SPECIAL EXHIBIT

Parks for the People: 40 Years of Golden Gate NRA

The Golden Gate NRA Museum Program is participating in the San Francisco History Expo. This event includes dozens of local orgainzations that preserve and interpret San Francisco's rich and diverse history. The Golden Gate NRA's exhibit will review park lands in three local counties (Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo), the area's cultural and natural contributions, and how the land became part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, featuring objects and images from the permanent museum collection.
When: March 3rd and 4th, 2012 - 11am to 4pm
Where: San Francisco Museum and Historical Society, Old San Francisco Mint, corner of 5th Street and Mission Street

Museum Collections

The museum collections exist to document and support the history of the sites found within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. The collection contains over 4.2 million items representing over 200 years of post European contact; natural resources of the north and south Pacific border regions of the California coast covering 12 distinct communities; and historical and military objects related to the history of the San Francisco Bay Area and the United States Army there.

The Scope of Collections Statement outlines the fields that are incorporated into the permanent museum collection of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. This document also provides insight regarding the items that are accepted into the collection, how they are reviewed by the park, the laws governing accepting donations, and the basic management of the objects.

Park Archives and Records Center

The Park Archives and Records Center contains over 3 million documents, photographic images, oral histories and maps that document all areas and facets of the history associated with Golden Gate National Recreation Area from Spanish exploration and the establishment of the Presidio in 1776 to the Indian occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969 as well as the current activities of the park. 

The Park Archives and Records Center houses a large collection of transferred Presidio Army Records pertaining to the Presidio of San Francisco and surrounding military sites. NPS management of these Army records means that there is access to a continual line of information about the natural and cultural resources of lands that were formerly managed by the Department of Defense. The primary contents of this collection include over 50,000 engineering drawings and maps of military sites, individual buildings, and coastal defenses.

Take a look at some of the collection's finding aids or browse the park's Photo Gallery which features images from the Park Archives.

You can find more in depth reviews about collections, objects, and positions in our new blog about the museum program: Bridging the Past: Curiosities from the Golden Gate NRA Museum Program

Public Reference Hours

The Park Archives and Records Center has regular walk-in research hours for the public and staff.

Monday 1 pm - 4 pm
Thursday 10 am - 1 pm

Individual appointments are also available by calling (415) 561-2808 or e-mail us.

The Center is closed for research on all federal holidays. Please check below or call for any additional closures.

The archives will also be closed:

Monday, February 20, 2012

Park Archives and Records Center - Presidio Building 667

Location

The facility is located on the Presidio of San Francisco in building 667, near the intersection of Mc Dowell Avenue and Cowles Street, off of Lincoln Boulevard in one of the 1914 historic brick stable buildings.

When using a mapping program type in the intersection of McDowell Ave and Cowles St, San Francisco, CA 94129, as our physical address (667 McDowell Ave) will either not register with the program or will indicate a completely different location.

Please be advised of the changing conditions and detours of the roads in the Presidio during the Doyle Drive construction project. For more information visit the Presidio Parkway website.