The San Francisco Citizen

Here’s the problem our Presidio Trust faces - they’re caught between two factions:

1. The where’s our fabulous museum already? crowd; and 

2. The normal assortment of obstructionists who crop up whenever anybody tries to do anything in this town.

Primarily. There’s other folks as well of course, like those who object to a lodge in a national park and those who have ownership interests in nearby movie theatres and therefore want the historic Main Post Theatre to remain closed. It’s a real furball.

Anywho all this fussing takes time, so you the public will get another shot. The long version is below. Read the short version here, courtesty of reliable Marisa Lagos at SFGate.

Is this a craps table or a model of a possible future greened-up Main Post? The Presidio Trust’s Chandler McCoy shows a tour group from the American Institute of Architects San Francisco how he’ll Save the Presidio from the obstructionists. Click to roll the bones:

As promised, here’s the latest. The big thing is yet another public comment opportunity on October 14th, 2008 at 6:30 PM. It will be at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in the Marina, so you’ll have no fear of getting ticketed by the Park Police.

See you there!
 

“Presidio of San Francisco (September 2, 2008) — The community has another month to share their comments on proposals to revitalize the Presidio’s Main Post as a center for history, art, and culture and as a place that welcomes the public. The Presidio Trust announced today that it has extended the comment period on its Draft Main Post Update and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) to October 20. The extra time gives the Trust, other historic preservation organizations, and the community an additional opportunity to consider how the birthplace of San Francisco can be commemorated alongside new amenities for visitors to the national park.
 
“People care passionately about the Presidio. We’ve already received approximately 1,000 comments, and 1,500 people attended our Main Post walking tours this summer,” said Craig Middleton, executive director of the PresidioTrust, the federal agency charged with preserving and protecting the military post turned national park. “We’re fortunate to haveproposals on the table that would be the envy of many communities, but there are issues we need to resolve. We are excited about what the future of the Presidio’s most historic area could be and we hope to build enthusiasm in the community as well.”
 
“In June, the Presidio Trust released its draft updated plan for the Main Post and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, outlining ideas for sharing the Presidio’s history and establishing new ways to use and enjoy the center of the park. The Main Post encompasses 120 acres and more than 1.28 million square feet of building space. Cornerstone ideas include: establishing a Heritage and Archaeology Center in the Officers’ Club at the site of the original fort; creating the park’s first lodge; and rehabilitating and expanding the long-closed Presidio Theatre. The proposal that has received the most attention is for a contemporary art museum housing Donald and Doris Fisher’s renowned collection of works from the 20th and 21st centuries. The museum would be a new cultural anchor for the national park. A proposal to transform the Main Parade Ground, a 7-acre parking lot, into a new public open space was decided last summer.
 
“The Trust is exploring the challenging historic preservation issues with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the State Historic Preservation Office, and the National Park Service, including how new construction and additions to historic buildings could successfully be carried out on the Main Post. Issues to be considered include the design and location of the proposed museum. This process, governed by Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, was also followed when the Letterman Digital Arts Center was being considered to replace the decommissioned Letterman Hospital in 2001. The Section 106 consultation meetings began last November and will continue later this month. Other organizations participating in the consultation are:

•        National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP)
•        Presidio Historical Association (PHA)
•        Sierra Club (SC)
•        Descendents of the Portola and Anza Expedition (DAPE)
•        National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA)
•        San Francisco Architectural Heritage (SFAH)
•        People for a Golden Gate National Recreation Area (PGGNRA)
•        Neighborhood Associations for Planning at the Presidio (NAPP)
•        Cow Hollow Association (CHA)
•        Laurel Heights Improvement Association (LHIA)
 
“The proponents for the three major projects (the contemporary art museum, the lodge, and the Presidio Theater) will also participate in the consultation. 
 
“The Presidio Trust has scheduled a second public board of directors meeting to take comments on the proposals. The meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 14, at 6:30 pm, at the Palace of Fine Arts theatre, 3301 Lyon Street. More than 700 people attended the first public hearing held on July 14.
 
“Input received during the public comment period and the feedback from the Section 106 historic preservation process will be used by the Trust board to make its final decision, expected towards the end of the year.
 
“The Presidio Trust is also hosting three workshops to provide additional opportunities to the public to discuss the Draft Main Post Plan and Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. The workshops will also provide a forum to discuss further the kinds of activities that the public would like to see in the Main Post in the future.
Thursday, September 25, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue
Sunday, September 28, 2 to 4 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue
Thursday, October 2, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop

“The draft plan, Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement, and other documents are available at www.presidio.gov.

“Comments are welcomed through October 20 at mainpost@presidiotrust.gov.

___________________________

Leave out the fiction, Nimbies
The fact is, your friction
Will only be worn by persistence.
Leave out conditions,
Courageous convictions
Will drag the dream into existence.

This is Wednesday, so that means they’re already preparing for another Friday Night at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. This week’s effort will include Rolando Morales and AudioBus. Per Rolando:

Friday nights at the De Young are a happening place: the whole museum is open to 8:45 and they feature music, film, dance, poetry, tours, etc. Tonight will feature the Rolando Morales Group with the amazing bassist for Airto, Gary Brown; from Nicaragua, the great Latin percussionist/vocalist Danilo Paíz; the wonderful keyboardist from Spearhead, Bob Crawford; from Brazil, the great drummer from Steve Winwood and Airto, Celso Alberti; and Rolando Morales leading the journey on guitar, guitar synthesizer and vocals.

And AudioBus? Well, they’ve got two “trips” scheduled for the night but they appear to be sold out now. You can always show up early and try to become a  stand-by fare. ”Human Street Textures” is the theme for this bus.

This whole Night at the Museum thing is quite lively, attracting folks who aren’t heavy museum goers. Here’s what it looked like last week:

Refreshments!

Dancing!

Chihuly! An evening docent tour, check the schedule to when they offer this.   

Kid-friendly activities:

And they had packed house to hear a lecture about Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and a few other topics from William Maynez, mural historian at City College of San Francisco:

See you there!

It’s on! It’s fantastic. It’s you. It’s Power and Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty running through September 21, 2008 in the first floor Lee, Hambrecht, and Osher Galleries at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum. Take a look at the show here and learn more about it here, courtesy of kultural kommissar Kenneth “you need me” Baker.

You see, all this stuff isn’t merely decorative, it actually means something. That’s why the  heavy accompanying book costs $18 to ship from Amazon - this whole show is just chock-a-block full of culture. To wit, check out cover boy Prince Zhu Youyuan in his ceremonial uniform. His shoulder patches represent the moon and the sun, and you can also see green dragons blue vessels, green algae, red fire, white rice, blue axes, and blue bows. Dude’s got more icons than an iPhone 3.0. Click to expand:

Click on this one and see that they played golf in China back in the day, LPGA style. Court ladies in the inner palace, by Du Jin (active middle 15th century). Handscroll, ink and colors on silk:

Ming bling wasn’t just muddy red or brilliant blue on white - we’ve got a whole palette here:

So what’s your move? Get on over there before it closes next month. The only rational way to beat the crowds on August 3rd, 2008, Target First Free Sunday, would be to get in line before they open at 10:00 AM. But then you’d miss the opportunity to get in on the docent tours offered on all non Target Sundays at 10:30 AM,  12:30 PM and 1:30 PM.

Here’s what you do if you go on a day when you actually have to pay admission: Arrive early to check things out on your own and then take the free one-hour tour with a docent like Anthony Pan:

There’s lot’s of stuff to learn at The Asian’s best show ever. See you there!

Oh mercy! San Francisco Chronicle Art Critic Kenneth Baker’s “empty virtuosity” review of “Chihuly at the de Young” sparked a bit of a controversy. So much so, that Ken is back for another go with “Unfavorable ‘Chihuly’ review sparks emotions.”

1.Ken makes it abundantly clear he feels “Chihuly’s baubles” do not merit a major museum show, but of course that didn’t stop him from checking out the exhibit. Here’s what he says about a reader who feels exactly the same way:

“One sensible reader found a middle path: He agreed with me that Chihuly’s baubles do not merit a major museum show, but found it useful to figure out for himself why, through firsthand experience.”

So, if you agree with Baker 100%, he’ll label you a “sensible” reader. O.K., fine. Does Mr. Baker really not want you to see this show? Not even for free on Target Weekend back when we had the chance? We should take our 15 bones and go see Saw IV instead? Really?

2. Comes now another Reader:

“Yet another, though she deplored my effort to discourage people from seeing the show, described how she came to see the emptiness of Chihuly’s work on her own - after three visits.”

People people people, now who told you to see this show three times? Everybody should see it once - how’s that for unsolicited advice? (Thankfully, Kenny Boy didn’t write, “You see, you philistine, I was right and you were wrong!”)

3. Remember KB’s ”effort to discourage people from seeing the show” - forget all that: 

“As a practical matter, nothing I or any other critic can say will slow the juggernaut of Chihuly’s success. In all likelihood, as experience suggests, such a damning review will bring more people, not fewer, to the exhibition.”

Please don’t try to reconcile the quotes from above - it will just give you a headache.

4.But wait! Here, straight out of WTF-land, an attack on teh Internet bloggers. Apropos of nothing in particular, we get this: 

“Does the art public need critics, specialists, to help it sort these struggles out? Yes. It truly is a full-time job. Bloggers cannot - at any rate, do not - get it done.”

Daily delivery of the Chronicle’s dead tree editions (which isn’t going to last forever) is really the only thing keeping Ken from becoming a blogger. Would Ken make a good blogger? Sure, why not? Said Sally Field: “You like me, you really like me!”  Says Ken Baker: “You need me, you really need me!”

Could there be some people with views more nuanced than Ken’s? Like this one? At least one blogger cries foul. Another says Ken is “wrong about bloggers.” Uh oh.

You should check out the Chihuly show to see what all the fuss is about, right? To make that easier on you:

Extended Hours for Chihuly at the de Young. Beginning Saturday, August 2, Chihuly at the de Young will extend its weekend hours to accommodate the large crowds that have come to see the exhibition. An extra hour will be added on Saturdays and Sundays for the rest of the run of the exhibition, with the last ticket sold for 5:15 pm entry and the galleries open until 6:15.

Well, let’s end this strife. For your consideration:

Click to expand.

See you there!

The Presidio Trust wanted a big turnout, and that’s what they got. How many folks showed up last night at the Presidio Trust Public Board of Directors meeting? More than 500 and less than 1000. Read a vivid account here.

These poor souls had to wait about 45 minutes before being admitted, but nobody was “turned away,” as has been alleged. Across the street you can see the “First Amendment Area” at Moraga and Monkey. That’s the nicest time, place, manner free speech area this lawyer has ever seen.

The news of the evening is that public comment period will be extended to September, so expect another big meeting like this one. A transcript will be available soon, so let’s wait on that before getting into this too much.

Is there a NIMBY backlash developing among area youth?

The Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, was booed by a good chunk of the mob after he voiced support for the CAMP museum as well as the entire Presidio Trust proposal. Only in San Francisco….

In the words of world-famous architect Richard Gluckman, “Working in San Francisco is not like anywhere else.”

Here’s what Angelo King of the Bayview Hunter’s Point Project Area Committee has to say, and here’s the official case made for the museum:

To be continued…

Well it seems like it takes forever to get anything done in this town, but we’ll be passing another milestone tonight. In the words of well-informed Marisa Lagos:

“Controversy over a series of proposed developments in the Presidio’s Main Post- most notably Gap founder Don Fisher’s 100,000-square-foot modern art museum - is heating up in advance of a meeting Monday.”

Make sure you get to the correct location: 

Presidio Herbst International Exhibition Hall, 385 Moraga Avenue (next to the Presidio Officers’ Club on the Main Post). The public is invited to offer comments on the draft Presidio Trust Management Plan Main Post Update Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (read more). If you have questions, please call the Presidio Trust Public Affairs Office at (415) 561-5418. View the board meeting agenda.”

There seems to be a lot of interest in these developments:

This is what the start of the Main Post Walking Tour looks like. Feel free to check out this guided tour before tonight’s board meeting:

“Monday, July 14, 4:30 to 6 pm. Meet Outside the Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue. On this easy-to-moderate 90-minute guided walk, Presidio Trust staff will discuss ideas for revitalizing the Main Post as the heart of an urban national park. Get answers to your questions and find out how you can make your opinions heard in this public process.”

But what about you? Where can you protest?

“A ‘First Amendment’ Area has been established on the lawn at the northwest corner of the intersection of Montgomery Street and Moraga Avenue, set back five feet from any sidewalk.”

(Yes, it’s odd that the San Francsico index of streetnames has two Moragas and two Montgomerys.)

Conveniently, this location is right next to the board meeting, the site of our new Richard Gluckman-designed CAMP museum, and the defunct movie theatre that’s scheduled to be reopened one of these days.  

But the whole idea is to get inside and participate in the process, so why not? You’ll be able to see how many NIMBYs will turn out - you know, San Francisco has more than its fair share of NIMBYs. They’ll identify themselves by telling you how many years they’ve lived in such and such neighborhood.

Then they’ll proceed with their favorite rhetorical trope, the metaphor. Which metaphor will prove most popular?

A. Monster. Includes “giant” and other words connoting size.

B. Alien. Includes any reference to otherworldliness.

C. Disease. Includes anything cancer-related, such as “spread” or “metastasize.” (This one is a long-shot)

D. Any other metaphor.

And while we’re on the topic, the drinking game watchwords tonight will be separated into two categories, adjective and adverb. Hoist a drink upon hearing any mention of the word inappropriate. That game is for professional drinkers only, so as an alternative, take a drink of your favorite intoxicant when you hear either completely or totally in the same sentence as the aforementioned inappropriate.

So there you have it. See you there!

The Asian Art Museum special exhibition Power & Glory: Court Arts of China’s Ming Dynasty really packed them in yesterday. Target First Free Sundays might have had a role, but this thing appears to be popular even on days when you can’t get in for free. And remarkably, Kenneth Baker likes it!

The line to get in yesterday went down Polk, Grove, Hyde (pictured), and McAllister. It was phenomenal, perhaps 500 people waiting? The museum is claiming 10,000 people dropped by on Sunday.

Click to expand:

See you there!

To begin, John King is the San Francisco Chronicle’s Urban Design Writer. And an equine dentist is one who looks a gift horse in the mouth. And CAMP is the proposed Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio. Now you’re up to speed!

Here’s the deal. Check out John King’s Fisher’s Awkward Location for Presidio Museum article and this graphic to see where he’d prefer our new museum to be.

If you like huge parking lots and “historic” freeway on-ramps, then you’ll want to delay any changes at the main post of the Presidio for as long as possible.  

Now here’s the case for keeping the proposal where it is. By the numbers:

1. Framing. CAMP would help to “frame” the newly-green main parade ground, which is now a huge parking lot of course. That’s the basic version, but internationally-famous architect Richard Gluckman would probably be able to expand on that. He should be more than capable of doing so, as his name is literally synonymous with from Bauhaus to our house minimalism. See and hear for yourself on July 10 in San Francisco, if you can pony up the dough.   

2. The view from inside of CAMP. Check out this graphic - it’s a glass wall that would let visitors look to the north. JK’s idea would be to keep the proposed location of CAMP empty in order to let future generations to decide what’s best. But the glass wall and other features of the building certainly suggest it was designed for this particular site.

3. The proximity to Building 101. You can see 101 here - it’s the middle building on the right. There’s your administrative offices for the museum and also the place for workshops and programs. It would be nice to be able to have the main museum building reserved mostly for display space leaving Building 101 for other things. And of course, it would be nice to have these two locations close to each other.

So there you have it.

Would John King prefer chucking the whole idea of CAMP if it can’t be placed at his preferred location?

That, unfortunately, remains left unsaid. 

Well, as promised, park officials over at the Presidio led a tour on Sunday describing new proposals for the area around the Main Post.

Yesterday, a good turnout of about 75 people went on a 1.5 hour tour of El Presidio and the Main Post. Tour participants inside the Presdio Officer’s Club, click to expand:

It’s your Presdio, of course, so feel free to attend other walking tours scheduled for this summer:

Come see for yourself what proposals for the Presidio are all about. On this easy-to-moderate 90-minute guided walk, Presidio Trust staff will describe the birthplace of San Francisco at the heart of the Presidio – the historic Main Post – and discuss ideas for revitalizing it as the heart of an urban national park. Learn about proposals for a heritage center, an archaeology lab, public uses in the iconic brick barracks, a park lodge, reuse of the historic theatre, and a museum of contemporary art. Get answers to your questions and find out how you can make your opinions heard in this public process.

July 14th will be the next big event in the process of Bringing Back the Heart of the Presidio, as they say.

See you there!

Well, just kidding about the San Francisco Chronicle Urban Design Writer John King wanting to move La Pyramide du Louvre, but wouldn’t that big old museum in Paris be so much nicer if this modern glass pyramid were moved, say, just 150 yards to the south?

If you agree (or even if you don’t), head on over to Curbed SF and get your vote on about the siting of the soon-to-be fabulous Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio.

Juxtaposition! Sacrebleu! Quelle horreur! Caio Basillio via Flickr 

And while you’re at it, you might as well mark your calenders for the walking tour of the Main Post of the Presidio scheduled for 2:00 PM on Sunday, June 15th: 

Come see for yourself what proposals for the Presidio are all about. On this easy-to-moderate 90-minute guided walk, Presidio Trust staff will describe the birthplace of San Francisco at the heart of the Presidio – the historic Main Post – and discuss ideas for revitalizing it as the heart of an urban national park. Learn about proposals for a heritage center, an archaeology lab, public uses in the iconic brick barracks, a park lodge, reuse of the historic theatre, and a museum of contemporary art. Get answers to your questions and find out how you can make your opinions heard in this public process. Layered clothing and comfortable shoes are recommended.

Of course, comfortable shoes are always recommended. See you there, mon frère!