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Sections of Park Trail and Bay Area Ridge Trail Closed to Dog Walking

To reduce the potential for coyote/dog conflict, we’ve proactively closed large sections of the Park Trail and the Bay Area Ridge Trail to dog walking. This annual closure is temporary; we’ll reopen these trails to dog walking in fall after pupping season ends. All 24 miles of hiking trails in the Presidio are open to people.
Many visitors explore the EXCLUSION Exhibition in the Presidio. Photo by Charity Vargas.

Special Exhibition – EXCLUSION

Learn about this chapter in American history and its relevance today.

In this special exhibition at the Presidio Officers’ Club, learn about an important chapter in American history.

The Presidio History Exhibition features temporary special exhibitions that explore the Presidio’s history and invite fresh perspectives on the permanent exhibitions.

The latest is EXCLUSION, which examines the role the Presidio of San Francisco – then the Army’s Western Defense Command – played in the unjust incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, purportedly in the name of national security.

EXCLUSION is free and on view now at the Presidio Officers’ Club. See current hours.

Explore the EXCLUSION Exhibition

EXCLUSION opened 75 years after the orders were issued from the Presidio, then the Army’s Western Defense Command.
Three visitors explore the EXCLUSION Eexhibition.
Photo by Charity Vargas.
Uniform of a Japanese American World War II veteran.
Photo by Charity Vargas.
Two visitors looking at historic photos.
Photo by Charity Vargas.

About the EXCLUSION Exhibition

During World War II, the Presidio of San Francisco—the Army’s Western Defense Command—played a pivotal role in the unjust incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans, purportedly in the name of national security. This special exhibition was launched in 2017, 75 years after Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt issued Civilian Exclusion Orders from the Presidio, and examines the post’s little understood part in these events.

The exhibition invites visitors to investigate the choices—both personal and political—that led to this dark chapter in American history. How did leaders arrive at this decision? How did Japanese Americans respond to the violation of their civil liberties? And what, as a nation, have we learned that can help us address the present-day issues of immigration, racism, and mass incarceration?

EXCLUSION was awarded the 2018 Charles Redd Award for Exhibition Excellence by the Western Museums Association.

With Gratitude to Our Partners

In developing EXCLUSION, the Presidio Trust collaborated with the Fred T. Korematsu Institute and the National Japanese American Historical Society, which operates the Military Intelligence Service Historic Learning Center in the Presidio.

Title card for the EXCLUSION Exhibition.
Photo by Charity Vargas.

VIDEO: About the Exclusion Orders

This video dives deeper into the context surrounding the exclusion orders issued from the Presidio that led to the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans on the West Coast, and the experiences of those who were unjustly imprisoned.

Title card for the video about the Exclusion exhibition

We’re Here to Help

Have a question about the park? Want help planning your next visit? We’ve got you covered.

Representatives from the National Park Service, Parks Conservancy, and Presidio Trust standing in front of the Presidio Visitor Center