Page One

The Headlands Center for the Arts in Marin County will host an open house on Sunday, April 27, from noon to 5 p.m. Susan Parker, writer-in-residence at the center in 2001, offers a preview of the event. 

Head north over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge and then turn south onto Interstate 101. Get off at the last exit before the Golden Gate Bridge and make a sharp left. It looks as if you’re about to get back on 101, but just before the entrance veer right and go up a very steep hill. You are entering the Headlands, a magnificent part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area located just across the bay from San Francisco. 

The view as you drive up the road, clinging to the vertical cliffs, is spectacular. On clear days you can see all the way to Mt. Diablo and Mt. Hamilton. On foggy afternoons, of which there are many, you can barely distinguish the road in front of you. Drive slowly and cautiously. This is a windy, treacherous route. At the crest of the hill the road narrows. You’ll pass by many old military installations and crumbling bunkers, remnants of the Spanish American War, World Wars I and II, and the Cold War. Go as far west as you can to the final lookout. When it is sunny you can see south to Pacifica, north to Pt. Reyes, west to the Farallon Islands and beyond. If it’s thick with mist, you’ll hear the mournful call of the foghorns.  

Head back down the road and park in the Point Bonita’s pullout. Hike down the trail. You will be surrounded by sharp drop-offs on either side, but don’t be alarmed. The scenery only gets more magnificent as you continue along the path, through the narrow, damp tunnel and out to the suspension bridge that leads to the historic lighthouse. When you’ve had enough, indicated by goose bumps on your flesh resulting from the awesome view or swirling fog, tramp back up the trail and continue on the road, past the decommissioned Nike installation, now turned into a YMCA camp. You’ll come to a pristine white chapel, set among the eucalyptus and pine, which has been converted into a fine little museum. After your visit (admission is free), turn right toward Headlands Center for the Arts. You have reached our final destination.  

Headlands Center for the Arts is a sanctuary for artists from around the world. Run as a nonprofit out of buildings once owned and occupied by the United States Army, the center hosts practitioners of many disciplines. Dancers, writers, poets, filmmakers, photographers, composers, musicians, performance and installation artists use the old barracks, gymnasium and officers’ quarters as studios.  

Three years ago I had the pleasure of staying at this facility. It was a wonderful, exciting experience. And it was an especially poignant place to be during the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The Headlands Center for the Arts is literally a bastion of military defense turned into a place of creativity and healing. Not to get all fuzzy and warm, but can you think of a more meaningful venue in which to promote art, beauty and inspiration, than in a site once occupied by the United States Armed Forces? 

While in residence I met an environmentalist who was creating bird sanctuaries out of old gun batteries, a designer who made a giant tea cozy-like cover for a now defunct Nike missile, an installation artist building alternative housing for the homeless, a carpenter making dance floors on abandoned fuel storage structures. Someone was counting hawks as they flew by on their migration to South America, a performer was constructing a moveable cart in which to bring street music to the Tenderloin, a sculptor was creating a piece that blended with the waves and tides at nearby Rodeo Beach. 

On Sunday, April 27, from noon to 5 p.m., the Headlands Center for the Arts is hosting an open house. Drop by. You will be amazed, inspired and moved by what can be accomplished when people think thoughtfully and creatively in a backdrop once used as a place to prepare and guard against war.