<DIV>Situated at the mouth of the Golden Gate is the Presidio of San Francisco, one of the nation's most famous former U.S. Army bases, currently a National Park in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and a distinguished National Historic Landmark. From its humble beginnings as a distant outpost of the Spanish Empire on the Pacific Coast, the Presidio evolved into the most important American military post in the Western United States, playing a key role in America's wars in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. As an active military base and the guardian of the Golden Gate up to 1994, and as a National Park today, the Presidio has played an important role in the lives of the citizens of San Francisco, both during wartime, and in times of peace. The Presidio's stunning natural beauty and military and cultural importance make it one of our nation's historic treasures. </div>