Fort Point National Historic Site
| Fort Point National Historic Site | |
|---|---|
Fort Point beneath the Golden Gate Bridge | |
| Nearest city | San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Coordinates | 37°48′38″N 122°28′38″W / 37.81056°N 122.47722°W |
| Area | 29 acres (12 ha) |
| Established | 16 October 1970 |
| Visitors | 1,682,041 (in 2005) |
| Governing body | National Park Service |
| Website | Fort Point National Historic Site |
| Fort Point | |
Fort Winfield Scott | |
| Near San Francisco, California in United States | |
| Site information | |
| Type | Harbor defense installation |
| Owner | United States Army |
| Controlled by | 6th Air Defense Artillery Regiment |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1861 |
| Fate | Decommission 1970 |
| Official name | Castillo De San Joaquín |
| Reference no. | 82 |
| Designated | 10/16/1970 |
| Reference no. | 70000146 |
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.
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 on top of it.