The Officers’ Club (at the heart of El Presidio) is the Presidio’s most important building. Long the center of military social life, it continues as the Presidio’s social and cultural hub, bringing thousands to the park every year.
The Club and Mission Dolores are the only buildings remaining in San Francisco from the Spanish colonial era. The adobe Officers’ Club has the potential to become a major heritage site.
Deep within its walls, the Club holds keys to the Presidio’s history. Since 1847 the original adobe fabric has been obscured. Trust archaeologists and craftsmen are now uncovering the historical core of the Officers’ Club to understand how the building evolved, and what that tells us about the Presidio’s past.
The original building on the site of the Officers’ Club was constructed by Spanish colonists, with labor from Native Americans. It’s not certain how these early structures were built, but it is believed that this original structure was destroyed in 1779 by a devastating storm. It was rebuilt only to be seriously damaged in 1808, when 18 earthquakes struck over the summer months. It was rebuilt again after the great quake of 1812.
The entire Presidio was reconstructed by 1815. Despite shifting sovereignty from Spain to Mexico and finally to the United States, the building remained relatively unchanged from 1815 through the early 1880s, when the adobe building was mostly covered with wood. It was changed and expanded several times in later years, including major “restorations” in 1934 and the 1970s.
As the center of El Presidio, or “walled fortification,” what is today the Officers’ Club served for many years as the quarters and offices of the fort commander. By the time the U.S. Army occupied the Presidio in 1846, the building was being used as officers’ quarters. However, as the officers found it “dark, badly ventilated, damp and muddy in the winter, dusty in summer, and in disagreeable proximity to the barracks of the enlisted men,” it was again used as a base headquarters.
In more modern times, the Officers’ Club has come to hold a place in the heart of thousands of U.S. Army servicemen and officers who passed through the post. Captain Donovan P. Yeuell (30th Infantry 28 August 1934) reminisces, “Memories of the Presidio Officers’ Club go back deep to the roots of army history, for within its walls nearly every general officer of the army from Civil War days, and unsung thousands who never reached star rank have enjoyed the comradeship of their fellows. Nor have the ladies been forgotten, for its dance-floor has been trodden for ninety years on hop nights by the feet of the army’s fairest.”
The Officers’ Club is like a “layer cake,” according to archaeologist Eric Blind, with original adobe, stone, and clay at its core, and layer upon layer of newer materials added over the centuries. The Trust has begun a multi-year project that will reveal the original layers of El Presidio’s walls, and ultimately create a permanent display that brings the Presidio’s history to the surface.
An excavation was begun in the Mesa Room, one of the smaller of the main rooms of the building. Staff began by carefully removing layers of outer materials, exposing original adobe and painted stencils under modern drywall. “Many of the Presidio’s archaeological sites are hidden under the soil, sometimes for centuries, until they are discovered and studied,” said the Trust’s Sannie Osborn. “In the case of the Officers’ Club, we have a structure hiding pieces of the colonial past within its walls.”
Presidio Chapel
Another key portion of this archaeological site is the original Presidio Chapel, built adjacent to and actually connected to the Officers’ Club. The structure, completed in 1784, was destroyed in the 1812 earthquake. Trust archaeologists plan to build up the remaining portions of the original foundation, connect this portion of the expansive archaeological site with the still-standing adobe Officers’ Club, and install displays that show the structure’s dimensions and importance.
Visitors Welcome
The Mesa Room is available for drop-ins whenever the Officers’ Club is open, and visitors can often catch a glimpse of researchers at work. When work on the Mesa Room wall is complete, portions will be left exposed in order to reveal the layers of history, including adobe from the 18th century, woodwork from the 19th century, and mission revival additions from the 20th century. Visitors will get a first-hand view of centuries of change within this unique structure.