“Michael Painter, a humble landscape architect, climbed to the roof of the San Francisco Palace of Fine Arts and saw a connection between the urban icons of the region — the Golden Gate Bridge and the Palace of Fine Arts. Where most saw an unsafe, dilapidated freeway on the northeast end of San Francisco, badly needing repair after the 1989 earthquake, Michael saw a ribbon on the landscape that united the land and the San Francisco Bay, combining aesthetics and functionality seamlessly. Imagining tunnels that tucked the roadway into the landscape, Michael envisioned a parkway that would enhance the beauty of this world renowned natural environment and provide a grand entry to the city. And then he persevered for almost three decades to bring his vision of an aesthetically beautiful parkway into reality.”
Presidio Tunnel Tops park opened in 2022, in celebration of which the book A Parkway for the People was published. It is available from the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy Store. A full-length documentary film of the same title is targeted for release in December 2023.
Learn more about Presidio Parkway and enjoy a preview of the documentary at https://painterparkwayfilm.com/.
