Nothing like Presidio Tunnel Tops exists in the Bay Area, in terms of size or natural history, or in terms of being free to everyone. That is thanks to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which privately raised $98 million to go with the $20 million supplied by the Presidio Trust, which oversaw the job.
The brand new Presidio Tunnel Tops park opened to the public Sunday morning on July 17 and the reaction was thoroughly positive. John Ramos reports.
Chris Lehnertz, the president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, explained that the 14 acres of new park was made possible through the support of many San Francisco philanthropists, in what was one of the largest fundraising campaigns for public open space in the city’s history — raising $98 million of the park’s $118 million budget.
“When the Highway separated that area, it really created an ecological disconnect,” says Lew Stringer, Presidio naturalist and consultant on the flora for Tunnel Tops. “We want these plants to create an inviting landscape that will feel like a gorgeous garden.”
"When they come to the Presidio Tunnel Tops," said Chris Lehnertz, President of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, "they’re just going to see the grand connection that all of this makes for parklands."
“Once every couple of generations, you get to do a project like this,” said Christine Lehnertz, executive director of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. The conservancy is a nonprofit partner with the National Park Service that raised $98 million in donations for the $118 million project.
The National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy are entering into a third phase of improvements at Hawk Hill that will provide greater accessibility, enhance ecology and historical resources, and bolster the site's namesake status as a raptor observatory.
Kites filled the sky at Crissy Field on Saturday, May 7, 2022 in celebration of the end of the 20th anniversary of the park's renovation.
In August 2021, the pathways that connect Aquatic Park to blufftop Fort Mason reopened to the public for the first time since the 49ers landed in SF.
Through the Parks Conservancy's Migratory Story program, Francis Taroc and his team visit classrooms to teach youth about raptor anatomy and migration, connecting biology lessons to immigrant experiences.
The Presidio Tunnel Tops, part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, is a brand-new outdoor space in the historic Presidio neighborhood, created by the designers of New York’s High Line.
More than three decades since early visions for the redevelopment of Doyle Drive, cutting through the heart of the Presidio, the 14-acre national park site known as the Tunnel Tops has a firm opening date for the public: Sunday, July 17.
