Fort Point National Historic Site

Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Map showing the location of Fort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point
Nearest citySan Francisco, California, U.S.
Coordinates37°48′38″N 122°28′38″W / 37.81056°N 122.47722°W / 37.81056; -122.47722
Area29 acres (12 ha)
Established16 October 1970
Visitors1,682,041 (in 2005)
Governing bodyNational Park Service
WebsiteFort Point National Historic Site
Fort Point
Fort Winfield Scott
Near San Francisco, California in United States
TypeHarbor defense installation
Site information
OwnerUnited States Army
Controlled by6th Air Defense Artillery Regiment
Site history
Built1861 (1861)
FateDecommission 1970
Official nameCastillo De San Joaquín[1]
Reference no.82
Designated10/16/1970
Reference no.70000146[2]

Fort Point, known historically as the Castillo de San Joaquín (Spanish for "Saint Joachim's Castle") is a masonry seacoast fortification located on the southern side of the Golden Gate at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is also the geographic name of the promontory upon which the fort and the southern approach of the Golden Gate Bridge were constructed.[3]

The fort was completed just before the American Civil War by the United States Army, 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. It is now popular as a tourist viewing point of the Golden Gate Bridge directly over top of it.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference CHL was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "NPGallery Digital Asset Management System". npgallery.nps.gov. National Park Service. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  3. ^ "Fort Point, ID 223701, Geographic Names Information System USGS". Archived from the original on 2018-09-13. Retrieved 2018-12-04.