Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is a 4.1-mile-long (6.6 km) year-round stream in southern Marin County, California , United States. This watercourse is also known as Corte Madera Creek , although the actual stream of that name flows into San Francisco Bay further north at Point San Quentin. This watercourse has a catchment basin of about 8 square miles (21 km) and drains the south-eastern slopes of Mount Tamalpais and much of the area in and around the town of Mill Valley ; this stream discharges to Richardson Bay .
38-601: Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is named for the Spanish corte de madera meaning "a place where wood is cut". In this case the wood was cut for the building of the Presidio of San Francisco . In 1834, the governor of Alta California José Figueroa awarded to John T. Reed the first land grant in Marin, Rancho Corte Madera del Presidio . The Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio watershed drains 6.12 square miles (15.9 km) of
76-677: A former airfield, has undergone extensive restoration and is now a popular recreational area. It borders on the San Francisco Marina in the east and on the Golden Gate Bridge in the west. The park has a large inventory of approximately 800 buildings, many of them historical. By 2004, about 50% of the buildings on park grounds had been restored and partially remodeled. The Presidio Trust has contracted commercial real estate management companies to help attract and retain residential and commercial tenants. The total capacity
114-422: A habitat for flora and fauna, previously not in the site's evidence. It also restored a historic grass airfield that became a culturally significant military airfield between 1919 and 1936. The park at Crissy Field expanded and widened the recreational opportunities of the existing 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 -mile (2.4 km) San Francisco shore to a broader number of Presidio residents and visitors. A major component of
152-674: A high-tech Presidio museum and a 7-acre (2.8 ha) "Great Lawn" that is now open to the public. In 2007, Donald Fisher , founder of the Gap clothing stores and former board member of the Presidio Trust, announced a plan to build a 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m ) museum tentatively named the Contemporary Art Museum of the Presidio, to house his art collection. Due to opposition, Fisher withdrew his plans to build
190-533: A party led by José Joaquín Moraga later that year. The limestone used to build the presidio was mined by Ohlones at the Rockaway Quarry . In 1783, the Presidio's garrison numbered only 33 men. Upon Mexican independence from Spain in 1821, it was briefly operated as a Mexican fortification. The Presidio was seized by the U.S. military at the start of the Mexican–American War in 1846. It
228-711: A significant agreement with Lucasfilm to build a new facility called the Letterman Digital Arts Center (LDAC), which is now Lucasfilm's corporate headquarters. The site replaced portions of what was the Letterman Hospital. George Lucas won the development rights for 15 acres (6.1 ha) of the Presidio, in June 1999, after beating out several rival plans, including a leading proposal by the Shorenstein Company. LDAC replaced
266-587: A walking trail along the south side of the site featuring interpretive signage about its history. The Presidio was the home of the Western Defense Command headquarters during World War II . It was here that Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt signed 108 Civilian Exclusion Orders and directives for the internment of Japanese Americans under the authority of Executive Order 9066 signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 19, 1942. The Presidio sent its few remaining units to war for
304-513: Is estimated at 5,000 residents when all buildings have been rehabilitated. Among the Presidio's residents is The Bay School of San Francisco, a private, coeducational college preparatory school located in the central Main Post area. Others include The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation , Tides Foundation , the Arion Press , Sports Basement Presidio, and The Walt Disney Family Museum , a museum in
342-471: Is estimated that there may be at least four coyote families living in the park. The visitor centers are operated by the National Park Service : Crissy Field Center (former Air Service / Air Corps / Army Air Forces airfield) is an urban environmental education center with programs for schools, public workshops, after-school programs, summer camps, and more. The center is operated by
380-579: Is found at the KRIS (Klamath Resource Information System) website. The first recorded stream survey occurred in the year 1946; this survey by the California Department of Fish and Game found some healthy steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) within the stream. The next Department of Fish and Game survey transpired in 1963, finding numerous steelhead of lengths varying between 2 inches (5 cm) and 6 inches (15 cm); this survey concluded that
418-629: Is one of only two San Francisco Bay Area streams considered in the Department's Strategy to be essential to the recovery of coho salmon in California. Cascade Dam, located on Old Mill Creek 0.4 miles (0.64 km) above the confluence with Cascade Creek, was constructed in the 1870s and is a complete barrier to upstream fish passage to steelhead/rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) and coho salmon . A 1965 stream survey indicated presence of steelhead/rainbow trout within 100 ft (30 m) of
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#1732780679192456-510: Is subject to periodic flooding . Slightly further upstream the stream winds through moderately dense single family development, with backyards offering terraces and decks on the banks of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio. A private organization, the Mill Valley Streamkeepers , is active in research and conservation of this creek. Some historic information about Arroyo Corte Madera concerning water quality and fish habitat
494-602: The First Battle of Bull Run . The Marine Hospital operated a cemetery for merchant seamen approximately 100–250 yards (91–229 m) from the hospital property. Based on city municipal records, historians estimate that the cemetery was used from 1885 to 1912. As part of the "Trails Forever" initiative, the Parks Conservancy, the National Park Service, and the Presidio Trust partnered to build
532-511: The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and overlooks a restored tidal marsh . The facilities include interactive environmental exhibits, a media lab, a resource library, an art workshop, a science lab, a gathering room, a teaching kitchen, a café, and a bookstore. The landscape of Crissy Field was designed by George Hargreaves . The project restored a naturally functioning and sustaining tidal wetland as
570-892: The Mill Valley municipal Bayfront Park. The Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio enters Richardson Bay from the west via Bothin Marsh . Historically, the Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio (Mill Valley) watershed was used by coho salmon ( Oncorhynchus kisutch ) for spawning and rearing. In the late 1800s, coho salmon and steelhead trout were commonly seen swimming up Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio ("called Widow Creek, Corte Madera Creek and Arroyo Corte Madera Creek, at different times") flowing through Blithedale Canyon. The last record of coho salmon in Marin County tributaries to San Francisco Bay
608-539: The National Park Service , ending 219 years of military use and beginning its next phase of mixed commercial and public use. In 1996, the United States Congress created the Presidio Trust to oversee and manage the interior 80% of the park's lands, with the National Park Service managing the coastal 20%. In a first-of-its-kind structure, Congress mandated that the Presidio Trust make the Presidio financially self-sufficient by 2013. The Presidio achieved
646-675: The presidio to gain a foothold in Alta California and the San Francisco Bay . It passed to Mexico in 1820, which in turn passed to the United States in 1848. As part of a military reduction program under the Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) process from 1988, Congress voted to end the Presidio's status as an active military installation of the U.S. Army . On October 1, 1994, it was transferred to
684-609: The 20th century. One of the last two remaining cemeteries within the city's limits is the San Francisco National Cemetery . Among the military personnel interred there are General Frederick Funston , hero of the Spanish–American War, Philippine–American War , and commanding officer of the Presidio at the time of the 1906 earthquake ; and General Irvin McDowell , a Union Army commander who lost
722-494: The Mill Valley area. This group includes scientists and laymen and has participated in the following specific studies involving Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio: Bayfront Park features many active uses including a bicycle path, walking paths, a dog park and picnic areas. The park also features a pedestrian/bicycle bridge across the tidal portion of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio, which is the best single viewing location of
760-652: The Presidio's park attractions is the Presidio Tunnel Tops, which has created a 14-acre park (5.7 ha) on top of the tunneled portions of Doyle Drive. The park contains several meadows and walking trails, along with viewpoints for major landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge. Negotiations between Caltrans , the San Francisco County Transportation Authority , and the Presidio Trust to finalize
798-695: The creek in its lower reaches. Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis ) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco , California , and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area . It had been a fortified location since September 17, 1776, when New Spain established
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#1732780679192836-455: The dam. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife Stream Inventory Report in 2009 recommended that Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio be managed as an anadromous, natural production stream for salmonids. A 1990 study indicated the water quality of upper Richardson Bay below the discharge of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio to be impaired by high nutrient and coliform levels; This same study indicated that Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio
874-535: The first of a series of sculptures in the Presidio, the Spire . It is 100 feet (30 m) tall and located near the Arguello Gate. It represents the tree replanting effort that has been underway at the Presidio. Spire was followed by Wood Line in 2011, Tree Fall in 2013, and Earth Wall in 2014. In 2010, a trampoline park called House of Air was built using an old aircraft hangar. As of 2023, it
912-463: The former Lucasfilm headquarters in San Rafael . The $ 300 million development includes nearly 900,000 square feet (84,000 m ) of office space and a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m ) underground parking garage with a capacity of 2,500 employees. Lucasfilm's Industrial Light & Magic , Lucas Licensing, and Lucas Online divisions reside at the site. George Lucas's proposal included plans for
950-478: The goal in 2005, eight years ahead of the deadline. The park has many wooded areas, hills, and scenic vistas overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge , San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean . It was recognized as a California Historical Landmark in 1933 and as a National Historic Landmark in 1962. The Presidio was originally a Spanish fort sited by Juan Bautista de Anza on March 28, 1776, built by
988-480: The historical presence of Coho salmon. The next survey in 1994 found abundant steelhead, ranging from densities of 0.1 to 0.6 fish per square yard (0.1-0.7 per square meter). The 1997 stream survey found densities of steelhead ranging from seven to twelve fish per 100 lineal feet (30 lineal meters), depending on stream reach. The Mill Valley Streamkeepers is a private non-profit organization established to promote research , awareness and conservation of streams in
1026-673: The last time in 1991 for Desert Storm , the First Gulf War. The role of the Sixth Army was the management of training and coordinating deployment of Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve units in the Western U.S. for Operation Desert Storm. After a hard-fought battle, the Presidio averted being sold at auction and came under the management of the Presidio Trust, a U.S. government corporation established by an act of Congress in 1996. The Presidio Trust now manages most of
1064-464: The lower 3.5 miles (6 km) of the creek represented an important nursery and rearing habitat for steelhead and possibly for Coho salmon . The next survey in August 1965 concluded that the habitat was an excellent resource, with deep shaded pools and an average of 75 steelhead per 100 feet (30 m) of lineal stream. In 1984, steelhead were still found to be present. A 1991 stream survey documented
1102-687: The memory of Walt Disney. Many various commercial enterprises also lease buildings on the Presidio. The Thoreau Center for Sustainability preserved sections of the Letterman Army Hospital . The Presidio of San Francisco is the only site in a national recreation area with an extensive residential leasing program. The Presidio has four creeks that park stewards and volunteers are restoring to expand their riparian habitats' former extents. The creeks are Lobos and Dragonfly creeks, El Polin Spring , and Coyote Gulch . The Trust entered
1140-632: The museum in the Presidio and instead donated the art to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art before he died in 2009. As the Doyle Drive viaduct was deemed seismically unsafe and obsolete, construction started on the demolition of Doyle Drive in 2008 to replace the structure with a flat, broad-lane highway with a tunnel through the bluffs above Crissy Field , called the Presidio Parkway . The project cost $ 1 billion and
1178-519: The need to maximize income by leasing historic buildings and permitting public use despite most structures being rented privately. Further differences have arisen from the divergent needs to preserve the integrity of the National Historic Landmark District in the face of new construction, competing pressures for natural habitat restoration, and requirements for commercial purposes that impede public access. Crissy Field,
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1216-537: The park in partnership with the National Park Service. The trust has jurisdiction over the interior of 80 percent of the Presidio, including nearly all its historic structures. The National Park Service manages coastal areas. Primary law enforcement throughout the Presidio is the jurisdiction of the United States Park Police . One of the main objectives of the Presidio Trust's program was achieving financial self-sufficiency by fiscal year 2013, which
1254-773: The southeast and east flanks of Mount Tamalpais . Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio is joined by 2.3 miles (3.7 km) long Old Mill Creek on the right in Mill Valley. Old Mill Creek, and its 1 mile (1.6 km) long Cascade Creek tributary, both begin high on the south flank of the east peak of Mount Tamalpais . Cascade Creek has a small dam and reservoir which was built by noted engineer Michael M. O'Shaughnessy for The Tamalpais Land & Water Co. for water supply to Mill Valley. The other three named tributaries of Arroyo Corte Madera del Presidio are Reed Creek (flows through Homestead Valley), Widow Reed or Widow Creek (flows down East Blithedale Canyon), and Warner Creek The stream's discharge location, into Richardson Bay occurs within
1292-596: Was officially reopened by the Americans in 1848 and became home to several army headquarters and units, the last being the United States 6th Army . Several famous U.S. generals, such as William Tecumseh Sherman , George Henry Thomas , and John J. Pershing , made their homes here. During its long history, the Presidio was involved in most of America's military engagements in the Pacific Rim . Importantly, it
1330-454: Was on September 18, 1981 when Dr. Rob Leidy reported collecting two juveniles from Corte Madera Creek and two from Old Mill Creek . NOAA Fisheries has identified both Corte Madera Creek and Arroyo Corte Madera Del Presidio as critical habitat for coho salmon. In its 2004 "Recovery Strategy for California Coho Salmon" the California Department of Fish and Game recommends restoration of Arroyo Corte Madera's historic coho salmon habitat. This
1368-461: Was reached in 2006. Immediately after its inception, the trust began preparing rehabilitation plans for the park. Many areas had to be decontaminated before being prepared for public use. The Presidio Trust Act calls for the "preservation of the cultural and historic integrity of the Presidio for public use." The Act also requires that the Presidio Trust be financially self-sufficient by 2013. These imperatives have resulted in numerous conflicts between
1406-525: Was scheduled to be completed by 2016. The Trust plans to create a promenade that will link the Lombard Gate and the new Lucasfilm campus to the Main Post and, ultimately, to the Golden Gate Bridge. The promenade is part of a trail expansion plan that will add 24 miles (39 km) of new pathways and eight scenic overlooks throughout the park. In October 2008, artist Andy Goldsworthy constructed
1444-790: Was the assembly point for army forces that invaded the Philippines during the Spanish–American War , America's first significant military engagement in the region. Beginning in the 1890s, the Presidio was home to the Letterman Army Medical Center (LAMC), named in 1911 for Jonathan Letterman , the medical director of the Civil War –era Army of the Potomac . LAMC provided thousands of war-wounded with high-quality medical care during every US foreign conflict of
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