Battery Bluff Park
The Presidio sits within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, one of America's most visited national parks. This 6-acre site features uninterrupted views of San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, Angel Island, Alcatraz, and the city skyline.
Page thoughtfully reconstructed the landscape to improve pedestrian access within the national park. The park reincorporates physical connections and reveals a history disrupted by the 1937 construction of Doyle Drive, Highway 101. The project revitalizes the space above, below, and adjacent to Highway 101 through innovative landscape architecture.
Battery Bluff Park, a 6-acre component of the site and part of our team's final design and construction phase, transforms the top of a highway tunnel into a vibrant green space. Page established a new parkland where an open trench highway previously existed, revealing and restoring historic coastal military batteries—now open for public exploration.
Landscape architecture
The park seamlessly connects urban spaces and diverse natural habitats, with multiple levels wrapping the surrounding bluff. Nestled between the San Francisco National Cemetery and the Historic Batteries and Bluff, the park blends nature, history, and recreation. Smaller spaces punctuate the landscape, framing panoramic views.
The park’s upper-level welcomes visitors with picnic tables, social seating, and lush native gardens. Interpretive signage invites exploration and offers insights into the site's rich history. A multi-use trail winds through four historic coastal military batteries, linking previously disconnected paths and expanding access for pedestrian and bicycles from the park to the city, to the Golden Gate Bridge and beyond.
Carefully curated pathways guide visitors to intimate pockets of nature and contemplative spaces. These thoughtfully designed areas harmonize with The Presidio’s natural beauty, offering a seamless and immersive experience. Whether enjoying breathtaking bluff views, exploring historic batteries, relaxing on the lawn, enjoying a bike ride, or running through nature, visitors engage deeply with the spectacular environment.
Sustainability
National register historic property
The 1,600-acre Presidio National Park site is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The designation explicitly mentions the landscape as a contributing factor, requiring the corridor’s design, including Battery Bluff Park, to preserve and enhance its historic character.
The project sources over 150,000 plants from seedlings, reducing reliance on external resources and transportation. Using native California plants, endemic to the site, enhances biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. The project achieves a cost-effective method for reintroducing and expanding native habitats that resulted in reducing water use by 50 percent.
Establishing a dedicated local nursery staffed by San Francisco volunteers highlights the community's commitment to stewardship, preservation, and engagement. This approach restores The Presidio’s historic natural character, reduces transportation-associated carbon emissions, and fosters a sense of ownership among the community.
Park transformation
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Project implementation
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“We've spent a lot of time and effort to restore these batteries and make them accessible so that the public can come through here, appreciate the trails, the views, the plantings, the picnic areas, but also learn something about the Presidio’s history.”Rob ThomsomFederal Preservation OfficerPresidio Trust
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