Fort Point is a location at the south entrance to San Francisco Bay. Here, during the U.S. Civil War, a fort was built to defend the Straits of the Golden Gate against passage of hostile warships. While it was not expected that ships of the Confederacy would enter here there was some considerable concern that a potential European ally (particularly the maritime forces of Great Britain) might attempt to capture the port of San Francisco.

Owing to the recognition of the historic importance of this location the suspension cable approach to the southern anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge was built with a magnificent steel arch over this fort. Fort Point is now designated as a National Historic Site, and administered by the National Park Service as a part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

External links

• Fort Point National Historic Site (http://www.nps.gov/fopo/)
• Maps and aerial photos
  • Street map from Mapquest (http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.adp?latlongtype=decimal&latitude=37.811&longitude=-122.476&zoom=8)
  • Topographic map from Topozone (http://www.topozone.com/map.asp?lat=37.811&lon=-122.476&s=24&size=m)
  • Aerial photograph from Microsoft Terraserver (http://terraserver.microsoft.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=11&lon=-122.476&lat=37.811&w=600&h=400)