Fort Mason
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Fort Mason in San Francisco, California is a former United States Army post located in the northern Marina District, alongside San Francisco Bay. Fort Mason served as an Army post for more than 100 years, initially as a coastal defence site and subsequently as a military port facility. Today it is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the site of several cultural facilities.
Fort Mason can be split into two distinct areas. The upper area, sometimes called Upper Fort Mason, is situated on a headland and was the site of the original coastal fortifications. The lower area, Lower Fort Mason, is situated close to water level to the west of Upper Fort Mason, and is the site of the former military port, with its piers and warehouses. Aquatic Park lies to the east of Upper Fort Mason, whilst the Marina Green is to the west of Lower Fort Mason.
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[edit] History
The Civil War prompted the construction of a set of coastal defence batteries located inside the Golden Gate. Initially these defenses were built as temporary wartime structures rather than permanent fortifications and one of these was constructed in 1864 at Point San Jose, as the location of Upper Fort Mason was then known. A breast-high wall of brick and mounts for six 10-inch Rodman cannons and six 42-pounder guns were built on the site. Excavation in the early 1980s uncovered the well-preserved remains of the western-half of the temporary battery, and it has now been restored to its condition during the Civil War.[1]
The fort was named Fort Mason in 1882, after Richard Barnes Mason, a former military governor of California.[2]
President Grover Cleveland established the Endicott Board in 1885 for the purpose of modernizing the nation's coastal fortifications. Chaired by Secretary of War William Endicott, the board recommended new defenses at 22 U.S. seaports, deeming San Francisco Harbor second only to that of New York in strategic importance. As a result, an extensive series of forts, batteries, and guns were built on the harbor, including Fort Mason.[3]
The piers and sheds of Lower Fort Mason were originally built from 1912 to warehouse army supplies and provide docking space for army transport ships. By this time, the US Army began to build new bases in Hawaii, the Philippines, and various other Pacific islands. Most of the material for those bases was shipped through San Francisco. By 1915, the three piers together with their associated warehouse had been a completed, and a railroad tunnel driven under Upper Fort Mason to connect with the railroad network along the Embarcadero.
With these new facilities, Fort Mason was transformed from a harbor defense post into a logistical and transport hub for American military operations in the Pacific.[4] The Army ferry General Coxe provided scheduled transportation from Fort Mason to the processing center at Fort McDowell on Angel Island up to eight times per day during the war.
DuringWorld War II, Fort Mason became the headquarters of the San Francisco Port of Embarkation, controlling a network of shipping facilities that spread across the Bay Area. Over the years of the war, 1,647,174 passengers and 23,589,472 measured tons moved from the port into the Pacific. This total represents two-thirds of all troops sent into the Pacific and more than one-half of all Army cargo moved through West Coast ports. The highest passenger count was logged in August of 1945 when 93,986 outbound passengers were loaded.[4]
The Korean War in the 1950s also kept the post busy, and in 1955 the San Francisco Port of Embarkation was renamed the U.S. Army Transportation Terminal Command Pacific. However in 1965 the headquarters of that command were moved to the Oakland Army Terminal, and most of the fort's properties fell into disuse. The National Park Service took over the administration of the site in the 1970s as a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).[5][6]
[edit] Current uses
Some of the old officer housing remains in use by the Army, while some is rented to the public, also one of the larger buildings has been converted into a youth hostel. As a whole the former post is now a mix of well-tended parks and gardens, and carefully maintained late nineteenth and early twentieth century buildings. A path follows the harbor edge, rising along the headland and offering extensive views north past Alcatraz and east to the Golden Gate Bridge.
A portion of the site, known as the Fort Mason Center, is devoted to nonprofit and cultural activities. Fort Mason Center occupies 13 acres of waterfront, hosts three dozen nonprofit organizations, including three museums, six theaters, The Long Now and City College of San Francisco's Art Campus. More than 15,000 events take place at the Center each year and more than 1.5 million visit annually.[7]
The National Parks Service headquarters for both the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park are located in Fort Mason.[8][9]
[edit] Future developments
A proposal exists to extend the F Market & Wharves historic streetcar line to a terminal at Lower Fort Mason. This extension would run from the vicinity of the existing terminal near Fisherman's Wharf, westward alongside the San Francisco Maritime Museum and Aquatic Park, and then through the existing, but disused, railroad tunnel under Upper Fort Mason.[10]
A technical feasibility study, under the aegis of the National Park Service and San Francisco Municipal Railway, was completed in December 2004. An Environmental Impact Statement for the extension, involving the San Francisco Municipal Railway, National Park Service and Federal Transit Administration, commenced in May 2006.[11]
[edit] References
- ^ Golden Gate National Recreation Area - American "Third System" Period, 1850-1884. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Fort Mason History Walk 12. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
- ^ Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Harbor Defenses of San Francisco, 1891-1945. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ a b Golden Gate National Recreation Area - The San Francisco Port of Embarkation. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Fort Mason History Walk 15-16. National Park Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
- ^ Oakland Army Base. The California State Military Museum. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
- ^ Fort Mason Center - About Us. Fort Mason Foundation. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park - Contact Us. National Parks Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Golden Gate National Recreation Area - Contact Us. National Parks Service. Retrieved on 2007-12-17.
- ^ Historic F-line streetcars may extend to Fort Mason. San Francisco Examiner (2006-05-10). Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
- ^ Historic Streetcar Extension Project. Historic Streetcar Extension Project. Retrieved on 2007-12-18.
[edit] External links
- Fort Mason is at coordinates Coordinates:
