Pershing Square
The flagpole in Pershing Square (at the Main Post) marks the site of a disastrous 1915 fire that destroyed the residence and killed the wife and three daughters of General John "Black Jack" Pershing of World War I fame. Just east lies the site of the original Spanish presidio, built in 1776 on this windswept slope. A boulder by the sidewalk approximates the northwest corner of the original Presidio, which formed a square about 300 feet (100 m) on each side. Two bronze cannons at this site, forged in the 1600s, used to be mounted at Castillo de San Joaquin, a fort built at the point overlooking the Golden Gate. They are among the oldest cannon in North America.
- Address
- Pershing Dr
- Getting there
- between Bliss Ct and Craig Ct
- Price
- Free
- Website
- nps.gov (opens in a new tab)
Listing from Wikivoyage: San Francisco/Golden Gate, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Location and details from OpenStreetMap, © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL.
Updated 27 Sept 2026. Something wrong? Tell us.