 Celebrating The Fort Of The Future
Located on the San Francisco waterfront between Fisherman’s Wharf and the Golden Gate, Fort Mason Center offers people from every walk of life the opportunity to experience diversity in a unique urban recreational environment.
In use by the military for more than 200 years, Fort Mason
was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 4,
1985, for its important role during World War II and the Korean
conflict as the embarkation point for troops and supplies
shipped to the Pacific. By 1962, transport by air made Fort
Mason obsolete, and it fell into disuse and disrepair.
In the 1970s, Congress passed legislation creating the first urban national park, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, which includes Fort Mason Center’s 13 acres. The Fort Mason Foundation was created in 1976 to convert the empty buildings into a much-needed cultural center. In January 1977, Fort Mason Center opened to the public.
The Center has become a national model for the conversion
of military facilities to peacetime use. Two dozen resident nonprofit
organizations provide a broad range of activities for all
interests, from the performing and visual arts to environmental
concerns and wilderness adventures.
Museums presenting exhibitions, lectures, classes, and
family workshops include Museo ItaloAmericano (Italian
and Italian American art) and the SFMOMA Artists Gallery (work by Northern California artists). Five theaters
present national and international productions offering a
variety of dramatic, comedic, dance, and musical performances
suitable for all ages.
Fort Mason Center hosts more than 15,000 events each year,
produced by close to 2,000 different organizations and individuals,
in a broad range of conference, meeting, activity, theater,
and pavilion-style spaces available for rent by both the nonprofit
and for-profit sectors.
Fort Mason Foundation also manages Herbst International Exhibition Hall at the San Francisco Presidio.The inaugural exhibit was “Ocean Planet,” presented by the Smithsonian Institution in August 1996, followed by shows from the United Nations Environmental Programme, the National Japanese American Historical Society, and the California Indian Museum.
Many cities have a symphony, an opera, museums and a zoo, but only San Francisco has a Fort Mason Center, where the magnificent diversity of the Bay Area is so well-represented. The old fort that was so lifeless and neglected in 1977 has become a valuable asset for the 1.6 million people who now enjoy it every year, and an inspiration for the many who wish to replicate it.
|
People, Places, & Events in the History of Fort Mason Center
 |
| Late 1970s / Early 1980s |
| Pacific States Craft Fair * Dickens Fair * San Francisco Fair * Guardsmen Christmas Tree Sale * Friends of the Library Book Sale * Exhibition of the People’s Republic of China * the Venice Biennale’s “Presence of the Past” * “Vienna: A European Symphony” * Sam Shepard & Michael McClure at Magic Theatre * People’s Theatre Coalition * KQED Auction * Robot Wars * Visits by the Dalai Lama & Marcel Marceau * State of the Bay Conference * World Print Competition * Greens Restaurant * San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery . . . |
|
|
