With Phase II construction of the Presidio Parkway (a.k.a. the Re-envisioning of Doyle Drive) underway, next week the Presidio Trust will release a Request for Concept Proposals, seeking concepts for reusing the former Commissary and current Sports Basement site at Crissy Field as a cultural facility. The Trust is working with the Basement to find a permanent replacement location in the park.
Phase II construction of the Presidio Parkway is slated to continue through 2015 which includes construction of the Presidio Viaduct and Battery Tunnel, the Main Post Tunnels, the new Girard Road Interchange and the final landscaping, the New Presidio Parklands Project, as watercolored above.
While I am glad to know “the Basement” will be relocating to another location in the park, I suspect that future cultural anthropologists will view the current store and the adjacent parking lot as the epitome of a cultural facility for our time.
Could anyone showcase a combination of the materialism, the yearning for self improvement vs. the self-illusion that People Like Us find at Sports Basement? The sometimes friendly, sometimes surly staff? Plus they have restrooms. And a play area for kids. Everyone is welcome, and the prices are fair. Plan your fund-raising athletic event to start in the parking lot, just order some portable toilets.
As if an amphitheater that gets used by skateboarders or an art gallery could even come close to defining post-millenial bay area culture.
What do you think? I believe my “Big Box Retail as Cultural Facility” idea would totally fly with the planners.
Phase III: Profit.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO5sxLapAts
Seriously, this never gets old.
The loss of SB at its current locaiton is sort of a tragedy. But, its a casulaty in a much greater / better use of all the space in that area. I think the designers / urban planners did a great job here. I have no idea how they are going to seamlessly accomplish off of this by the end of 2015.
I’m still waiting for a shoe to drop on residential development within the park. You KNOW there’s pressure for it, and the, erm, “horticulture practices” of late within the park seem to be pointing in that direction.
I agree that the Sports Basements fits so well at its current location…so,much of its merchandise used in activities taking place right outside its doors…its seems like a perfect fit.
@EH- could you expound a little??
CSK – I think that EH is referring to the removal of trees in the Presidio. Over 120 acres at last count, I believe, in order to “save some endangered manzanita and grasses”. But I could be wrong.
I assumed by “horticultural practices” EH meant people growing pot in the park.
The Presidio doesn’t need another “cultural facility.” Even the wonderful Walt Disney Museum is poorly attended, possibly due to location?
CSK is correct in his observation the best use of the Presidio is recreation.
Future generations are sure going to wonder why they didn’t bury the whole roadway. What a lost opportunity.
Basically, Doyle Drive is a freeway connecting Lombard St. to the GGB and 1S. The old structure cut off Crissy Field from the Presidio, not unlike the Embarcadero Freeway cutting off the waterfront from the Financial District. Although the replacement is much better in terms of uniting significant portions of the Presidio and Crissy Field, it’s still a multi-line highway that isn’t integrated with the area, unlike the post-freeway Embarcadero, and this is fine. Too bad more of it couldn’t have been in a tunnel, like BobN pointed out.
I have never understood how going over a bridge (new road) between the main post and Crissy Field is millions of dollars better than going under one (as with the old road). And it will be a shame to loose SB, which is one of the few active uses in the Presidio. Why can’t planners leave well enough alone?
BobN (and Mark)…you can’t really bury the whole roadway, because it needs to climb to get to the Bridge. I’m pretty sure that it is now as low as it can go. Certainly an enormous improvement.
Ha, everyone wants the entire road underground until they find out the cost and then everyone gets all bent out of shape about the cost, the waste of tax payer money, the millions the developer is making, etc.
This is a great mix of providing a key artery to/from Marin while keeping the presidio a beautiful natural open space that can be used by thousands.
SB isn’t leaving the Presidio, just moving locations. Agreed, I like the current location but I am sure all us loyal SB lovers will still find our way to the new location.
Keep up the great work Presidio Trust….love what you are doing with the area.
The whole thing should be buried at a modest several billion dollar cost which is nothing compared to the 6 billion + annual City of San Francisco budget and 4.5 billion dollar MTC transportation budget – the GG bridge should be for peds and bikes only as it services a northern couple of counties with a fewer people than the city of Oakland and Berkely combined.
I think it’s a very thoughtful compromise. Coming into the City through the GG bridge is part of the attraction for tourists and visitors. With this new Parkway, getting out of the tunnel to join this fantastic landscape will be an entire part of the magic. There are people in these cars too, and they should also get their share of the fun.
Imagine if they had put the inbound section under the outbound one on the Bay Bridge. What a waste of a great sight that would be. Nobody regrets that in SF I’ll bet.
I don’t mean they should have buried it from the bridge, just from the buried part in front of the cemetery all the way to Lombard and other exits. It’s not a matter of “billions” of dollars. And if they were so concerned about money, put some buildings on top of the roadway. Better some buildings than a highway.
I’m a long-time Marina resident, and am very happy with all the work that’s been done with restoring Crissy Field and upgrading Doyle Drive. I also agree that losing SB would be a travesty, it’s a perfect fit for the area.
When I first moved into the Marina, Crissy Field was an ugly, paved airfield leftover by the Army, and there was a chainlink fence around it. Awful place. Today it’s beautiful and an amazing park for an urban setting. Just stunning.
Doyle Drive used to be unbelievably dangerous to drive. You were one sneeze away from a head-on collision, and if a big quake hit, folks in Marin could forget about getting into the city for a while. I think the work being done on Doyle Drive right now is thus far well done and thought out, and does take into consideration improving not just traffic flow and safety, but also making a major transit route fit in nicely with Crissy Field and making it feel like a more integrated area.
Gotta tell ya, happy to live where I do right now. Just wish it wouldn’t take them so long to finish the construction and get it over with.
UPDATE: Sixteen Proposals For Presidio Site Including A Lucas Arts Museum