Week 2: Exploring Fort Point

Welcome back everyone!

This week, I’ll visit the Fort Point Museum and research more in-depth on Fort Point. Several Fremont Army recruiters took me along with many other future soldiers for a field trip to Fort Point in November of last year. I took pictures there, talked with the employees, and overall had fun with everyone. This week, I revisited the base to get more pictures and get a better understanding of the layout. Here, I’ll give a little introduction to the defense systems and construction of the Fort.

Fort Point was a base built under the Golden Gate Bridge which kept the cannons close to the water level. After the Gold Rush in 1849, the San Francisco Bay became an important area for the government and thus, required defenses set up. This resulted in the construction of Fort Point. Two other forts were also built (one on Alcatraz Island and one across the Golden Gate Bridge) and they would coordinate their fire with Fort Point. Although it was built to defend the bay, it never actually faced a real threat. The base was also used for housing, giving over 300 military personnel a place to live. There were many different types of cannons built while Fort Point was in use and these defenses were all mounted in different areas on the coastline.

The whole base consisted of platforms for firing cannons into the bay, housing for military personnel, grass fields for army training and formation, and the brick fort itself. The fort consisted of four stories housing 102 guns and 126 cannons, most of them pointing towards the bay. It also would coordinate its fire with two other forts: one on Alcatraz Island and one across the Golden Gate Bridge. There were two main types of cannons showcased in the fort. The first was known as the Columbiad. These cannons were built for long-range shots and were thus, used to guard the bay. The cannons fired would ricochet off the water and strike enemy ships. The second type of cannon is the Napoleon cannon. These cannons were built for close-range shots and thus, were used to guard the entrance and the coastline.

The entrance also had more fortifications than just the two Napoleon cannons aimed at the door. The door was about one foot thick and very heavy. After entering there is a hallway with holes in both walls made for soldiers to fire rifle shots at any potential threat that goes through the hallway. After that is a second foot-thick door along with the 2 cannons pointed at the door. In the water, mines were planted making it harder for enemy ships to pass by. The fort also had a lighthouse made for guiding cruise ships and other non-threats.

Now that all the necessary research is completed, I will be starting the process of blueprinting and building the fort. I am excited to finally start the building process and I look forward to giving you guys updates on the process.