Presidio Tunnel Tops

At the foot of the Golden Gate Bridge, the Presidio Tunnel Tops transformed 14 acres of the San Francisco Presidio on and around the Doyle Drive tunnels, reconnecting Crissy Field and the historic Presidio Main Parade grounds. Working in conjunction with landscape architect James Corner Field Operations, EHDD designed a Youth Campus and renovated the existing Transit Center as building anchors for the park.

The 17,000 SF Youth Campus at the base of the Tunnel Tops bluff is a hub for children’s activities. EHDD designed the campus and its interiors, which are compromised of three buildings clustered around a central courtyard support environmental education programs for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, Presidio Trust, National Park Service, and Presidio Youth Collaborative. The Crissy Field Center, historic building 603, and the Lab building provide classroom, lab, and office space for scheduled programs. The Field Station building, with a dynamic exhibit fit-out designed by Studio Terpeluk, is open to the public for hands-on exploration of interpretive exhibits about the Presidio’s ecology, history, archaeology, and more. It is situated to engage the adjacent Outpost, a large natural playscape for children as young as three.

At the top of the bluff, the Transit Center has been renovated to include expanded gender-inclusive restrooms and a newly constructed patio shelter where visitors can enjoy views of the Golden Gate Bridge and bay year-round. Since opening in 2022, Presidio Tunnel Tops has welcomed more than seven million visitors annually, with a remarkable 45% increase in the first half of 2024.