Crissy Field South Beach

You are standing on a landscape that has undergone a radical transformation from a natural tidal marsh to an industrial military zone and, finally, to the park you see today. For thousands of years, this shoreline was a thriving estuary and a seasonal home for the Ramaytush Ohlone people, who gathered shellfish and held ceremonies here long before the arrival of European settlers. Archaeological excavations have uncovered a shell mound in this area that dates back to the year seven hundred forty. The site served as a vital ecological anchor for the San Francisco Peninsula for centuries before it was systematically filled in to support the demands of a growing city and a military garrison.