The Officers’ Club is the social center of the post at the crossroads of the Orient, Hawaii, the Philippines, Cuba, Panama, and Alaska.
--noted at the rededication of the club in 1934

The Presidio Officers’ Club is the largest surviving Spanish colonial military building in California. It is also the oldest and most revered building on the Presidio. It has served the Spanish, Mexican and United States military. Today it serves park visitors. It is located near the southwest corner of the Plaza de Armas, the original Spanish presidio, laid out by Lt. Jose Joaquin Moraga, the first commandant, in 1776.

The two bronze cannons that flank the Club’s entrance are named the San Pedro (St. Peter) and Poder (Power). They were cast in Lima, Peru in 1673 and were part of the Presidio’s armament at the Castillo de San Joaquin at the entrance to the Golden Gate.

In 1812 the Presidio experienced a major earthquake. The adobe quadrangle was expanded during the subsequent rebuilding. The east wing (Mesa Room) and the west wing (de Anza Room) encapsulate adobe walls that were probably constructed by native laborers under acting commandant Luis Antonio Arguello. The Mesa and de Anza rooms were probably built between 1815 and 1824 as Spanish officers’ quarters.

After Mexico’s independence, the Presidio became a Mexican outpost in 1822. Gen. Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo convened a meeting at the Presidio that established the civil government of Yerba Buena (later the City of San Francisco) in 1834. When the United States conquered California in 1846, the 7th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment occupied the Officers’ Club. The next year the Regular U.S. Army began adapting the building by adding windows, wood floors, fireplaces, and shingle roofs.

In 1884, the central portion of the long rectangular adobe was demolished and a large wood frame Assembly Hall (today’s Moraga Room) was inserted crosswise in the middle of the building. It became the social center for officers at the post and the scene of military gatherings and Army dances called "hops."

In 1934, Capt. Barney Meeden of the Quartermaster Corps restored the adobe portions and covered the Victorian Assembly Hall with stucco. The entire building was capped with a red tile roof, rough-hewn doors and wrought iron lighting fixtures were installed, and grills were placed over the windows to create today's Mission style building.

Over time many additions were built behind the Officers’ Club. In 1972, architect Robert B. Wong designed a two-story Mission style addition with a large ballroom, a second floor lounge, and a square tower. In 2001, the Presidio Trust installed a museum-quality exhibition hall. The National Park Service Visitor Center and the White Star Cafe are located inside the Club.