Fremont Park

Fremont Park sits on ground that once belonged to one of the largest military training camps in the American West. When the United States entered World War One in 1917, the Army chose this area because its terrain reminded commanders of the French countryside. At its peak, Camp Fremont hosted 43,000 soldiers in over one thousand temporary wooden buildings that sprawled across the landscape. The base was short-lived, closing in 1919, but its influence was permanent as military engineers used their stay to pave the city's first streets and install its original water and gas lines. The park itself was dedicated on November 11, 1938, exactly twenty years after the armistice that ended the war. A San Francisco executive named Jacob Frederick Carl Hagens led the effort to establish the site. When he discovered that this specific corner lot was slated for commercial development, he organized a private group to purchase the land and preserve it as a memorial to the soldiers who had trained here. Today, the park serves as a community gathering space, hosting local festivals and weekly summer concerts that continue the tradition of bringing people together on this historic ground.