Special History Study Presidio of San Francisco An Outline of Its Evolution as a U.S. Army Post, 1847-1990 Presidio of San Francisco GOLDEN GATE National Recreation Area California NOV 1CM992 . Special History Study Presidio of San Francisco An Outline of Its Evolution as a U.S. Army Post, 1847-1990 August 1992 Erwin N. Thompson Sally B. Woodbridge Presidio of San Francisco GOLDEN GATE National Recreation Area California United States Department of the Interior National Park Service Denver Service Center "Significance, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder" Brian W. Dippie Printed on Recycled Paper CONTENTS PREFACE vii ABBREVIATIONS viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ix INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1: THE BEGINNINGS, 1846-1861 5 A. Takeover 5 B. The Indians 8 C. The Boundaries 9 D. Adobes, Forts, and Other Matters 10 CHAPTER 2: CIVIL WAR, 1861-1865 21 A. Organizing 21 B. Keeping the Peace 22 C. Building the Post 23 CHAPTER 3: THE PRESIDIO COMES OF AGE, 1866-1890 31 A. Peacetime 31 B. The Division Comes to the Presidio 36 C. Officers' Club, 20 46 D. Other Buildings 47 E. Troop Duty 49 F. Fort Winfield Scott 51 CHAPTER 4: BEAUTIFICATION, GROWTH, CAMPS, EARTHQUAKE, FORT WINFIELD SCOTT, 1883-1907 53 A. Beautification 53 B. Growth 64 C. Camps and Cantonments 70 D. Earthquake 75 E. Fort Winfield Scott, Again 78 CHAPTER 5: THE PRESIDIO AND THE FORT, 1906-1930 81 A. A Headquarters for the Division 81 B. Housing and Other Structures, 1907-1910 81 C. Infantry Terrace 84 D. Fires and Firemen 86 E. Barracks 35 and Cavalry Stables 90 F. Fort Winfield Scott 90 G. Panama-Pacific International Exposition 97 H. World War I and the 1920s . 98 in CHAPTER 6: THE THIRTIES AND THE WAR, 1930-1945 105 A. A Headquarters Post 105 B. Construction 107 C. Works Progress Administration 108 D. Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Ill E. Officers' Club 112 F. Golden Gate Bridge 116 G. World War II 117 CHAPTER 7: THE PRESIDIO, 1945-1990 123 A. Sixth U.S. Army 123 B. Construction 126 CHAPTER 8: THE TENANTS AND OTHER ACTIVITIES 135 A.I. Letterman Army Medical Center 135 A.2. Letterman's Buildings 139 B. Crissy Field 144 C. U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Point 149 D. San Francisco National Cemetery 157 E. Marine Hospital (U.S. Public Health Service Hospital) 162 1. The Hospital 162 2. The Buildings 167 F. Fortifications 169 1. Fort Point 169 2. West and East Batteries 169 3. The Modern Era 171 4. Nike Missiles 179 G. Early Water System 180 CHAPTER 9: THE LEGACY 185 APPENDIX A Chronology: Geography, Events, and Structures, 1847-1990 191 APPENDIX B Sally B. Woodbridge, Glossary of Architectural Styles for the Presidio Buildings 212 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 245 iv ILLUSTRATIONS 1. Presidio of San Francisco and the Golden Gate, 1826 x 2. Plan, Castillo de San Joaquin, ca. 1847 x 3. Presidio of San Francisco, 1852 12 4. Plan, Presidio of San Francisco, 1855 15 16 5. Survey, San Francisco, 1857 6. Photograph, Presidio of San Francisco, 1858 19 7. Plan, Presidio of San Francisco, 1861 20 8. Officers' row, Funston Avenue, ca. 1880 24 9. The Alameda, officers' row, ca. 1880 24 10. Powder magazine, 1863 and 1991 25 29 11. Post hospital 12. Plan, Presidio of San Francisco, 1870 32 13. Landscape views, 1882 and ca. 1902 33 14. Enlisted barracks, ca. 1880 39 40 15. Plan, headquarters, Division of the Pacific 41 16. Plan, first post chapel 45 17. Cavalry barracks, main post, ca. 1893 and 1991 18. Officers' club, prior to 1934 46 19. Plan, Fort Point area, 1870 50 20. Forest, southwest Presidio, ca. 1930 55 21. Architect D.H. Burnham's 1905 plan for the Presidio 59 62 22. Maj. William Harts' 1907 plan for the Presidio 23. Lombard Street entrance 63 24. Brick barracks, ca. 1898, and brick BOQ, 1991, main post 66 67 25. Artillery troops at battery practice, ca. 1901 26. Cavalry barracks built 1902 71 27. Volunteer camps, Spanish-American War, 1898 72 28. East Cantonment, ca. 1907 72 29. Map, East and West Cantonments, 1912 73 74 30. Map, main post and general hospital, 1912 83 31. Officers quarters, Infantry Terrace, 1925 32. Fire, the Funston quarters, 1915 87 33. Presidio fire station, 1991 88 34. Barracks 35 (Ninth Corps Area headquarters) 91 35. Cavalry stables 91 92 36. Officers' quarters, Fort Winfield Scott 37. Commanding officer's quarters, Fort Winfield Scott 92 38. Headquarters building, Fort Winfield Scott 94 39. Barracks, Fort Winfield Scott 94 40. Stockade (guardhouse), Fort Winfield Scott 95 41. Aerial photo, Presidio main post, 1925 100 42. Aerial photo, parade ground area, Presidio, 1925 103 43. Noncommissioned officers' club, Fort Winfield Scott 109 44. Noncommissioned officers' housing, Presidio of San Francisco 109 45. Cooks and Bakers school (Presidio post headquarters) 110 110 46. Barracks 38 (Sixth U.S. Army headquarters) 47. Presidio Officers' Club, 1991 114 48. Central Reserve Magazine 115 49. Map, mobilization construction, Areas A and B 119 50. Aerial photo, Fort Scott, Presidio, San Francisco, ca. 1945 121 51. Aerial photo, Letterman General Hospital, 1957 128 52. Map, Wherry housing, 1987 129 53. Noncommissioned Officers' Club, Presidio 134 54. Chapel of Our Lady 134 55. Letterman General Hospital, ca. 1910 137 56. Letterman General Hospital, 1991 137 57. Corridor, pavilion-type hospital, Letterman 140 58. Crissy Field 147 59. Officers' quarters, Crissy Field 148 60. Bachelor Officers' Quarters, Crissy Field 148 61. Commander's quarters, Fort Point Coast Guard Station 153 62. Fort Point Coast Guard Station 153 63. Map, Fort Point Coast Guard Station 154 64. Plan, San Francisco National Cemetery 160 65. U.S. Marine Hospital, ca. 1929 164 66. Hospital, Marine Hospital 165 67. Nurses' residence, Marine Hospital 165 68. Aerial, Fort Winfield Scott fortifications 170 69. Mine loading buildings, Submarine Mine Depot, Fort Scott 176 70. Harbor Defense Command Post, Battery Dynamite 177 71. Presidio of San Francisco, ca. 1867 189 72. Presidio of San Francisco, ca. 1890 190 VI PREFACE With research and writing limited to a mere six months, its objective restricted to informing park planners briefly regarding the overall history and development of the Presidio, with primary focus on major events and buildings still standing, this history makes no pretense to being a thorough history of the Presidio of San Francisco. That would require several volumes and several years work, and could not be done in the short time or in the fewer than 200 pages devoted to this study. This history was undertaken pursuant to Work Order 1, Presidio Cultural Resources, issued by the Presidio Planning Team, National Park Service, dated September 21, 1990, with a Clarification of Scope dated February 6, 1991. The National Park Service expects in the future to undertake a more comprehensive study of the history of the Presidio of San Francisco. vn ABBREVIATIONS USED AAG Assistant Adjutant General ACP Appointment, Commission, and Personal file (maintained on army officers) AAQM Acting Assistant Quartermaster AQMG Assistant Quartermaster General CCC Civilian Conservation Corps CCF Consolidated Correspondence File (Quartermaster records) CE Corps of Engineers CG Commanding General DEH Directorate of Engineering and Housing (Presidio) GCGF General Correspondence Geographical File (Quartermaster records) LSS Life Saving Service and Life Saving Station NA National Archives OCE Office of the Chief of Engineers OQMG Office of the Quartermaster General ORS Official Records of the Civil War PAM Presidio Army Museum PSF Presidio of San Francisco QMG Quartermaster General RG Record Group ROTC Reserve Officers Training Corps USCG United States Coast Guard USN United States Navy USS United States Ship WAC Women's Army Corps WPA Works Progress Administration viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The military records of the U.S. Army located in the National Archives, Washington, D.C., and in the San Francisco Branch of the National Archives concerning the Presidio of San Francisco, Fort Winfield Scott, and Letterman Army Medical Center from 1847 on, contributed significantly to this special history study. My sincere appreciation goes to Archivists Richard Boyland and Kathy Jacobs in Washington, and Waverly Lowell and Richard Boyden in San Francisco. Thanks are extended to Steve Farneth and Cathleen Malmstrom, Architectural Resources Group, San Francisco, for administrative support throughout the course of the study. Also, Roger Kelley Brown, Frank Williss, and Carey Feierabend of the Presidio Planning Team, and Craig Frazier, all of the Denver Service Center, National Park Service, helped to keep the work on track and almost within the schedule. For extensive historical resources pertaining to the study I thank many people including Kristen Baron-Lang, Presidio Planning Team; Regional Historian Gordon Chappell, Western Regional Office, NPS; Historian Ed Olson, U.S. Coast Guard, Alameda, CA; David Warner, Chief, and Leila Peete, both of the Directorate of Engineering and Housing, Presidio of San Francisco, U.S. Army; Colonel Milton B. Halsey, Jr., Executive Director, Fort Point and Presidio Historical Association; Frank McGrane, former director, J. Edward Greene, Theodore Shaner, and Cindy Herrick, Presidio Army Museum; and Dr. Martin K. Gordon, Chief Historian, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Belvoir, VA. And a special thanks is extended to Sally Woodbridge whose superb knowledge concerning historical architecture is evident throughout this study. Sally's cheerful sharing of knowledge was an education in architectural terms, concepts, and history. Finally, I warmly thank Joan Huff who so skillfully prepared the manuscript on her magical word processor. All these contributions have assisted immeasurably in the completion of the study. Erwin N. Thompson Golden, Colorado, 1991 IX 1. Mexican over the flag flying Presidio of San Francisco, 1826. Drawing by Capt. W. Smyth, British Royal Navy.