Fort Miley Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Fort Miley

Historic Park

Description

This beautiful part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area includes acres of grassy picnic areas and a couple of landmark structures left from World War II's Fort Miley. There are three gun emplacements, a couple of batteries and one standing building that originally was an ordnance storehouse, but is now a National Parks maintenance building. The Fort Miley area was first acquired by the United States Military in 1890, when they cited a need for a defense post on the coast near the San Francisco Bay. Construction of barracks, batteries, and other buildings didn't begin on the site until 1899 and then unfailingly served the military up through World War II. Today, although many of the fortifications have been torn down, Fort Miley is still a popular visitor attraction, as well as an important part of military history as it represents some of the original concepts of coastal defense.