Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage in the GGNRA

TNT Traysikel made history and worldwide news when it crossed the Golden Gate Bridge earlier this year, reportedly becoming the first Filipino traysikel to cross the famed bridge. 

Fong Bing Wah, or Wallace B. Fong, was a San Franciscan and Chinese-American engineer with a unique link to the lights of the Golden Gate Bridge. He was also the grandfather of Katherine Toy, our Executive Vice President of Partnerships and Programs. 

In this moment and as we continue forward, it’s important to acknowledge the racist history on these lands so that we can learn from it and overcome it. 

During Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month (May), the parks celebrate the community’s contributions—and remember its darkest hours. “Exclusion”—a new exhibition at the Presidio Officers’ Club—looks at the Presidio’s role in the incarceration of 120,000 Japanese Americans during World War II…75 years since FDR’s infamous Executive Order 9066.

In honor of Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month in May, learn the legacy of Japanese Americans who fought for their country—while their families were incarcerated by their government. And discover the unassuming building—rebuilt along Crissy Field—where they trained at a top-secret school.