Description

The Mesa Room is the east wing of the Officer's Club, and, along with the west wing (the de Anza Room), was probably constructed during the rebuilding and expansion of the Spanish fort's central quadrangle between 1812-1815, following the earthquake of 1812. The remains of the quadrangle share the distinction, along with Mission Dolores further to the south, of being San Francisco's oldest standing Colonial-era constructions. Currently, the Mesa Room contains exhibits from the current archaeological excavation efforts at El Presidio. Following the takeover of California by the United States in 1847, the American military elaborated and revised the fort but left earlier portions of architecture largely intact under new walls. In 2005, archaeologists peeled back sections of the modern drywall, revealing stenciled wall fabric from the 1930s, which was then peeled back to reveal woodwork from the early American period that was designed to make the thick adobe walls look like a wood frame building. Underneath the wood were the Spanish colonial adobe walls themselves, some of which possibly date as far back as 1791.

Media Id: media_PRE_20080919_204031 Date Uploaded: 2008-09-19 20:40:31 Points: 0