The Walt Disney Family Foundation, a Presidio tenant since 2001, has signed a lease to establish the Walt Disney Family Museum and Library on the Presidio’s Main Post.

The multi-faceted museum will provide a permanent source of information on Disney, his accomplishments, and the period of American history that he greatly influenced. It will include a children’s learning center with hands-on art programs, an extensive collection of artifacts and archival material, exhibits on animation and motion pictures, a research center for scholars, exhibits of art works influenced by Disney, a book store/gift shop, and a small café.

Rehabilitation of the barracks will begin in late spring 2007. The museum is expected to open to visitors in August 2009.

The non-profit Walt Disney Family Foundation was founded in 1997 by members of the Disney family, including daughter Diane Disney Miller. Its mission is to assemble, preserve, and share materials illustrating the vision and legacy of Walt Disney.

Preserving History

The Foundation will rehabilitate three historic structures, including Building 104, one of the iconic 19th century Montgomery Street barracks that define the western edge of the Main Parade Ground in the “heart of the Presidio.”

With their imposing size, symmetrical form, and restrained architectural detailing, the 44,000 square foot barracks are icons for the historic post. The barracks were built between 1895 and 1897 as the Indian Wars were ending. No longer needing the extensive network of frontier posts it had established to defend the west, the Army began to concentrate its troops at larger, more urban posts such as the Presidio.

The Montgomery Street barracks were built to accommodate this influx of troops, and were used throughout much of the 20th century, housing the 30th Infantry, the regiment known as “San Francisco’s own.” When the Army inactivated the Presidio in 1994, only Building 101 was still functioning as a barracks; Buildings 102 through 105 had been converted to office space.

Project Documents and Contact Information

The environmental review for the Disney project was completed in September 2006, and the Environmental Assessment (EA) is available on this website and in the Presidio Trust Library at 34 Graham Street in the Presidio.

If you have any questions about the project, please contact the Trust at (415) 561-4183.