and the perfect time for review and comment. The format will be similar to the last three workshops – a presentation followed by breakout groups. Participants will be invited to share their thoughts and suggestions, answer questions posed by the exhibit design group and hear a summary of the discussion at each table at the end of the workshop.

  

I hope we will see a good turnout from the People for the Parks/Presidio."  

That evening's workshop will tie in directly with the first item at our meeting the next morning, but of necessity we will only get a summary of what happens the night before.

1) Michael Boland will lead the discussion with Noreen about the Heritage and Visitor Center projects. Michael says, "One of the core ideas we are interested in is creating a dispersed network of interpretive experiences in historic buildings around the Main Post and the broader park, so people can learn about the Post's history where it happened.  As you can imagine, this relates very directly to the scope and scale of the Visitor Center and Heritage Center, so I see these as all part of a continuum of interpretive experience."  (Because Steve Haller of GGNRA is away, the details of Building 640 and General de Witt's office, a major series of events relating to both the incarceration and the contributions of Japanese-Americans to the defense of the United States during WW II, as well as the Golden Gate Club as the site where the U.S. Japan Joint Security Pact was signed in 1951will be on the agenda next time–– that will continue from the site discussion here.) 

2) The Parks Conservancy showed us last time what they were planning on the bridge plaza to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the bridge. This time they will show us the major improvements that will be constructed and will lead up to the bridge along Lincoln Boulevard: the Golden Gate and Pacific Overlooks, as part of the Presidio Coastal Trail improvements project. 

3) Howard Levitt will present a number of smaller projects at Fort Mason, with the assistance of landscape architect Amy Hoke. They include the accessibility improvements/renewal of the paths in the great Meadow, the safety improvements at Bay/Franklin, and the upcoming hazard tree treatment and viewshed opening at the end of this coming summer. Howard will also give us a quick sketch of the "Healthy Parks, Healthy People" NPS initiation that was highlighted recently at a workshop at Cavallo Point, convened recently by NPS Director Jon Jarvis. 

4) Since our meeting is taking place two days after the comment deadline for the GGNRA Dog Management Plan, Howard Levitt will be able to give us some idea of what mail the park has received about the Plan. If you have not yet commented and wish to do so, you may send your letter in one of two ways by Monday, May 30. Yes, that is Memorial Day. It is the deadline! 

On-line: http://www.parkplanning.nps.gov/dogplan

By mail: Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Fort Mason, Bldg 201, San Francisco, CA 94123

 

-- 
Karen J. Braseth
Managing People & Process to Drive Performance  

(415) 948-0010    
www.linkedin.com/in/karenbraseth

 

---

From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]
Sent: 6/14/2011 8:51:48 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time
Subj: People for the Presidio

 

Hi Ray,

This is a detailed summary of the last People for the Presidio meeting.  Hoping you will circulate it to PAR members:

DRAFT                                      People for the Parks-Presidio

        June 1, 2011

Heritage and Visitor Center:  Noreen Hughes/Michael  Boland

We are at the midpoint of conceptual design for the VC, following 6 workshops.  A temporary exhibit will  be installed at the temporary VC, Building 105, so visitors can comment on concepts for the VC.  130 responses have been received from the web site.  A pamphlet has been put together on learnings from the History symposium (How to Make History Come Alive at the Presidio).

The design group, GW Group, has been employed to generate ideas for both Centers.  Their strength is in work  which establishes emotional connections to places.  Their services may be augmented with services of others. 

 

Comments from today’s attendees on GW work and the Centers:  

Most important asset for Centers are people

GW did not sufficiently get the connection between nature and history

Concerns about scale of some of the ideas presented in sheer physical  size and potential housing for same (need for new building to house?)

Put docents on buses with people traveling to the Presidio to orient visitors before arrival.

Referencing the bubble chart, Arthur Feinstein said there needs to be much more emphasis on nature and climate change; that what is missing is the nature/history connection and an overview of their relationship. Barbara Corff spoke of sustainability and stewardship.The Sustainability/Stewardship Center should be a very high priority but it is not getting attention; it should be included in a phased development plan and included in philanthropic fund raising.  

Gary Widman spoke of need for history overview, broad concepts. Lesley Walsh urged use of existing buildings for experience, not just electronic models. David Anderson asked for building tours and tours with some of us "People", Peter Brastow asked for a vision for continuing experiences.

Other comments: one good technique of story-telling could make an outstanding VC, "don't limit dreams," want proposals worthy of a national park, need to get oral histories now.

Noreen said that next steps will be determining what belongs in the VC, the HC or other places.  She wants to develop all ideas, vet them and prioritize what will come first.  The VC is seen as the highest priority Center.  As there are many techniques for story telling; there is no need to decide what stories are told where but decisions need to be made to decide how effective “stories” will be over time and to front load them. 

Charlene Harvey, Trust Board Member liaison for the HC:  we need to dream about the Centers for a while and that the bigger we dream, the more  funds can be raised.   (John Reynolds  is Trust Board Member liaison for the VC).

Michael Boland:  many technological developments  can be used to help the VC deliver comprehensive information unobtrusively  (as opposed to signs and installations on the ground), enabling the user to get a broader  understanding of the place  in the continuum of experience. 

75^th Anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge: Jennifer Greene/ Doug Overman

The Park Service is committed to revitalizing how people get around the Park and with the birthday of the bridge coming up an opportunity arose to enable visitors to experience the iconic bridge structure as part of the National Park.  Part of the Coastal  Trail  improvements projects will occur  from North to South of the bridge. They will begin in July and go through November.   Some road closures will be needed.  A new stop by the PresidiGo Shuttle will be located at Langdon Court, south of the Bridge off Lincoln Blvd., and will provide some mass transit oriented visitor access to the Coastal Bluffs where a new overlook will be built.  The Merchants Road parking lot will get more capacity; coastal trails will be improved; new overlooks will be created; roadside parking areas will be improved;  trails to Rob Hill will be improved; Lincoln Blvd. will be improved for bikes in both directions.  Trails will be multi-use in several locations along the Coastal Bluffs area but the stunning Battery to Bluffs trail will remain pedestrian only.   

National Park Service report:   Howard Levitt

Interim Visitor Center (up to 3 years):  The relocation to Bldg. 105 generated an immediate spike in visitors since its relocation from the Officer’s Club. 

Fort Mason is undergoing a number of improvements:  

  - Great Meadow’s slopes and trails are being improved

  -The area around Bay and Franklin is undergoing walkway improvement to pedestrian safety especially from turning automobiles

  - Historic homes near the Hostel will be improved and rented at market rates. 

  - The Chapel will be upgraded and be made available for conference space.  

-Dog Management DRAFT Plan:  The comment period closed on 5/30/11.  GGNRA received about 3300 comments.  A Proposed Rule will be developed at end of year 2012 at which time more public comment will be taken. 

Healthy Parks, Healthy People:  A conference was held at Cavallo  Pt. to make the connection between healthy parks and healthy people more explicit, to discuss how parks can be a part of making people healthier in a more intentional way.  A healthy foods strategy was developed to make the concept a reality.  One example of the tools discussed included learning how many calories can be burned on a given trail, for example.  

Upcoming People for the Parks/Presidio meetings will include a review of the Vegetation Management Plan (VMP) (there have been many changes owing to the Doyle Drive construction), an Open Spaces update, and a review of the Wapamaand other matters pertaining to the SF Maritime NHP.  

 

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