Alexis Madrigal: The Memory Clerk

San Francisco Bay Area Journalist, Author To Spend 24 Hours “Filing”
Fort Mason Memories (and Chasing Ghosts) In Gateway Pavilion Performance
One-day project collects community stories as research for upcoming book
on the 50th anniversary of Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture

 In a unique blend of performance art, oral history, and historical research, KQED’s Alexis Madrigal transforms into “The Memory Clerk” for 24 hours, beginning Friday, September 5, 2025, stationed in Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture’s historic Gateway Pavilion, to collect and catalog five decades of memories from one of San Francisco’s most beloved cultural spaces.

To schedule a 15-minute session with Madrigal to discuss memories, please visit this Calendly link. Walk-in hours (no need to schedule) are available on Friday, September 5, 2025, from Noon to 10:00 p.m.

From noon Friday – dovetailing with the Fort Mason Night Market from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. – to noon Saturday, Madrigal conducts short oral history interviews and accepts online submissions of memories from anyone who has experienced Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture since its 1977 creation. The project serves as immersive research for a forthcoming book commemorating the center’s 50th anniversary and its role as an arts and cultural hub home to events as varied as the premiere of Sam Shepard’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the People’s Republic of China’s first trade show in the U.S. in 1980, the debut of Windows 98, Macy’s popular Passport fashion shows, and the NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, among thousands of others.

“I want to record and absorb as many memories as I can,” Madrigal explains, “from children who came to casting calls here to people who trained for radio jobs in these buildings to people who found themselves talking all night with a friend in the parking lot on some night in 2005.”

 The Gateway Pavilion, one of the historic buildings that once served as part of the U.S. Army’s Port of Embarkation, provides a fitting backdrop for the memory collection. Just as the clerks at Fort Mason kept tabs for the longshoremen on what needed to go where and ensured nothing important was lost, Madrigal’s performance, as well as the name of the project, hopes to record the people’s memory of the site.

A Model For Transforming Public Space

Fort Mason Center was one of the first sites to transform a closed-down military installation into a vibrant cultural hub, offering a national model in the reuse and adaptation of vacant public spaces. Since the mid-1970s, it has housed theaters, art galleries, museums, and community organizations, as well as hosted hundreds of thousands of events and cultural moments, becoming an integral part of San Francisco’s arts and cultural landscape.

“Looking around at San Francisco and the Bay more broadly, we need to understand how and why Fort Mason has worked so well, what led to its creation, and how the model could be extended elsewhere,” Madrigal notes.

“The Memory Clerk” project aims to capture not just official history, but the lived experiences that have made Fort Mason a cherished community space – the informal conversations, chance encounters, and quiet moments that happen between the scheduled events.

“Fort Mason’s buildings have seen so many things,” Madrigal reflects. “I am hoping the walls can still talk.”

 Mike Buhler, President and CEO at Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, welcomes the project: “Fort Mason has been a sanctuary for artists and audiences for five decades, and so many of our most meaningful moments happen in the spaces between performances – in conversations after shows, chance encounters in the hallways, and the quiet magic that occurs when creative people gather. Alexis’ “Memory Clerk” project captures something essential about what makes this place special: it’s not just the official programming, but the countless personal stories that have unfolded within these historic walls.”

 Event Details:

• When: Noon Friday, September 5, 2025, to noon Saturday, September 6, 2025
• Where: Gateway Pavilion, Fort Mason Center for Arts and Culture, San Francisco
• What: Live oral history collection and online memory submission
• Who: Open to the public – anyone with Fort Mason Center memories from the 1970s onward is welcome

Community members who cannot visit in person – submit memories online at memories@FortMason.org. 

About the Book: The forthcoming book by Madrigal explores the 50-year history of Fort Mason Center for Arts & Culture, examining how a former military installation became one of San Francisco’s most important cultural destinations. Madrigal is a journalist who hosts KQED Radio’s Forum, and author of a new book, The Pacific Circuit: A Globalized Account of the Battle for the Soul of an American City, examining the logistical revolution that began in Oakland and has transformed urban America.

Free Admission