Fort Miley Military Reservation (San Francisco, California)
San Francisco · California · Spanish-American War, World War II
History & Significance
Point Lobos was acquired by the U.S. Army in 1893 to serve as part of seacoast defense for San Francisco Harbor. The site was selected by Colonel George Mendel in 1890 following Secretary of War William C. Endicott's 1885 report on coastal defense of San Francisco Bay; it was a 73-acre tract that since 1868 had been the Golden Gate Cemetery.
Fortification construction began in 1899, including a battery for sixteen 12-inch mortars that commenced work on November 27, 1899. A battery of two 12-inch rifled guns on disappearing carriages was completed in 1902, with a third gun added to Battery James Chester in 1903.
In the early 1930s, the parade ground was selected for a new Fort Miley Veterans Administration Hospital; most buildings were demolished in 1934 except for an ordnance storehouse. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor brought the United States into World War II before modernization could be completed, and Battery Chester's guns continued in coastal defense until 1943.
Battery 243, completed in 1944, was designed for two 6-inch rapid-fire guns to cover submarine minefields outside the Golden Gate. Today much of the site is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, while other grounds hosting the San Francisco VA Medical Center are administered by the Veterans Health Administration.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Coastal gun batteries and bunkers overlooking the Golden Gate Strait
- Spanish-American War and World War II-era artillery installations
- Dramatic clifftop setting at Point Lobos with bay views
- Golden Gate National Recreation Area trails and natural landscape
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-miley-military-reservation.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Miley_Military_Reservation
- https://www.militarymuseum.org/FtMiley.html
- https://noehill.com/sf/landmarks/nat1980000371.aspx
- https://fortwiki.com/Fort_Miley
- https://www.nps.gov/articles/bay_seacoast_defenses.htm