CRISSY FIELD

Description

Essentials about Crissy Field in brief

Crissy Field is one of the most popular recreational areas in San Francisco. Except on bad weather days, there is always something going on here. Kids and dogs romp on the lawns. Families picnic on the grass fields. Amateur pilots fly their kites in the sea breeze that blows into San Francisco Bay from the Pacific Ocean. Joggers and cyclists make their laps on the trails. Birdwatchers point their binoculars at the adjacent marsh. And surfers throw themselves on their boards at adjacent Fort Point to ride the waves under the Golden Gate Bridge. And if you’re feeling hungry or thirsty, you can head to the Warming Hut Café for a snack or a drink.

The views from Crissy Field

By the way, many tourists come to Crissy Field to enjoy the magnificent view that one has from here: To the west, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge in all its glory and length. To the north, you can see the prison island of Alcatraz, and to the east, you have a great view of the skyline of downtown San Francisco.

The history of Crissy Field

Today, it is hard to believe that Crissy Field was once an asphalt airfield for the Presidio Military Base. Named after Major Dana Crissy, who died during a transcontinental flight, the military airfield, completed in 1921 and located on the edge of San Francisco Bay, was one of the first facilities used by the U.S. Air Force to defend the West Coast of the United States. However, its relatively short runway of about 900 meters, frequent fog, unfavorable wind conditions, and vulnerable location near the water reduced the airfield’s military utility.

With the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge, a new airfield could be built across San Francisco Bay in 1936, largely replacing Crissy Field. In 1974, near the end of the Vietnam War, Crissy Field was closed to aircraft, but helicopter operations continued for a few more years. After the Army withdrew from San Francisco in 1994, the Presidio, and with it Crissy Field, was placed under the management of the National Park Service, which now cares for the site as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Serious environmental damage from military use necessitated extensive restoration of the site, which was completed in 2001.