Walt Disney Family Foundation to Rehab Historic Buildings For Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio of San Francisco

San Francisco, September 5, 2007 –- Work has begun on a complex and closely observed historic preservation project led by Page & Turnbull to create the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio of San Francisco. Intended for all ages, the museum will be located in a 19th Century barrack, with the library and archive going into a 1904 gymnasium. Both buildings are on the northwestern edge of the Main Parade Ground at the Presidio, the only national park located wholly in a major urban area in the country. To complement the permanent exhibit space, Page & Turnbull designed a contemporary glass pavilion to be inserted into the C-shaped barrack’s courtyard. Along with a small third building for mechanicals, the project totals nearly 72,000 s.f. The site’s extraordinary views take in San Francisco Bay, the Golden Gate Bridge, and a Monterey cypress grove to the west and north, the Main Post neighborhood to the east.

The Walt Disney Family Foundation commissioned the work, which is expected to be completed in summer 2009. Film clips of interviews about the project with Jay Turnbull, FAIA, principal in charge, are posted on the foundation website at http://disney.go.com/disneyatoz/familymuseum/. Observations by the project design team at Page & Turnbull will appear in an ongoing series of updates to the Disney site.

Work on the Disney campus represents the largest and most historically significant rehabilitation project in the Presidio to date. A sensitive and pioneering effort, it will help inform future restoration of this singular property for new generations of users. Five identical barracks line the Parade Ground, and the Disney project is the first rehabilitation of these stately red brick structures. The project is being closely monitored by the Presidio Trust, with considerable interest by the National Park Service and a long list of constituents. The Trust, charged by Congress to govern the Presidio, has now launched ambitious plans for the historic Main Post, which include revitalizing the Parade Ground, developing lodging, and bringing new cultural institutions to the park.

On the Disney campus, Page & Turnbull has documented and assessed the condition of all three historic structures (also including a 1940 munitions building, which will house the campus mechanical system). Since June, construction crews have been excavating under the barrack and in its courtyard, including difficult hand-digging that will go more than 30 feet down. In the seismic upgrade, approximately 170 stabilizing piers filled with concrete and rebar will be inserted under this load-bearing masonry building. A sub-basement will be created to house extensive new infrastructure and technologies.

In addition to exhibit space chronicling the life of Walt Disney, the museum building will include a hands-on children’s learning center, auditorium, shop, café, and administrative offices. The library and archive building will provide a two-story, trussed-ceiling space for rotating exhibits. It will also welcome visiting scholars and researchers into a climate-controlled, secure setting where the digital and physical archives will be housed. Page & Turnbull is managing a multidisciplinary team that brings more than 40 distinct professional specializations to the project including archeologists, glaziers, and fabricators.

Established in 1973, Page & Turnbull is a 42-person firm of architects, historians, and planners who provide architectural and conservation services. It is among the longest-practicing such specialty firms in the country and the first dedicated to historic preservation in the San Francisco Bay Area. Page & Turnbull has worked on varied projects in the Presidio over the course of more than 30 years. Headquartered in San Francisco, the firm has offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento.