Observation Post at the Presidio

This site is set to be demolished with the new Parklands project, if you would rather it stay open and continue to serve as a top wedding/​event location in the city, then voice your opinion here:

As an experienced vendor working at Presidio venues, my catering company A Fork Full of Earth had a wonderful interaction with Andrea and everyone we met when producing a large wedding this summer at The Observation Post.
Andrea and her colleagues were extremely responsive with support regarding floor plans and venue amenities and embraced all of our questions with patience and kindness. Andrea used her CAD software to prepare at least 4 different floor plans as we worked with the clients to optimize the venue for their 200 person wedding. As someone who entertains the same questions 365 times a year, I was impressed with her candor and thoughtfulness.
The Presidio Trust does have strict guidelines, but it’s all in an effort to protect the historic nature of their venues. In my experience, the more detailed a venue is about their stipulations, the more elegant and refined the event will be.
I look forward to more opportunities to work here with Andrea and Mattie! Thanks gals!

The Observation Post was the perfect venue for our wedding.
We chose this venue because:
1.) We had our heart set on an amazing caterer and the Observation Post was one of the few venues we visited that did not have an exclusive caterer list. (Although the lack of a full kitchen at this venue was an extra expense since we had to rent an entire outdoor kitchen space.)
2.) The outdoor view of the Golden Gate Bridge and ocean is breathtaking.
3.) The main bay view room is essentially a big empty space that has a lot of potential and flexibility to become a unique reception room.
From the first email inquiry until the wedding day itself our contact Andrea Parker worked with us and was very professional, knowledgeable, responsive and helpful. She was very good with making sure we had all the paperwork, contracts, permits, due dates and updates on relevant news. We met with her several times from the initial venue tour to a handful of on-​site vendor meetings and every time she was punctual, friendly, and ready with all the information and answers to any questions we had.
Overall, we had a very good experience working with Andrea and we are thrilled with how well everything turned out. We were looking for a space that we could make our own and the Observation Post is a venue that allowed us to hand pick every aspect of our wedding from the caterer to the florist and everything in between. We are excited to see how the Presidio will be updated with the final stages of the Doyle drive project and look forward to continuing to visit this special place for many years to come.

We held our wedding here in August 2015 and couldn’t have been happier. Instead of going up to wine country or down to the mountains, we wanted an outdoors venue in the city. It couldn’t have been better than this. Four great parts about it:
VIEWS: The backdrop of the Golden Gate Bridge was absolutely stunning. Not only our out-​of-​town guests but also the San Francisco residents were blown away. True, we were blessed with some incredible late-​August weather, but it’s a ridiculous view.
SPACE: The venue is big and flexible. There’s a large main room with huge windows and multiple back rooms/​conference rooms that we reappropriated into a dessert room, catering staging area, and two bridal rooms. The only thing that’s not sufficient is the kitchen, but it’s easy to set up a tented catering kitchen in the parking lot, which the venue coordinator gave lots of direction on. We felt that the venue was great ‘blank slate’ for whatever look-​and-​feel we wanted. Add in the fact that you can bring your own food/​beverage/​other vendors and you can really design your own event.
ANDREA: She was wonderful to work with: Always timely. Very helpful with ideas about how the venue had been decorated in the past. Transparent about the impact of the Doyle Drive construction. Incredibly flexible with making sure the vendors we brought in had the right permitting and documentation. And more than anything else, she seemed genuiinely excited about our event and supportive of the day.
THE PRESIDIO: Having our wedding at The Observation Post meant that The Presidio was the focus of our whole wedding week. We rented out The Inn at the Presidio a short walk away, picniced on the Main Post lawn, and ate at Off the Grid. It was a unique and gorgeous ‘home base’ for all our guests. It will always have a soft spot in our hearts.
The best venue in SF!

We were looking at this facility as a venue for a reception. It’s one of the few places that allows you to bring your own caterer, which was appealing at first. Views (when the weather cooperates) are also beautiful. Several flaws ultimately led us to choose a different venue however.
1) The Observation Post charges for anything possible. If they could come up with a system for fining oxygen consumption, they would. I understand that it being a Federal venue limits the negotiability and flexibility for the staff. However, unless you ask about specific things and are lucky enough to ask the right questions, they won’t tell you. We were about to sign and put down a deposit, and thankfully thought of an additional question which would’ve added a couple thousand dollars. So many hidden fees, and the cost quickly begins to add up.
2) I’ve spoken with 25+ venue coordinators, and the staff here are by far the most unpleasant. We worked primarily with Andrea, and felt like every question we asked was a burden and inconvenience. Every other venue we’ve been to or coordinator we’ve met with has consisted of them explaining everything to us and providing information. With Andrea and her staff (Mattie being the only one we worked with), we felt as if we needed to dig out the answers, and hopefully ask the correct questions ourself. The final straw was a last tour before booking conducted by Mattie and her attitude. It takes creativity on their part to come up with such condescending responses to questions about chairs and lighting restrictions.
Ultimately, friendliness of staff and willingness to work with you is crucial for a smooth event. The Observation Post simply has a pretty face with a terrible personality.

My wife and I chose this venue for our wedding for two reasons, a) the view is unbelievable (seriously — go see for yourself… incredible), and b) Presidio venues (or at least this one) allow outside catering and beverage companies. This second component was critical, since we were paying for our own wedding. The venue rate is fair and comparable with other venues in the Bay Area — but when you factor in the cost savings of outside caterers and vendors, this place is actually inexpensive. Venues that come with required catering and beverage companies can get really expensive through per-​person pricing. This actually made the first phase of wedding planning pretty frustrating — until we found the Presidio (and our caterer — An Affair to Remember.)
*Note: The Presidio does offer its own in-​house catering as well, which has a great reputation and was used by friends of ours in another Presidio venue.
The outdoor ceremony space is unbelievably gorgeous. One of our guests put it bluntly, saying «There are no restaurants, hotels, or venues in all of SF with as good of a view as the one you have the entire night of your wedding.» If you want lots of selfies and photographs posted about your wedding on social media, this is the place. I’m also pretty sure most of my friends had new FB profile photos shortly thereafter.
*Note 2: There is ongoing construction directly in front of this venue. While not ideal, it’s not too much of an eyesore and wasn’t mentioned or even discussed by any of our guests.
The reception space is also very nice and does a great job highlighting the view (of both the GGB and Alcatraz) with its ceiling-​high half circle windows. The open space is perfect for creating your own layout, lighting, and décor, and our caterer did this very well with a white + mint style and inexpensive uplighting.
Working with our coordinator, Andrea Parker, was also a pleasure, as she helped us with all the forms, permits, etc. She also has connections with local vendors and was always responsive with our questions. She also helped friends of ours (and our officiants) get married in another Presidio venue, and they had equally nice things to say about her.
In the end, we had more than a few guests come up to us and tell us that this was the nicest wedding they had ever attended. We were very pleased.

We chose the Observation Post for our wedding because of its beautiful views and the fact that both the inside and outside spaces provide a blank canvas to let our creativity run wild. The venue is reasonably priced compared to other venues in the City with comparable views, and especially compared to any of the venues in Wine Country. Melinda at the Presidio was extremely helpful. Most notably, she responded to my initial inquiry re: booking the venue within an hour of my sending the email, even though it was already 8 o’clock at night! On top of it all, we were especially proud to support our beautiful parks in the Bay Area, while enjoying the gorgeous views during our wedding.

This is a great new meeting space and event venue in the Presidio! Location and view cannot be beat, ample parking is nearby. As a compliment to the Log Cabin this is a sleek new space with modern conveniences. Perfect for a business off-​site or a more intimate evening affair! Why do I care? I’m just a neighbor who appreciates a good thing when I see one… :-)

One of the better views of the city. I sure as hell didnt know it existed. Even on my better days, the Presidio is fairly confusing. With the construction over the last year it’s been pretty hairy. Doesnt help that Google and other online maps puts you out near the ocean. Once you’ve found it though it’s pretty easy to get to. Saw a bunch of lectures form the Omnivore world tour and had to go support our local chefs and some cool ones from over seas and across the various parts of the US. Having the Golden Gate as a backdrop to speakers and being set in an area that is fairly serene and peaceful is not a bad way to spend a weekend

Gorgeous! And a view of the bay and bridge! A new jewel to add to the Presidio’s crown. It’s awesome. The main room is very large… maybe seating for 200? I’ll have to get the measurements and lay it all out. Small lawn to the side, if you want to roll the dice on an outdoor ceremony in SF. Love, love, love this new venue!!!