John G.
Yelp
Sometimes it's nice being a tourist in your own town. Take advantage of everything it has to offer and you don't even have to spend a dime.
Fort Point is one of those cool, historical and classic places. It's been the backdrop of many movies and TV shows, and the most famous movie is Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, where Kim Novak jumps in the bay and was rescued by Jim Stewart. If you don't know these actors, then it's showing my age. Unfortunately, that area has been closed off many years ago for safety reasons. There's a "No Trespassing" sign on the gated fence and violators can be fined $10,000 or punished of up to a year in jail. Not worth it to get that "cool shot" with the Park Rangers around.
Fort Point was completed just before the Civil War by the U.S. Army to protect and defend the San Francisco bay. Located on the southern side of the mouth of the bay, it's a masonry seacoast fortification that is four stories high including a built-in towers and an upper water tank that doubles as a lookout tower. The fort cost $2,800,000 to build and originally called "Fort Winfield Scott" but over time, it was called "The Fort at Fort Point" until it was simplified to it's current name. The additional seawall cost another $400,000 to build, which took 9 years to complete.
Interestingly enough, the people who built the fort were handsomely paid. For example, skilled laborers were paid $10 in 1860 (equivalent to $313.72 in today's rate) and unskilled laborers were paid $2.50 (equivalent to $78.43 in today's rate). Jesus Christ...and people are complaining and are so against increasing the minimum wage to $15.00. These people need to do the math and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the numbers just don't add up. And there were some Blacksmiths, Carpenters and Masons who were making between $2.50 and $10.00 in 1860. No wonder they could afford to purchase a house and lot with acres and acres of land.
Most of the granite used to build its walls came from China and some from nearby quarries. The soil that was dug up to build the foundation was spread out along the coastline, which is now the road that leads to the fort. Thousands of bricks were made on site and hundreds men, mostly 49ers miners were employed and worked alongside U.S. Army Engineers to build the fort.
When the fort was completed, U.S. Army Artillerymen stood guard for an attack that never happened and due to other similar forts on the east coast sustaining significant damages against rifled artillery, the troops moved out and the cannons and artillery were either sold for scraps or relocated to the other newer and more fortified batteries built along the California coastline.
Though it was never fully abandoned, it was briefly used as a temporary refugee camp after the 1906 earthquake and subsequently used as barracks and storage area by the U.S. Army. When the Golden Gate Bridge was being built, there were plans of demolishing the fort, but the bridge's Chief Engineer redesigned the bridge in order to save the fort. He wanted it preserved as a national monument, historical site and military architecture. Although there were no funds to preserve the fort, it languished for decades until President Nixon signed a bill creating the Fort Point Historical Site.
Now the fort is a United States Historical Site administered by the National Park Service and a unit of Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA).
There are plenty of Civil War-era artifacts, uniforms and furniture displayed and preserved inside. There are cannons of all shapes and sizes that you examine and touch up close and personal. There's even a powder keg room in the basement level, though it's only contains empty barrels now. You can explore the corridors, the hallways and stairwells. There's a gift shop inside and a theatre room playing documentaries about the bridge and fort on a loop. Wander alone in a dark and cold hallway and you might feel or see the presence of a spirit. You don't have to take my word for it, but the place just reeks of old souls wandering the hallways and corridors.
But, it's a cool place to explore and you can easily spend a couple of hours here, especially if you are a military historical buff, love architectures or just a regular person who enjoys such a place in general. And for the professional photographers and wannabe photographers, this is another great spot with plenty of views and angles of the bridge and the bay. Post it on Instagram and on your stories and it'll guarantee some likes.
#YelpChallenge2020 review No. 58
