JANUARY 2008

FROM FORT MASON TO FORT MASON CENTER - PART 2


“When I came down here, I thought what a hapless idea,” said Gladys Thacher — one of Fort Mason Center’s first board members — about the idea of turning the abandoned piers and warehouses of the lower fort into a cultural center. “Fort Mason is always fogged in and cold.”

But the passion, vision, and commitment of Ann Howell, the Foundation’s first executive director, quickly won her over. Grassroots nonprofit organizations needed affordable accommodations. “That was the idea,” Thacher said, “to showcase the cultural diversity and variety of San Francisco.”

Howell and her idealistic staff began work shortly after the Foundation was formed in 1976 to make Fort Mason Center a reality. But it wasn’t going to be easy. The buildings required a great deal of work. Building B was in the best shape, and the Foundation was able to build a 99-seat theatre on the third floor. Building C was a basic warehouse when the Foundation acquired it. A new boiler was installed; the safety system and bathroom facilities were upgraded; the floors were redone; and the space was cleaned, painted, and divided into workable units rentable for nonprofits. Building D, on the other hand, was in terrible shape — a concrete box filled with graffiti and scattered junk. Still, in the first year of operation, Fort Mason Center’s Building D welcomed the Magic Theatre and its 99-seat theatre on the third floor.

Building E also needed extensive work. The Firehouse — a battery charging station while the port was active — required complete interior renovation. Pier two, now the Herbst Pavilion, was in relatively good shape. Although it needed expanded plumbing and electrical systems, it was usable for Fort Mason Center’s first big event — the Pacific States Crafts Fair, the precursor to the American Craft Council’s Craft Fair, one of Fort Mason Center’s largest, most well-attended, and continuing events.

“At that point, Fort Mason Center left its grassroots phase and moved toward a more institutional phase,” Thacher says. Howell left the foundation and eventually Marc Kasky, the Foundation’s administrative director, took over.

By the summer of 1978, more than 15 resident organizations had their offices at Fort Mason Center. Blue Bear School of American Music, Friends of the San Francisco Library, and the San Francisco Children’s Art Center were among them. Greens Restaurant and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Rental Gallery were anxiously waiting in the wings for their arrival in the fall. The Magic Theatre had already enjoyed a successful season by that time.

By the time Kasky was asked to take the executive director position in the summer of 1980, he had already done much of the work, and things were really starting to happen at Fort Mason Center. The worries of many contributors in need of visible organization and solid plans to justify their continued and essential support of the Foundation were finally allayed.

Kasky focused on continuously improving the Center and constantly reevaluated the ways in which available space was being used. The resident organizations were and continue to be an integral part of Fort Mason Center’s success. But, according to Kasky, having conference space, theaters, and activity spaces broadened the audience the Center could reach and made self-sufficiency a reality.

The story of how Pier three became usable is as important to the story of the success of Fort Mason Center as the existence of the resident groups. For the young Foundation, the enormous cost necessary to renovate Pier three and the lack of available funds made the project seem nearly impossible. Fate stepped in, however, and Kasky seized the moment when San Francisco hosted a national bottlers’ convention for Coca-Cola in 1979. The corporation was scanning the waterfront for a location to hold a reception for 5,000 people. They decided to check out Fort Mason Center.

“I told them that they could have Pier three for free if they could make it work,” Kasky said. They accepted the offer. By the time the one-night reception took place, Coca-Cola had invested more than $100,000 in the pier. The event was a huge success and a landmark in the history of Fort Mason Center. People began to notice the Center like never before.

“The Coke event triggered a whole sequence of events,” Kasky said. In September 1980, The People’s Republic of China used both piers to produce their first official exhibit in the United States. It marked the first large-scale exposure of Chinese commerce and culture to America and put Fort Mason Center on the map.|





— Eric Hunt, with thanks to the book, Evolution.

Images:

Fort Mason Center Today
Top row: San Francisco Children’s Art Center & Greens’ Executive Chef Annie Somerville, Friends of the SF Public Library new bookstore Photo: Janice Tong

Founding Fort Mason Center Board menber Margie Boyd and former Fort Mason Center Executive Director Marc Kasky, Photo: Janice Tong

Bottom row: Blue Bear School of Music after-school rock Photo: Dennis Criteser, Magic Theatre scene from Expedition 6 Photo: David Allen studio, American Craft Council’s Craft Fair in the Herbst Pavilion Photo: Bradford Gregory