Fort Point

Fort Point is located at the southern side of the Straits of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. This fort was completed just before the American Civil War, to defend San Francisco Bay against hostile warships. The fort is now protected as Fort Point National Historic Site, a United States National Historic Site administered by the National Park Service as a unit of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Though today dwarfed by the Golden Gate Bridge, Fort Point’s four tiers of cannon were once the most awesome feature at this narrow entrance to San Francisco Bay. This mighty fort kept an armed and unwavering vigil over the golden gateway for almost half a century until its original cannons were removed, but no enemy challenged its might.