The Golden Gate Bridge’s Round House has been the focal point for the icon’s southern edge. Long a gathering place for miserable out-of-towners in shorts pointing helplessly at impenetrable fog and the spot where Lycra-clad, Sausalito-bound cyclists dodge the 29-Sunset buses, it’s now serving food.

The words of dissidents, political prisoners, and free speech advocates are everywhere in "@Large," a multi-work exhibition by renowned Chinese artist Ai Weiwei now open on Alcatraz Island — embossed on kites, represented in LEGO portraits, and echoing from speakers hidden behind jail cell vents.

The new interim Crissy Field Center facility at the eastern edge of Crissy Field traveled from conception to near-completion in just nine months. The project was put on the fast track after the starting date for one of the Bay Area's largest and most anticipated public works projects, the reconstruction of the Doyle Drive/Presidio Parkway approach to the Golden Gate Bridge, was moved forward to the summer of 2009 from its original start date in 2011.

Celebrated Chinese dissident, architect and artist Ai Weiwei's highly anticipated exhibition "@Large: Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz" will open this fall on September 27th and run through the end of April 2015. The exhibition will feature seven site-specific installations in four different locations on the former federal prison island, three of which are not normally open to the sightseeing public.

Chinese dissident artist and architect Ai Weiwei's major installation @Large opens this weekend inside the former prison building of Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay.

Alcatraz is perhaps the world's most famous prison. And Ai Weiwei is arguably China's best known artist. Now they have come together in a viscerally powerful show in the notorious former jail.

The confined Chinese dissident’s new exhibition raises important questions about human rights at a site that’s home to America’s own notorious past.

Alcatraz is perhaps the world’s most famous prison. Ai Weiwei is arguably China’s best-known artist. Now they have come together in a viscerally powerful show in the notorious former jail.

The big man of Beijing's new show fills the former prison with a giant rainbow dragon and Lego models of 175 prisoners of conscience, from Nelson Mandela to Edward Snowden. The artist's bravery and commitment are extraordinary

When the world thinks of the San Francisco Bay Area, we see a place of natural and iconic beauty. Among San Francisco's many breathtaking spots, we appreciate the Presidio, Crissy Field, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate. The San Francisco Bay may very well be the jewel in this crowded crown. But rarely do we acknowledge the visionaries behind these beauties. On Oct. 1, we have the opportunity to do just this -- with Greg Moore and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.