NBC Bay Area
October 26, 2023 marked 50 years of tourists visiting Alcatraz Island, the notorious former maximum security federal prison-turned-national park. NBC Bay Area got an insider's vantage point from Jolene Babyak, a Bay Area author who was raised on the island while her father worked at the prison.
"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."
For the first time in 100 years, Black Point Historic Gardens are open to the public. Military families planted the garden years ago, and now volunteers and National Park Service staff have restored it.
"It’s an escape from what’s going on out in the world," said Muir Woods visitor Barbi Martinez. "But it’s also a reminder that there’s beauty."
The Golden Gate National Recreation Area is America's most visited national park. It includes more than 84,000 acres of some of the most valuable real estate in the world and it belongs to every single one of us. And it didn't become a reality by accident. Learn about the dedicated, civic-minded people who made this Uncommon Common Good a reality we can all treasure.
Officials on Thursday held a "groundmaking" ceremony for a park that will eventually connect the Presidio of San Francisco with Crissy Field.
A plastic whale is attempting to demonstrate the magnitude of plastic pollution in the Earth’s oceans to Bay Area residents. Made entirely out of plastic waste, the 82-foot-long blue whale is on display at Crissy Field in San Francisco.
Doug McConnell and Mary Babbitt, hosts of "Where to Go with a Little Dough," take viewers to Lands End, where volunteers enjoy beautiful views and great camaraderie, all while helping restore native habitat in the Golden Gate National Parks. With interviews with Parks Conservancy staff.
A newly restored Guardhouse Complex on Alcatraz Island was revealed on Tuesday, showing off the National Park Service's $3 million improvements.
Ai Weiwei's exhibit on this former federal penitentiary raises questions about freedom of expression and human rights.
