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Signs

Sign guidelines have been developed to ensure consistency.

The following sign types may be found throughout the Presidio:  

  1. Wayfinding (vehicular, bicyclist, and pedestrian) 
  2. Transit 
  3. Tenant identification 
  4. Building and facility identification 
  5. Interpretation 
  6. Temporary exterior

A set of sign standards and guidelines have been developed to address sign types, design, content, and location, and are to be used as a tool for the Presidio Trust Planning team to determine consistency with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Historic Protection Act (NHPA). The application of these standards and guidelines ensure compliance with federal law that protects the Presidio’s historic status as a National Historic Landmark District. Specifically, these standards and guidelines strive to provide a reasonable balance among:  

  • the Presidio Trust’s responsibility to prevent visual discord and a feeling of commercialization, and to avoid clutter in a national park site; and 
  • the needs of Presidio visitors and business clientele to find their destinations; and 
  • the needs of tenants to identify their businesses, services, and other activities with signs. 

The Presidio Sign Standards & Guidelines are intended to preserve the Presidio’s historic visual character and to protect its physical setting.   Historic photos and research indicate that signs were not commonplace in most parts of the Presidio before World War II. Signs identifying buildings by number were present and displayed as black text on a white background. These were typically located on fascia and corners of buildings, a trend that survives today.

Historically, signs were unobtrusive because of their scarcity, small size, and simple design. Signs were less conspicuous in the past because people traveled more slowly before the introduction of motor vehicles and had more time to read a sign’s message. Also, signs were taller because they were targeted towards equestrians.

With the introduction of the leasing program at the Presidio in the 1990s, the need and desire for signs increased considerably. Unfortunately, few historic signs are useful as direct prototypes for new tenant signs. Still, consistency and uniformity of sign structures and site placement are elements that can ensure that new signs are compatible with the Presidio’s historic military nature. Compatibility can also be achieved through the consistent use of color, font style, and font size.

A summary of allowable sign types and the full set of sign standards and guidelines can be viewed through the following links: