Presidio of San Diego
El Presidio Reál de San Diego (Royal Presidio of San Diego) is a historic fort in San Diego, California. It was established on May 14, 1769, by Commandant Pedro Fages for the Spanish Empire.
It was the first permanent European settlement on the Pacific Coast of the present-day United States.
As the first of the presidios and Spanish missions in California, it was the base of operations for the Spanish colonization of California.
The associated Mission San Diego de Alcalá later moved a few miles away.
Essentially abandoned by 1835, the site of the original Presidio lies on a hill within present-day Presidio Park, although no historic structures remain.
In 1907 George Marston, a wealthy department store owner, bought Presidio Hill with an interest to preserve the site.
Unable to attract public funding, Marston built a private park in 1925 with the help of architect John Nolen.
He also funded Junipero Serra Museum, designed by William Templeton Johnson and built in 1928-29 in Spanish Revival style architecture, to house and showcase the collection of the San Diego Historical Society (now the San Diego History Center).
Serra Museum is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Presidio, but in fact nothing remains of the original Presidio.
Marston donated the park and museum to the city in 1929. Presidio Park is still owned by the city of San Diego; Serra Museum is managed by the San Diego History Center.
Source: Wikipedia
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