presidio

Winemaker Drops Plans For Presidio Winery

Filed under: Wine

Another project planned for San Francisco's Presidio has been scrapped. Last month Gap founder Donald Fisher decided not to go forward with his art museum and this month Foggy Bridge Winery has decided not to proceed with building a working winery in a former airplane hangar near the Golden Gate Bridge.

Neighbors had expressed concerns over having a winemaking facility, tasting room and restaurant in Crissy Field, a popular recreational area. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat says that the winery dropped its plans a few weeks ago. The Presidio Trust is hoping that the facility will be used for something more educational and family friendly like a flight museum. Foggy Bridge has not given up the dream of having a winery in San Francisco. The wine brand already features a stylized version of the Golden Gate Bridge on the label.

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Tags: foggy bridge, FoggyBridge, presidio, san francisco, SanFrancisco, winery

Gap Founder Drops Plans For Presidio Museum

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art, Wealth

Looks like Gap founder Donald Fisher will be taking his art elsewhere. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Fisher and his family have scrapped plans to build a contemporary art museum at the Main Post of San Francisco's Presidio. Earlier Fisher had scaled back the plans for his museum in San Francisco's Presidio to appease those who found the museum's first planned design a bit overwhelming. Fisher originally unveiled his plans for a contemporary art museum at the end of 2007. The Fishers had hoped to convince critics, San Franciscans, and regulatory bodies such as the National Park Service that the museum would be beneficial for the park.

Donald Fisher released a statement that said he and his wife would be taking some time to consider the future of their collection and other possible locations for the museum including some inside the Presidio, just not on the site of the former bowling alley that they had originally planned on. The statement also said that the decision was made "with disappointment and sadness." The Chronicle reports that an outside survey of possible impacts of various Main Post Presidio projects found that the scale of the museum, even with the newer more modest revision, was "inconsistent with the overall historical character of its setting."

In addition to the museum the Fishers had promised a $10 million gift to go toward turning the Main Post's parking lot into landscaped grounds but it's not known if that offer is separate from the museum gift. The comments on the Chronicle article are spirited, some are expressing relief that Fisher's plans won't come to fruition while others are disappointed that a museum which would have displayed a large contemporary art collection to the public may end up elsewhere. Given the hard times facing museums everywhere lately, it seems like it might be a better idea to endow a wing of an existing museum rather than create a new one out of whole cloth.

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Tags: donald fisher, DonaldFisher, museum, presidio, san francisco, SanFrancisco

New Winery To Open By Golden Gate Bridge

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wine

As the first ever urban winery inside a U.S. state park, Foggy Bridge will set up shop near the Golden Gate Bridge at the Presidio, a former military base. Whose behind this? Daryl Groom, the former senior red wine maker from Penfolds in Australia and Geyser Peak in Sonoma. Expecting to produce 8,000 cases, the products of the winery will include a Napa Cabernet, Santa Maria Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and a Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc. The winery will include a tasting room as well as Left Bank Brassiere headed up by Chef Roland Passot. As much as I love driving around Napa Valley when I come to the city, I think it's great to see the historic Presidio providing a local winery-experience without the long drive. Foggy Bridge will open summer of 2008.

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Tags: foggy-bridge-winery, presidio, san-francisco

Gap Founder Plans San Francisco Museum

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Celebrity Shopping, Art

If you've created one of the most successful clothing companies in the world what do you do for a follow-up project? How about giving your hometown a huge art museum. Donald Fisher, the founder of the Gap has revealed the plans for the contemporary art museum he wants to build in San Francisco's Presidio. Fisher's ambitious plan calls for a two-story, 100,000-square-foot modern structure on the crest of the Parade Ground of the former military base that in 1994 became a national park. The design is composed of white masonry interspersed with glass that will allow people outside to view some of the art within. Fisher is one of the top collectors of contemporary art and the museum would house his collection.

As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, this is not the only proposal for the Presidio. A rival museum plans comes from the Presidio Historical Association which has proposed a 48,000-square-foot "History Center of the Golden Gate." Their building idea is quite different, a more traditional structure that will explore the culture of the American West. The Presidio Historical Association asserts that their structure fits the surroundings and is the proper choice for the already historic Presidio whereas a contemporary art museum could go anywhere.

Fisher's proposal also would add exhibit space on the Parade Ground, and restore one of the neighboring structures to offer educational space, a bookstore, art studios and office space for the main museum. Fisher really wants this spot, he has also offered to give an additional $10 million toward helping to landscape the area. The Presidio Trust directors are expected to choose one of the proposal at the start of next year.

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Tags: donald fisher, gap, museum, presidio, san francisco, SanFrancisco