BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.4.2//EN TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:VEVENT UID:5790@news24-680.com DTSTART;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260820T180000 DTEND;TZID=America/Los_Angeles:20260820T190000 DTSTAMP:20260818T013021Z URL:https://news24-680.com/events/san-francisco-speaker-series-at-the-roya l-sonesta-making-history-fun-again/ SUMMARY:San Francisco: Speaker Series At The Royal Sonesta - Making History Fun Again DESCRIPTION:The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel continues its monthly speaker ser ies\, Making History Fun Again\, designed to celebrate the city’s legend ary past through lively storytelling\, fascinating personalities\, and unf orgettable local history.\nFor the August 20 speaker presentation\, The Cl ift Hotel is pleased to feature and celebrate the History of the Presidio and its 250th anniversary. Like the United States and Mission Dolores\, 17 76 serves as a pivotal date for another national treasure: the Presidio of San Francisco. Established 250 years ago as an outpost of Imperial Spain\ , the Presidio ultimately became the longest continually operating militar y post on the West Coast\, under the flags of Spain\, Mexico and the Unite d States. Rob Thomson\, Federal Preservation Officer for the Presidio Trus t\, will present the history of the Presidio\, from its pre-contact beginn ings\, through its 217 years of military use\, to today’s status as a be loved National Park site and one of the most successful historic preservat ion projects in the country.\nAbout the Speaker\nRob Thomson is trained as an archaeologist and historic preservation planner.  He has worked for t he Presidio Trust in San Francisco since 2006 and currently manages the ag ency’s historic preservation and cultural resources program as its Feder al Preservation Officer.  Prior to the Trust\, Rob developed historic pre servation training programs in Southeast Asia for the Getty Conservation I nstitute in Los Angeles\, and worked on archaeological field projects in V irginia\, California\, and East Africa.  He has written extensively on hi storic preservation policy in the US and Asia\, including a co-authored bo ok entitled Architectural Conservation in Asia: National Experiences & \; Practice.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in archaeology from the Univ ersity of Virginia and a master’s degree in historic preservation from C olumbia University.\nEvent Details\nWhat: Making History Fun Again — Spe aker Series - History of the Presidio / 250th Anniversary\nFeatured Speake r: Rob Thomson - Federal Preservation Officer\, Presidio Trust\nWhen: Thur sday\, August 20\, 2026 | 5:00 p.m. Cocktail Hour | 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. Pro gram\nWhere: The Redwood Room\, The Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel\nAdmission: Complimentary with RSVP\nRSVP: Making History Fun Again Speaker Series at The Clift Tickets\, Multiple Dates | Eventbrite\nUpcoming Speaker Series L ineup\nThursday\, September 17 - Kevin Kopjak Panel - History of the Perfo rming Arts\nThursday\, October 15 - Rae Alexander - KQED and Author of Uns ung Heroines: 35 Women Who Changed the Bay Area\nThursday\, November 19 - Heather Knight (NYTimes) - leading a panel that includes Will Hearst (ALTA \, formerly SF Examiner)\, Wendy Tokuda (formerly KPIX)\, Joe FItzgerald R odriguez (SF Standard)\, John Rothmann (formerly KGO) - History of Media\n CATEGORIES:Free,Informational Gathering LOCATION:Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel\, 495 Geary Street\, San Francisco\, CA\ , United States GEO:37.786797;-122.41115 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=495 Geary Street\, San Fran cisco\, CA\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel:geo:37.786797,-122.41115 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Los_Angeles X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Los_Angeles BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20260308T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0800 TZOFFSETTO:-0700 TZNAME:PDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR