SF Historic Maritime Visitors Center & Museum – San Francisco, CA

project description
Located within the Argonaut Hotel, the National Park Service Maritime Historic Park Visitors Center and Museum details the history of the area’s celebrated maritime activities. The museum houses numerous artifacts and interactive displays, in addition to providing lectures and other interpretive programs. The museum also operates a retail sales store within the Center. The 10,000 square foot Visitor’s Center is located at the ground floor of the Hotel, formerly the century old Haslett Warehouse which served as a storage and distribution facility for the Del Monte Cannery next door. RCG served as the structural engineer of record for the entire adaptive reuse project to convert the warehouse to a destination hotel and to create the National Park Service Visitor’s Center. The overall project is the winner of the 2009 California Preservation Foundation Design Award for Large Rehabilitation Projects. Special design requirements for the Center included removal of selected load bearing columns and design of floor support beams for display and lecture/meeting areas; support of a rotating historic lighthouse Fresnel Lens approximately 12 feet in height; and design of all tenant improvements including retail and lecture hall areas.
property owner
National Park Service
architect
completion date
2003