Fort Point

https://www.nps.gov/fopo/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Point,_San_Francisco Fort Point is a masonry seacoast fortification located at the southern side of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. From its vantage point overlooking the spectacular Golden Gate, Fort Point defended the San Francisco Bay following California's Gold Rush through World War II. Its beautifully arched casemates display the art of 3rd system brick masonry and interacts gracefully with the Golden Gate Bridge. Fort Point is located at the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge at the end of Marine Drive on the Presidio of San Francisco. By car take Highway 101 N or S, exit at the Golden Gate Bridge toll plaza at south end of bridge. From S turn right at end of exit ramp, or from N go straight on Merchant Drive. Turn left onto Lincoln Boulevard. Take a left onto Long Avenue and follow onto Marine Drive. Fort Point National Historic Site Rangers at Fort Point provide information, tours and demonstrations. A small Sutler's Store in the fort offers park passport stamps and some merchandise related to Civil War and local history. Fort Point from Marine Drive Fort Point with visitors approaching on road in front and Golden Gate Bridge above. Fort Point offers stunning views from under the south end of the Golden Gate Bridge. Fort Point Sunset View Golden sunset light on the roof of Fort Point with Golden Gate Bridge and bay behind. Visitors can enjoy winter sunsets from the top of Fort Point. Brick Casemates Arched red brick casemates extend into the distance at Fort Point. Fort Point is known for its masterful masonry work. Civil War Days at Fort Point A cannon stands in front of Civil War re-enactors talking to the public. Visitors can interact with Civil War re-enactors twice in January and August at the Fort. Fort Point Lighthouse View of Fort Point lighthouse through red brick arches Fort Point has a historic lighthouse mounted on its top. NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Fort Point National Historic Site, California Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. Links to products from Baseline Geologic and Soil Resources Inventories provide access to maps and reports. fort parade grounds with golden gate bridge above The Civil War at Golden Gate The National Park Service is commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War (1861 – 1865.) We acknowledge this defining event in our nation’s history and its legacy in continuing to fight for civil rights. Fort Point Southwest National Parks Climate Roundtable Webinar Recording Now Available Following the publication of the Fourth National Climate Assessment Volume II: Impacts, Risks, and Adaptation in the United States (NCA4), the National Park Service began hosting a series of roundtable webinars to convey relevant findings to national parks. Each roundtable covers one of the 10 geographic regions defined in the report. This month, they hosted their seventh regional installment, the Southwest Parks NCA4 Roundtable. Fourth National Climate Assessment: What Does it Mean for National Parks in the Southwest Region? Fort Point The Fort has been called "the pride of the Pacific," "the Gibraltar of the West Coast," and "one of the most perfect models of masonry in America." When construction began during the height of the California Gold Rush, Fort Point was planned as the most formidable deterrence America could offer to a naval attack on California. Fort Point and Golden Gate strait before the Golden Gate Bridge Third System of Coastal Forts How should a country protect its borders? The United States had to consider this question when the War of 1812 ended in 1815. One year later, the federal government believed it had an answer. The nation created a broad national defense strategy that included a new generation of waterfront defenses called the Third System of Coastal Fortifications. The setting sun lights a stone fort wall where a US flag flies high. Seacoast Ordnance Cannon manufactured for use in Third System forts are called seacoast ordnance. These were some of the largest and heaviest cannon available at the time. Cannon at forts Pickens, McRee, Barrancas, Massachusetts, and Advanced Redoubt fell into three categories: guns, howitzers, and mortars. Each had a specific purpose. Pacific Border Province The Pacific Border straddles the boundaries between several of Earth's moving plates on the western margin of North America. This region is one of the most geologically young and tectonically active in North America. The generally rugged, mountainous landscape of this province provides evidence of ongoing mountain-building. Drakes Estero in Point Reyes National Seashore. NPS photo/Sarah Codde Series: Physiographic Provinces Descriptions of the physiographic provinces of the United States, including maps, educational material, and listings of Parks for each. George B. Dorr, founder of Acadia National Park POET Newsletter February 2014 Pacific Ocean Education Team (POET) newsletter from February 2014. Articles include: A Beacon of Light for the Channel Islands; A Challenging Place; Isolation within Isolation; Destruction Island Lighthouse A black and white historic photo of the Destruction Island lighthouse tower on a bluff top. Rare Damselflies in Distress: Scientists Work to Sustain an At-Risk Species in the Presidio This year has been a roller coaster for scientists keeping tabs on the Bay Area’s most at-risk insect—the San Francisco forktail damselfly. They’ve had some good news—the first population estimate in five years revealed stable numbers despite the drought—but also been confronted with diminishing water levels threatening the species' remaining stronghold near Fort Point like never before. Iridescent black, green, and blue insect with a long, slender abdomen and long, folded wings. Mary Lange Mary C. Lange served at Fort Point as the sole hospital matron, and one of few women, in the period 1861-1862 at the recently constructed brick garrison that protected Unionist San Francisco from Confederate attack by water during the US Civil War. While no military threat materialized, Lange’s work exemplifies the expanded roles women began to play in medical support during the Civil War. Artistic rendering of long room with arched ceilings and hospital beds Staff Spotlight: Rebecca Au and Jackson Lam Meet Rebecca Au and Jackson Lam! Becca and Jackson at Muir Woods on Earth Day 2022 Series: Pacific Ocean Education Team (POET) Newsletters From 2009 to 2015, the Pacific Ocean Education Team published a series of short newsletters about the health of the ocean at various National Park Service sites in and around the Pacific Ocean. Topics covered included the 2010 tsunami, marine debris, sea star wasting disease, ocean acidification, and more. Ocean waves wash in from the right onto a forested and rocky shoreline. Series: Women's History in the Pacific West - California-Great Basin Collection Biographies from Northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada Map of northern California, Central Valley, Sierra Nevada Mountains and Nevada

Fort Point National Historic Site California National Park Service U.S. Department of the lnterior i* L I ",I key to the whole Pacific coast" "The At the outbreak Fort of the Civil War, newly constructed Point stood as a prime example of the u.S. Army's most sophisticated coastal fortifications. Military officials declared its position at the Golden Gate as the "key to the whole Pacific Coast"l its massiye brick walls looked to be impenetrable. Even as its praises were being sung, ne\ry rifled artillery was in use that could bore through masonry walls-as had happened at similar forts on the East Coast. Fort Point neyer saw action.It surviyes as a monument to a bygone era and a place where you can explore life at a coastal defense garrison in the 1860s. I I ; Sentinel at th E The entrance to San Francisco Bay has long been the site of human habitation. The earliest residents of the area, ancestors of the Ohlone and Miwok peoples, depended on the bay's waters for food and transportation. There is evidence from about 4,000 years ago of an Ohlone village located about a mile from Foft Point along the shore. Left; Fort Point, 1870. Above: Ohlone Indian and canoe. The Castillo de San Joaquin ln 1769 Gaspar de Portol6's overland expedition reached San FranE cisco Bay. By 1776 Spain had I6 o established the area's first Euroo (f o pean settlement, with a mission d L and a presidio (military post). Fearful of encroachment by the British and Russians, Spain fodified the high white cliff at the narrowest paft of the bay's entrance, where Fort Point now stands. The Castillo de San Joaquin, built in ( 1794, was an adobe structure ll housing 9 to 13 cannon. The little fortress guarded the Spanish 1 colony until 1821, when Mexico won independence from Spain and gained control of the region. T o c o o EI Y? c 6 E .9 t o = 't 6 o c c 6 E \1,tfOBNlAREPUBIIIC. 'l t 1 F o c0 E o O 1r ,i lr Above left: Spanish flag from 1793; Spanish soldier, 1770s. .Lbove'. Mexican flag;left: Bear flag, symbol of the 1846 revolt during which U.S. citizens in California banded together to overthrow Mexican rule. Golden Gate ln 1835 the Mexican army moved I to Sonoma and the castillo's adobe walls were left to crumble in the wind and rain. War broke out between Mexico and the United States in 1846. On July 1, U.S.Army officer John Charles Fr6mont, along with Kit Carson and a band of 10 followers, stormed the castillo and spiked the cannons. They discovered that the fortress was empty. After the United States prevailed in the Mexican War in 1848, California was ceded to the U.S. The gold strike that year at Sutter's Mill on the American River lured tens of thousands of prospectors. Most of the "Fortyniners" arrived by sea, making San Francisco the major West Coast harbor as of 1849. When California became the 31st state in 1850, the U.S. Army and Navy officials recommended a series of foftifications to secure San Francisco Bay. Coastal defenses were built at Alcatraz, Fod Mason, and Fort Point (see map below left). Fort Point and the Civil War The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began work on Fort Point in 1853. Plans specified that the lowest tier of artillery be as close as possible to water level so cannonballs could ricochet across the water's surface Workers blasted the 9O-foot cliff down to 15 feet above sea level. The structure featured 7-foot thick walls and multi-tiered casemated construction typical of Third System forts (see diagram on the reverse side of this brochure). lt was sited , to defend the maximum amount of harbor area. While there were more than 30 such forts on the East i Coast, Fort Point was the only one ', (see built on the West Coast map at I i left). c so MARIN o (o PENINSULA 6 E O o € o b Point Bonita Point o .9 FOrt Point t Fort Mason SAN FRAN C/SCO Top: Third System seacoast defenses on the eve of the CivilWar. Above; San Francisco Bay's defenses (red dots) at Fort Point, Alcatraz, and Fort Mason. Circles indicate the range of fire-about 2 miles- for each forffication. A l)-inch Columbiad cannon at Fort Sumter South Carolina. Two such cannons were mounted at Fort Point during the CivilWar. General lnformation ln 1854, lnspector General Joseph F.K. Mansfield declared "this point as the key to the whole Pacific Coast...and it should receive untiring exertions." A crew of 200, many unemployed miners, labored for eight years on the fort. ln 1861 , with war looming, the Army mounted the fort's first cannon. Col. Albert Sidney Johnston, commander of the Depaftment of the Pacific, prepared Bay Area defenses and ordered in the first troops to the fort. Kentuckyborn Johnston then resigned his commission to join the Confederate Army; he was killed at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. Throughout the Civil War, artillerymen at Fort Point stood guard for an enemy that never came. The Confederate raider CSS Shenandoah planned to attack San Francisco, but on the way to t

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Fort Point National Historic Site Golden Gate National Recreation Area Abbreviated Fort Point Historic Structure Report Abbreviated Fort Point Historic Structure Report Fort Point National Historic Site Golden Gate National Recreation Area Fort Mason, Building 201 San Francisco, California Produced by the Cultural Resources & Museum Management Division Golden Gate National Recreation Area National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior Washington, DC September 2006 Front cover photo: A view of Fort Point, circa 1869. Credit: Fort Point NHS Collection, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. inside front page photo: View of Fort Point, circa 1869. Credit: National Archives, Record Group 77 Back cover photo: This photo, dated 1910, shows the Fort Point lighthouse keeper’s residences located at the south of the fort. Credit: Fort Point NHS Collection, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Contents Introduction ............................................................................................... 8 Developmental History ........................................................................... 14 Fort Point: Sentry at Golden Gate ............................................. 14 Chronology of Fort Point Development & Use ......................... 28 1776-1852: Castillo de San Joaquin ................................... 28 1853-1860: Initial Construction ........................................ 30 1861-1868: The Civil War & the First Garrison.................... 35 1868-1906: Dire Straights ................................................. 37 1907-1930: Detention Barracks WWI, Army Use ............... 45 1931-1940: Golden Gate Bridge Construction .................. 49 1941-1945: World War II ................................................... 54 1946-1970: The Move Toward Preservation: Establishment of the Fort Point Museum Association .............................. 55 1970-1998: National Park Service Stewardship................... 57 Physical Description .................................................................... 74 Conditions Assessment and Material Investigations .............. 100 Treatment & Work Recommendations ................................................. 122 Evaluation of Restoration Work to Date ................................ 122 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards ........................................124 Requirement for Treatments & Use (Outline) ..........................125 Treatment Recommendations (Outline) ...................................125 Bibliography ........................................................................................... 126 Glossary .................................................................................................. 130 Appendices A: Floor Plans..................................................................... 133 Appendices B: List of Fort Point Documents ........................................151 Appendices C: Supplemental Record of Work Performed ................. 152 Left: Photo of Fort Point during winter of 2000. Photo circa 2000. Credit: Su Chu-Way, Golden Gate National Recreation Area. 7 Fort Point Historic Structures Report Introduction Fort Point became part of the National Park Service in 1970 and has been administered by Golden Gate National Recreation Area since that park was created in 1972. Since then, the National Park Service has conducted significant research on the Fort in order make the best building rehabilitation decisions. This Abbreviated Fort Point Historic Structure Report is a synthesis of most of the research conducted to-date and makes references to other related reports and studies. The appendices also contain floor plans and a list of Fort Point documents. However, this Abbreviated Fort Point Historic Structure Report does not contain a completed Treatment Recommendations section that is one of the critical components of a standard historic structure report; hence the title “Abbreviated” Fort Point Historic Structure Report. The historic preservation consultants Carey & Co. wrote an outline for this section which provides guidance for future work. It is the National Park Service’s hope that the treatment recommendations work will be conducted by a historical architect in the near future. Preparation At Carey & Co. (460 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 415-773-0773), individuals included Alice Carey, Principal; Nancy Goldenberg, Project Manager; and Heidi Stosick. American War, and World War II. The fort is now recognized as one of the best-preserved “Third System” forts in the United States. Originally built to protect the entrance to San Francisco Bay during the Gold Rush, Fort Point was garrisoned throughout the Civil War in anticipation of enemy attack either by Confederate naval forces or by Confederate insurgents living in California. In 1863, the U.S. Lighthouse Board erected a hexagonal iron lighthouse on the fort’s ro

National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior The Lights of Fort Point Fort Point National Historic Site Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives Over the past 150 years, three lighthouses have stood at this point. With its propensity for high winds and strong currents, as well as submerged shoals and frequent fog, Fort Point was an easy choice as one of the nine sites selected by Congress in 1850 for West Coast lighthouses. In the midst of the Gold Rush, San Francisco’s harbor became one of the busiest in the world and navigating the hazardous Golden Gate took a heavy toll, littering the area with shipwrecks. Today, many visitors may not recognize the steel lighthouse tower atop the fort for what it is. . . or was—a guiding light for mariners passing through the Golden Gate for nearly 70 years. Living beside the lighthouse and the fort were its keepers, a small community of families that had a starkly different lifestyle than the soldiers of the fort, one protecting merchant shipping and the other guarding against invading ships. Fort Point light and keepers’ houses. In December 1852, work began on the first of three lighthouses at Fort Point. The first lighthouse was built on the site of the old Spanish fort, Castillo de San Joaquin, on a 90-foot-high cliff. Completed by mid-1853, the light had yet to go into operation when it was torn down to cut away the underlying bluff to build the massive fort. Lighting the Point The third lighthouse, which still stands today, was placed on a metal tower capping one of the fort's circular stairways. At 106 feet above sea level, the light could be seen by sailors along the entire horizon. A larger fourth-order Fresnel lens soon replaced the smaller original lens. The last keeper locked the door to the lighthouse on September 1, 1934, when the rising Golden Gate Bridge blocked the light and muffled the sound of the fog signal. The lighthouse was soon replaced with an automated light and fog signal installed on the south bridge pier. First lighthouse. U.S. Lighthouse Society Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives National Archives and Records Administration A second lighthouse was built beside the brick fort, and in March of 1855, sailors first saw a beacon shine from Fort Point. Mounted in a four-sided tower 52 feet above the water, the lantern had the smallest lens on the coast. This second lighthouse served until 1863 when construction of a new sea wall around the fort necessitated its removal. Second lighthouse. Third lighthouse, 1930s. rev. 7/05 Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives Signals in the Mist Fog bell on the side of the fort. cannon muzzles. In fact, by 1869, firing of the guns had badly battered both the fog bell and the keepers' nerves. One could describe the life of a 19th Century lighthouse keeper as isolated and monotonous, but it was dangerous as well. Lighthouses were on islands or remote stretches of coast, surrounded by wind and waves. A trip to town or a visit from the lighthouse tender was a major event. Keepers often passed the time by reading, raising livestock, and gardening. Often the keeper's family lived at the site and helped with the duties. One of the first roles for women in government service was as lighthouse keepers. Fort Point had five female assistant keepers between 1860 and 1870. Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives Keepers of the Light Lonely yet comforting, the sounds of fog horns bring a feeling of nostalgia to many San Franciscans. For those on ships negotiating the fog-shrouded Golden Gate, the fog signals meant security and safety. From the 1850s through 1904, a bell chimed from Fort Point when the fog was in. A clockwork mechanism rang the bell, and if the mechanism failed, the keepers or their spouses rang the bell manually, a task requiring them to risk their lives by climbing down a windswept ladder on the side of the fort only to stand below the fort's A hand-cranked tram lifted supplies to the keepers’ houses. 150 Years of Bay Area Lighthouses The San Francisco Bay lighthouse system became the most extensive on the West Coast, with 14 lights from the Golden Gate to the Sacramento Delta. The earliest of those lights started operating on Alcatraz Island over 150 years ago. Golden Gate NRA, Park Archives Three of the first nine lights are now in the Golden Gate National Parks—Alcatraz Island, Fort Point, and Point Bonita. All of the lighthouses around the bay have gone the way of those elsewhere in the world; they have become automated and no longer require keepers. And so is lost a way of life. A Sobering Tale Printed on recycled paper using soy-based ink The bell was eventually replaced by a fog trumpet after San Francisco's largest maritime disaster. On a foggy morning in 1901, the City of Rio de Janeiro struck the rocks off Fort Point, taking over 100 lives as it slipped beneath the waves. At least two keepers were needed to operate the fort’s lighthouse. Keepers scrubbed,