Valentina Vicent - Presidio to Marina Art & Nature Trek

Q: Which Goldsworthy sculptures can I visit?

Spire and Wood Line are open to the public daily. Earth Wall, in the Officers' Club courtyard, is listed as open on Saturdays from 11 am to 4 pm. Tree Fall, in the Powder Magazine, is listed as temporarily closed. Check the Presidio's pages before you go.

Andy Goldsworthy's Wood Line: a zigzag of eucalyptus branches winding along the forest floor between tall, mist-wrapped eucalyptus trunks — Andy Goldsworthy, *Wood Line* (2010–11), the Presidio. Photo: © Jay Graham.

Stop 1 Presidio

Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio

The biggest collection of Goldsworthy on public view in North America, made of the park itself.

Andy Goldsworthy makes art out of whatever a site gives him, and the Presidio gave him a forest. The Presidio Trust calls it the largest collection of his work on public view in North America, and a loop of about three miles links the pieces.

Two are open every day. Spire (2008) is 37 Monterey cypress trunks from aging trees felled in the park's reforestation program, fastened together by Goldsworthy, with young cypress planted around its base. Wood Line (2010 to 2011) is a 1,200-foot zigzag of eucalyptus branches through the trees along Lovers' Lane. Build your day around these two.

Earth Wall (2014) is in the Officers' Club courtyard: a six-foot sphere of eucalyptus branches buried in a rammed-earth wall, then partly dug back out. The Presidio's page lists it as open on Saturdays, 11 am to 4 pm, which makes Saturday the best day for the whole set. Tree Fall (2013) is a eucalyptus trunk coated in Presidio clay and human hair from a local salon, inside the old Powder Magazine. It's listed as temporarily closed, so don't count on going in.

Good to knowFree, and mostly outdoors on trails, so wear sturdy shoes. The Presidio calls the route a three-mile loop; its brochure map totals 2.7 miles, and it lists the pieces in this order: Spire, Wood Line, Tree Fall, Earth Wall. Spire is near the Arguello Gate along the Bay Area Ridge Trail. Muni's 1 California stops at California St and Arguello Blvd, and the nearby lots have a three-hour limit. Hours and closures change, so check the Presidio's pages. Presidio's Goldsworthy page ↗ Brochure (PDF) ↗ Earth Wall hours ↗ Map (Spire) ↗

Stop 2 Marina

Palace of Fine Arts

A Roman-style rotunda built for a world's fair, and the Exploratorium's home for more than 40 years.

Bernard Maybeck designed the Palace of Fine Arts for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition, as a place to show art. Most of the fair was torn down afterward, but people fought to save the Palace. It was demolished in 1964 and rebuilt in concrete, and the work finished in 1974.

From 1969 until January 2013, the building was also home to the Exploratorium, which is why the Wave Organ is nearby: it was built with the Exploratorium's support. The museum now lives on Pier 15.

Today the big curved hall is mostly an event venue, so the visit is the outside: the rotunda, the colonnade and the lagoon path, with views toward the Golden Gate Bridge.

Good to knowAt 3601 Lyon St, in the Marina District. The grounds are outdoors; the building is used for events, so don't count on going inside. Hours for the grounds can change, so check before you go. Venue info ↗ Map ↗

The domed rotunda of the Palace of Fine Arts, with its columns and carved frieze, reflected in the lagoon in front of it under a clear blue sky — The Palace of Fine Arts rotunda, reflected in its lagoon. Photo: Erick Chevez · Unsplash.

Stop 3 Marina

The Wave Organ

A musical instrument the Bay is supposed to play, on a good day.

A short walk east of the Palace, at the end of a jetty in the Marina, sits one of the quietest attractions in the city. The Wave Organ was built in 1986 by artist Peter Richards and stonemason George Gonzales, with the Exploratorium's support, using granite and marble salvaged from the old Laurel Hill Cemetery. Twenty-five pipes run down into the water, and the idea is that the tide plays them.

Fair warning: what you hear depends on the waves, so it can be a low gurgle, a hum, or very little. Go for the jetty, the view and the story, and take any sound as a bonus. It's best near high tide.

Tide timing

This is the idea, not a forecast: the organ plays best when the tide is high and the waves reach the pipes. Check the real tide times for your day before you go.

Today's tide chart ↗

Good to knowFree, always open and outdoors, so bring a jacket. Check a tide chart before you go. Exploratorium page ↗ Map ↗

The Wave Organ: stepped granite and marble blocks, cobbled paving and curved stone benches on a jetty, with pipes along the edge and waves breaking against the rocks

The Wave Organ's stonework and pipes on the jetty.

A black plaque with gold lettering reading He makes all things beautiful, in his time, fixed to a weathered wooden bench, with a parking lot and a green lawn behind it under a cloudy sky

A bench plaque near the Wave Organ.

The Motel Capri neon sign at night, with Motel in blue above Capri in red script and a car in the foreground — Motel Capri's neon sign.

The Horseshoe, a red neon sign glowing in the dark above a street, with a streetlamp below it — Motel Capri's neon sign.

Stop 4 Optional add-on

An SF Neon tour

A twilight walk through the city's neon, led by the couple who document it.

SF Neon is Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan, historians, authors and photographers who celebrate and preserve San Francisco's historic neon signs. They lead guided twilight walking tours of different neighborhoods, and they keep adding more.

I did the Cow Hollow tour and it was amazing. It runs between Lombard and Chestnut Streets, right next to the Marina, so it slots in between the Wave Organ and dinner. Neon is best as the light fades, which is why I'd take it before you eat.

It's an add-on, and it's ticketed. Tours run on set dates and last about an hour and a half. It's a lovely way to support the people keeping the city's neon alive, and you can also donate or buy their books on their site.

Good to knowOptional and ticketed. Tours run on set dates, usually starting between 4 and 6 pm, with some uphill sections on certain routes. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite, linked from the tours page. Not every neighborhood is offered every month, so check the schedule. SF Neon tours ↗ SF Neon ↗

A crowd sitting on a lawn at night watching a movie on a large outdoor screen, with palm trees and low buildings behind them — A past Sundown Cinema screening, a free outdoor movie series. Courtesy of SF Standard, via Secret San Francisco.

Stop 5 Marina

A Marina evening

Where the day turns into a night out.

End where the Marina comes alive. The neighborhood is lively at night, with plenty of places to eat and drink around Chestnut and Union Streets, so this is where the walk becomes an evening.

Order the day so the art comes first: the Presidio in the morning, the Palace and the Wave Organ in the afternoon, the neon tour as the light fades, then dinner and drinks. I'm leaving out specific places, because in San Francisco they change too often. Ask a local or check current reviews, and book ahead on a weekend night.

Keep an eye out for a free outdoor movie on the Marina Green lawn, too. Sundown Cinema has screened there, and Secret San Francisco keeps up-to-date listings of free screenings and other events like it, so check before you go.

Good to knowNo admission, of course. If you booked a neon tour, check where it ends and walk from there. Hours vary by place, so check before you go. Map of Chestnut St ↗

Take it with you

The whole route, on your phone

The full day ↗ Short stroll ↗ SF Neon tours ↗

Google's directions follow streets and trails it knows about, so use them to get your bearings between stops. The full-day route runs from the Spire in the Presidio to Chestnut Street; the short stroll starts at the Palace. The last button opens SF Neon's tour schedule. Check hours before you head out.

Good to know

How long is the Andy Goldsworthy loop in the Presidio?

The Presidio describes it as a three-mile loop, and its brochure map totals 2.7 miles. You can also visit the pieces one at a time. Plan on a couple of hours at an easy pace, plus time at each piece.

Which Goldsworthy sculptures can I visit?

Spire and Wood Line are open to the public daily. Earth Wall, in the Officers' Club courtyard, is listed as open on Saturdays from 11 am to 4 pm. Tree Fall, in the Powder Magazine, is listed as temporarily closed. Check the Presidio's pages before you go.

Does the Wave Organ work at low tide?

Mostly not. It sounds best around high tide, when the waves reach the pipes, so check a tide chart before you go. Even then, what you hear depends on the waves.

Was the Exploratorium once at the Palace of Fine Arts?

Yes. The Exploratorium lived in the Palace's exhibit hall from 1969 until January 2013, then moved to Pier 15 on the Embarcadero.

How do SF Neon tours work?

They're ticketed twilight walks led by Al Barna and Randall Ann Homan, on set dates, and last about an hour and a half. Tickets are sold through Eventbrite, so check each tour's page for dates and prices.

Can I do this without a car?

Mostly, yes. Muni's 1 California stops at California St and Arguello Blvd, near Spire, and the Presidio lists its shuttles on its transportation page. From the Palace on, it's a walk along the water.

Portrait of Valentina Vicent, smiling, in a rust-orange jacket

Who made this guide

Hi, I'm Valentina.

I'm a creative and art director in L.A. who has shaped packaging and campaigns for brands from Vita Coco to Fenty Beauty. Guides like this one are how I explore the world. If you liked the guide, you'll like the work.

See the work → More art guides →

Presidio to Marina Art & Nature Trek

Choose your day

Short stroll: an afternoon and evening

Full day: sculpture, shoreline, evening

Andy Goldsworthy in the Presidio

Palace of Fine Arts

The Wave Organ

An SF Neon tour

A Marina evening

The whole route, on your phone

Good to know

Dribbble

Behance

LinkedIn

Email