Forts of the Golden Gate, San Francisco, CA

Coastal Defense Fortifications

of the Golden Gate

(San Francisco & Marin Counties, CA)

Ever since 1776, when the Spanish first settled on the shores of the huge inland bay, San Francisco Bay has been of prime strategic importance to the defense of California and the United States. The narrow strait and high hills of the Golden Gate (named by John Fremont in 1846), makes the bay a safe haven, but a need was seen to add to nature's protection. That protection began when the Spanish established a military presidio and mission settlement (La Mision de Nuestro Serafico Padre San Francisco de Asis a la Laguna de los Dolores) at what is now San Francisco.

MISSION (San Francisco Co.):

· T1S, R5W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.7640966 / 37° 45’ 51” N

· Longitude: -122.4269155 / 122° 25’ 37” W

Beginning with the Spanish, massive gun emplacements were dug into the hillsides, to protect the bay's entrance. As the United States expanded, a massive coastal defense system stretching from Maine to Texas, and along the Pacific Coast was established. In the post 1848 American period alone, 60 batteries and 11 forts were built, armed, and operated just to protect the Golden Gate.

Our tour of the Golden Gate's coastal defense fortifications begins at FORT FUNSTON. It perches on a coastal bluff in the far southwestern corner of the City and County of San Francisco, west of SH 1, south of John Muir Drive (& the zoo), and west of Lake Merced. Northbound travelers must make a "U" Turn at the John Muir traffic signal, while southbound travelers may turn directly into the site. The fort dates to 1898 when it was the undeveloped Laguna Merced Military Reservation. It was renamed Fort Funston in 1917 after the death of Major General Frederick Funston, a Spanish-American War hero. Development appears to have started in the 1920s. Today, the windblown site is used as a dog training and hang gliding area. Housed in the three remaining single story 1940s era barracks are an "Environmental Science Center", and a visitor center/ranger station (open 12-4). Other remains include a wooden water tank, four batteries, and a base end station (with a hang glider launch deck built around the two observation posts). These base end stations were well-camouflaged heavy steel and concrete artillery aiming observation "pillboxes". Batteries included Launcher Bluff (1941-45), and Anti-aircraft Battery #3 (1925-54). Both are covered by changes in the site.

Still visible in the parking lot are three Nike Missile launching pads (SF-59, 1954-63). Also on site is the remains of Battery Davis (1939-48), which contained the largest guns in the coastal defense system...a pair of huge 16" cannons. Typically the remains of this and other coastal batteries consist of large rusting steel and solid concrete structures whose armaments were long ago removed for scrap.

FORT FUNSTON (San Francisco Co.):

· SE¼ Sec 36 (?), T2S, R6W, Mount Diablo Meridian (urban sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.7125000 / 37° 42’ 45” N

· Longitude: -122.4991667 / 122° 29’ 57” W

FORT MILEY, with its cluster of five batteries and a base end station is located north of Fort Funston, at Point Lobos. Established in 1900, this fort was named after Lt. Col. John D. Miley, a casualty of the Spanish-American War's battle of Manila Bay. Today the fort is a hospital complex surrounded by Lincoln Park's woodlands. The base end station is on the bluff just southeast of the Cliff House, in Sutro Heights Park. The batteries include Batteries Chester (1902-43), Construction #243* (1948-49), Livingston-Springer (1902-43), Lobos (1942-45), and Land (1943-48). At the very beginning, it was also known as Point Lobos Military Reservation.

(*Battery Construction #243 was never completed, officially named, armed or manned. There are several others in the system with similar case histories.)

FORT MILEY (San Francisco Co.):

· T2S, R6W, Mount Diablo Meridian (urban sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.7822222 / 37° 46’ 56” N

· Longitude: -122.5069444 / 122° 30’ 25” W

Next comes the Presidio, and just to the east of it is FORT MASON. Today the old fort is headquarters for the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Many of its other buildings are also used for a variety of civilian uses. Fort Mason is along the north edge of San Francisco, just west of Fishermans Wharf. Black Point (1864-98), Spanish American War (1900-09), and Burnham (1901-09) Batteries were set up to lay down a deadly crossfire with guns on ALCATRAZ and Angel Islands.

FORT MASON:

· T1S, R6W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.8055556 / 37° 48’ 20” N

· Longitude: -122.4286111 / 122° 25’ 42” W

ANGEL ISLAND, located in the bay just off the southeastern tip of the Tiburon Peninsula is the site of FORT McDOWELL (est. 1900). The fort's three gun batteries, Drew, Ledyard and Wallace (1900-15), were located along the southwest shore, while a Nike missile site (SF-91, 1954-61) was at Point Blunt, at the southeast end. Angel Island is now a State Park, and is accessible via ferry ($) from either San Francisco, or Tiburon (Marin Co.). The island was discovered by Lt. Juan Manual de Ayala, commander of the Spanish ship San Carlos in 1775. He named the island Isla de los Angeles, and it has been called Angel Island ever since. The county line goes right through the Fort McDowell complex and the lighthouse on the east edge of the island. Marin County is to the west and San Francisco is to the east.

ANGEL ISLAND (San Francisco & Marin Co.):

· T1S, R5W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS) CTR of Island

· Latitude: 37.8627046 / 37° 51’ 46” N

· Longitude: -122.4319164 / 122° 25’ 55” W

FORT McDOWELL (San Francisco & Marin Co.):

· T1S, R5W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS) East side of island

· Latitude: 37.8627046 / 37° 51’ 46” N

· Longitude: -122.4227496 / 122° 25’ 22” W

At the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge, across the bay from San Francisco, is Marin County. Its rocky southern shore known as the Marin Headlands, is part of Golden Gate National Recreation area. Here along the northern side of the Golden Gate are three forts and their assorted remains.

FORT BAKER nestles in a tiny cove below and to the east of the parking area at the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge. First called Lime Point Military Reservation, it was renamed in 1897 after Col. Edward D. Baker. Fort Baker consists of a cluster of whitewashed buildings and three batteries... Yates (1905-42), Cavallo (1900-05), and Duncan (1900-17). Take Conzelman Road west out of Fort Baker. Crossing under the highway (US 101/SH 1), the first batteries we can visit are Batteries Ridge (1893-1901), Spencer (1897-1943), and Wagner (1901-17), all below the road. Further down in Kirby Cove are the sites of four more dating to the 1870s. West of the Conzelman and McCullogh Road junction, we head up the hill to Battery Construction #129. This site sits high on the hill overlooking San Francisco, just inside the boundary of Fort Barry. It is the highest coastal defense battery in the country, and was built between 1942 and 1944, but never completed and armed. It was designed to carry two 16" naval cannons with a range of 25 miles.

FORT BAKER (Marin Co.):

· T1S, R5W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.8329514 / 37° 49’ 59” N

· Longitude: -122.4806800 / 122° 28’ 50” W

FORT BARRY consists of three isolated clusters of buildings, nine batteries, a mine casemate (storage bunker), searchlight, and a balloon hanger. In 1904, Fort Barry was established by renaming the western part of Fort Baker after Civil War General William F. Barry. Our tour continues west on the one-way portion of Conzelman Road beyond Battery Construction #129. The next battery is Rathbone-McIndoe (1905-48). The inviting, massive concrete ruins of this four-six inch rifled gun battery sit alongside the road high on a windswept ridge. The road then drops down to a flat area where a cluster of buildings flank the SF-88 Nike missile site (1954-74). This is the only preserved Nike Missile launching battery in the country, and is open on weekends. Right above the missile site are three old buildings, and according to a sign on the side of the Quartermaster Subsistence Storehouse, are undergoing renovation by the Headland Center for the Arts. Just to the south are a number of what appear to be former barracks, now occupied by the YMCA. The road loops down to Point Bonita and its lighthouse, passes Anti-aircraft Battery #2 (1920-40), Battery Wallace (1918-48), and ends at Battery Mendel (1905-43), another colorful collection of concrete and steel worth visiting. A base end station is tucked into the west end of the battery.

FORT BARRY (Marin Co.):

· T1S, R6W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.8291667 / 37° 49’ 45” N

· Longitude: -122.5125000 / 122° 30’ 45” W

Returning to the main road (Field Road), a short dirt spur leads to the sites of Battery Alexander (mortars, 1905-43), Smith-Guthrie (1905-48), and O'Rourke (1905-43). Passing those sites, the road again passes the Nike site and meets Bunker Road at the Fort Barry's main post. Fort Barry consists of a handful of whitewashed, red-roofed buildings, two of which are occupied by an art center and a hostel. The Marin Headlands Visitor Center occupies the former base chapel.

On the north side of Rodeo Lagoon, a road leads west towards FORT CRONKHITE, and its cluster of red-roofed, white, one and two story World War II era barracks. These former barracks are occupied by several organizations such as the Marin Highlands Association, and the Marine Mammal Center. The fort was established in 1937, and named after WW I Major General Adelbert Cronkhite. It served as a coastal artillery training center. The fort's defense fortifications included a Nike Missile radar control center and launch site SF-87 (1954-72), Wolf Ridge Anti-aircraft Battery #1 (1940-54), and Battery Townsley (1939-48). Return east on Bunker Road past the 1921 balloon hanger to McCullogh Road. At this intersection is the still occupied military housing complex for the coastal forts. Turning south returns you back up the hill to Conzelman Road (two-way section). Staying on Bunker Road takes you through a long tunnel, and back to the starting point at Fort Baker.

FORT CRONKHITE (Marin Co.):

· T1S, R6W, Mount Diablo Meridian (sections not shown on GNIS)

· Latitude: 37.8341667 / 37° 50’ 03” N

· Longitude: -122.5361111 / 122° 32’ 10” W

This tour of the coastal defense fortifications around the Golden Gate displays nearly 200 years of military history, from the original 1776 Spanish settlement through Cold War missile sites. Unfortunately, metal detectors are a no-no here, but still you can treasure the history of the coastal defense fortifications of the Golden Gate. They do make a unique and worthwhile tour for the followers of Ghost Town USA.

This was our GHOST TOWN OF THE MONTH for March 2000.

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FIRST POSTED: March 01, 2000

LAST UPDATED: November 06, 2010