Fort Point, San Francisco
Fort Point isn’t just that old brick fort under the Golden Gate Bridge locals drive past.
This Civil War fortress guarded the bay from attacks that never came, starred in Vertigo, survived the 1906 earthquake, and almost got demolished when the bridge was built.
Now it’s a National Historic Site with secret tunnels, ghost stories, and military history that most San Franciscans have no clue about.
Here’s what makes this overlooked landmark one of SF’s most fascinating spots.
Gold Rush miners built the massive fort between 1853-1861
When gold fever hit California, protecting San Francisco Bay became super important. The US Army Engineers hired 200 workers to build Fort Point, and many were unemployed miners looking for work.
They spent eight years constructing this massive brick and granite fortress in the “Third System” style. It’s the only fort built this way west of the Mississippi River.
Workers had to blast away 90 feet of cliff to bring the site down to just 15 feet above sea level.
This wasn’t just for looks. They wanted the lowest cannons close to the water so cannonballs could skip across the surface and hit enemy ships at their vulnerable waterline.
They also built quarters, barracks, storehouses, and workshops along this seawall east of the main fort.
The fort’s cannons never fired a shot in battle
Fort Point was armed to the teeth and ready for action, but never actually saw combat.
During the Civil War, soldiers kept watch for Confederate ships that never came.
The CSS Shenandoah did plan to attack San Francisco, but their captain found out the war had ended before they reached the harbor in August 1865.
The fort had serious protocols in place. Guards alerted the garrison whenever a ship appeared at the Golden Gate.
A revenue cutter would challenge any approaching vessels while cannons were rolled out and ready to fire.
At its most prepared, Fort Point bristled with weaponry: nine 10-inch and seventeen 8-inch Columbiads, eleven 32-pounder seacoast artillery pieces, six 24-pounders, twenty-eight 42-pounders, and fifty-six 8-inch Columbiads.
The soldiers weren’t just watching for ships.
They stayed armed and ready during city elections too, worried about potential unrest in San Francisco.
Joseph Strauss redesigned the Golden Gate Bridge to save the fort
You know how the Golden Gate Bridge seems to float right over Fort Point? That wasn’t the original plan.
In the 1930s, bridge designers wanted to tear down the fort completely. Chief Engineer Joseph Strauss wouldn’t have it.
He changed his bridge design to preserve what he called “a fine example of the mason’s art.” The special arch he created to span over the fort is 220 feet long and lets both structures exist together.
Preservation efforts actually started before bridge construction. Back in 1926, the American Institute of Architects tried to protect the fort because of its impressive military architecture, but nobody had the money to make it happen.
Strauss became the fort’s champion during bridge construction. Today you can get one of the most amazing views of the Golden Gate Bridge by standing directly underneath at Fort Point.
Alfred Hitchcock used the fort for a famous scene in “Vertigo”
Movie buffs recognize Fort Point from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller “Vertigo.” The fort appears in a dramatic scene where Kim Novak’s character jumps into San Francisco Bay and James Stewart jumps in to save her.
Fun fact: Novak didn’t actually jump into the freezing bay. A stunt double named Polly Burson jumped onto a parachute suspended above the water, and the rescue scenes were filmed later in a Paramount Studios tank.
Film tourists often look for the exact spot where this happened, but the steps Stewart carried Novak up don’t exist in real life. They were built just for the movie. Hitchcock personally picked Fort Point after scouting San Francisco extensively.
He loved how the city’s bridges, hills, and twisting roads matched his main character’s psychological state and fear of heights.
Dozens of films have featured the fort since the 1940s
Vertigo might be the most famous movie shot at Fort Point, but it’s far from the only one. The fort has appeared in tons of Hollywood productions.
You can spot it in the 1947 film “Dark Passage,” the 1967 noir film “Point Blank” with Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson, and the 1968 movie “Petulia” starring George C. Scott. In the 1969 pilot for “Then Came Bronson,” Martin Sheen’s character jumps to his death from the fort.
Mel Brooks even used it for a phone booth scene in his 1977 comedy “High Anxiety” as part of his Hitchcock tribute. Filmmakers love the fort’s multiple environments: the multi-level courtyard, long brick archways, spiral staircases, and that rooftop with amazing views of the bay and bridge overhead.
The National Park Service now manages film permits, letting productions use the site while keeping it protected. The unique combo of 19th century fort and 20th century bridge creates a visual contrast photographers can’t resist.
Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston abandoned his post to join the Confederacy
Fort Point has a wild Civil War connection you probably don’t know about. Its first commander, Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston, got the fort ready for war in 1861, mounting its first cannons and ordering troops in. Then he did something shocking.
Kentucky-born Johnston resigned and joined the Confederate Army. This was a huge deal because as commander of the Department of the Pacific, Johnston controlled all military sites on the West Coast.
His defection seriously weakened Union leadership in the region. Johnston didn’t last long in his new role. He died at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862. After he left, the Union scrambled to reorganize Fort Point’s garrison and gave remaining officers strict loyalty tests.
General George Wright personally inspected the fort on November 9, 1861, making sure it stayed loyal to the Union after Johnston’s departure.
Earthquake victims found shelter at the fort in 1906
Fort Point wasn’t just for defense. After the devastating 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the fort became a relief center for displaced people.
The Army and fort staff handed out clothing to homeless victims, set up temporary camps, and coordinated supplies coming into the Bay Area.
The fort’s solid construction paid off. It only suffered moderate damage in the quake, while much of San Francisco lay in ruins.
This let Fort Point serve as a stable aid station when the city needed it most.
Historical photos from April 18, 1906, show clothes being distributed to earthquake victims at the fort, showing how quickly it switched from military base to humanitarian center during the crisis.
Military personnel protected the Golden Gate Bridge during WWII
Fort Point got a second life during World War II as part of San Francisco’s harbor defense. The Army mounted machine guns on top of the fort specifically to protect the Golden Gate Bridge. Troops stationed there guarded an extensive underwater mine network.
By war’s end in 1945, the harbor was protected by 37 mine groups with 13 mines each, totaling 481 mines. Each mine packed 800 pounds of TNT and connected by electric cable to a shore station where operators could detonate them if enemy vessels were detected.
The fort area also had six mobile searchlights: two at Gravelly Beach, two at Lime Point, and two at Battery Yates. These lights illuminated potential targets at night. Three specialized mine-planter vessels were based at nearby Horseshoe Bay, maintaining the underwater minefields that Fort Point helped protect.
The fort features unique “Third System” architecture rarely seen out west
Fort Point’s design makes it an architectural unicorn. Built in the Army’s “Third System” style (adopted in the 1820s), it’s the only fort of this design west of the Mississippi. This shows how much military planners valued San Francisco and the gold fields.
The fort features seven-foot-thick walls designed to absorb cannon fire from naval artillery. Its multi-tiered design includes three levels of artillery plus a barbette tier on the roof.
Inside, a striking courtyard shows off brick arches supporting each level, demonstrating sophisticated engineering knowledge about distributing weight. These features earned Fort Point several architectural nicknames: “the pride of the Pacific,” “the Gibraltar of the West Coast,” and “one of the most perfect models of masonry in America.”
Its expert brickwork and design still impress visitors today.
The fort changed names four times throughout its history
Fort Point can’t seem to settle on a name. In 1882, officials renamed it Fort Winfield Scott after the hero of the Mexican-American War.
But by 1886, they switched back to Fort Point when a different fort in the Presidio took the Winfield Scott name instead. The location itself has gone through multiple names too. The Spanish called the promontory “Punta del Cantil Blanco” (White Cliff Point).
During Spanish and Mexican control, it became “Punta del Castillo” (Castle Point). American forces roughly translated this to “Fort Point” after the Mexican-American War in 1846.
When U.S. forces first built the current structure, they simply called it “the Fort at Fort Point” before giving it a proper name. In California’s official records, Fort Point is California Historical Landmark #82, but it’s listed under its original Spanish name, Castillo De San Joaquín.
All these name changes reflect the site’s journey through Spanish, Mexican, and American control.
Richard Nixon signed legislation saving the fort in 1970
Fort Point nearly got demolished multiple times throughout its history. After the Civil War, rifled artillery made brick forts obsolete, and the Army removed all Fort Point’s cannons by 1900.
This left people wondering what to do with the structure. In the 1910s, the Army considered turning it into a detention barracks.
They even removed part of the interior wall in 1913 using soldier and prisoner labor. But they abandoned this plan and built the detention facility on Alcatraz instead.
During the 1920s, the fort housed unmarried officers and military trade schools. Preservation advocates kept fighting for the fort, and after World War II, their efforts gained momentum.
Finally, on October 16, 1970, President Richard Nixon signed a bill establishing Fort Point National Historic Site, ensuring its protection for future generations.
Civil War reenactors bring the fort’s history to life every year
Today, Fort Point buzzes with activity and history.
You can visit Friday through Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00pm (roof access closes at 4:30pm). The fort’s exterior is accessible seven days a week, though it closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.
National Park Service rangers give 15-minute history talks at 11:30am, 1:30pm, and 2:30pm on open days. These provide a quick intro to the site before you explore on your own. The fort’s biggest attraction might be its annual Civil War Living History Day.
This event features infantry and cannon drills, a period brass band, demonstrations of 1800s medicine and photography, plus presentations on daily soldier and civilian life. The tradition started in the 1980s with the National Civil War Association working with the National Park Service.
After stopping briefly in the 1990s, the events returned around 1998 and continue today. Volunteers from groups like the American Civil War Association, National Civil War Association, and California Historical Artillery Society dress in period uniforms and demonstrate what life was like at the fort during the 1860s.
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