Fort Barry

More information at Warlike and Wikipedia Fort Barry (1904-2000) - Originally a part of Fort Baker (1), established as a separate Endicott Period coastal fort on 27 Dec 1904 and named after Brig. Gen. William F. Barry, 2nd U.S. Artillery. Located on the ocean side of the Marin Peninsula, Marin County, California. The military reservation land was turned over to the GGNRA in1995 and the last military troops left Fort Barry in 2000. Fort Barry Barracks. Nike Missile Site SF-88L. Fort Barry Cantonment in the Background Battery O'Rorke in the Foreground. Endicott Period (1890-1910) Part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco. Battery construction began on what would become Fort Barry with two large caliber batteries, Battery Alexander, a 12" mortar battery and Battery Mendell, a 12" disappearing gun battery, both started in 1901. In 1903 Battery Guthrie, a 6" Barbette pedestal mount battery and Battery O'Rorke, a 3" Barbette pedestal mounted gun battery, were started. In 1904 Battery Rathbone, a 6" Barbette pedestal mounted gun battery, was begun. These five gun batteries constituted the first wave of coastal defense batteries on the Marin Headlands, along the outside entrance to the Golden Gate. These batteries were all completed in the 1903-1905 time frame but were not accepted for service until 8 Jun 1905, all on the same day. Not all of the completed batteries were armed or had even had guns and carriages on site when they were accepted. It was 1910 before all the batteries were armed. The first detachment from Fort Baker (1) arrived at the Point Bonita batteries in July 1903 and lived in the magazines of Battery Mendell and Battery Alexander. On 16 Jul 1904, the Secretary of War authorized construction of a permanent post for two companies of the Coast Artillery Corps. The buildings were finished in the spring of 1907 and occupied 12 Feb 1908 by the 161st Company of the Coast Artillery Corps. The buildings included duplex officers' and noncommissioned officers' quarters, a twelve-bed hospital, two three-story barracks containing mess halls and kitchens, a guardhouse, a headquarters, and a complex of warehouses, stables, a firehouse, and other support buildings. Fort Barry Endicott Period Battery (edit list) Battery Click on Battery links below No. Caliber Type Mount Service Years Battery Cost Notes Battery Alexander 8 12" Mortar 1901-1903-1905-1942 $ 100,382 Battery Mendell 2 12" Disappearing Carriage 1901-190?-1905-1943 $ 128,016 Battery Guthrie 2 6" Pedestal Mount 1903-1904-1905-1948 $ 69,194 Battery Smith (2) 2 6" Pedestal Mount 1922-1948 $ 0 Created from Battery Guthrie 1922 Battery Rathbone 2 6" Pedestal Mount 1904-1905-1905-1946 $ 92,511 Battery McIndoe 2 6" Pedestal Mount 1922-1946 $ 0 Created from Battery Rathbone 1922 Battery O'Rorke 4 3" Pedestal Mount 1903-1904-1905-1945 $ 24,463 Source: CDSG Fort Barry Plan 1916 World War I (1917-1918) Battery Wallace (2) was originally constructed in 1917 during World War I for two long-range 12-inch guns each with a 360-degree field of fire, it was casemated in 1943. A balloon hangar was built in 1921 which is the last of three such structures in the defenses of San Francisco to survive. Fort Barry World War I Battery (edit list) Battery Click on Battery links below No. Caliber Type Mount Service Years Battery Cost Notes Battery Wallace (2) 2 12" LR Barbette 1917-1921-1921-1948 $ 758,242 Casemated 1943 Source: CDSG World War II (1941-1945) Fort Barry had no permanent garrison from 1922 to 1941 but was regarrisoned at the beginning of World War II. Battery 129 on the high summit to the east was begun in 1943 to contain two 16-inch guns which arrived but were never mounted. Fort Barry World War II Battery (edit list) Battery Click on Battery links below No. Caliber Type Mount Service Years Battery Cost Notes Battery 129 2 16" LR Barbette in Casemate 1942-1944-1944-194? $ 2,069,739 Guns on site not installed Navy Guns 1940 program Source: CDSG Fort Barry Plan 1945 Cold War (1947-1991) In 1954 Nike missile sites, SF-88L and SF-87C were built on Fort Barry as part of a protective ring of anti-aircraft missiles around San Francisco Harbor. ICBMs made the Nike system obsolete and it was shut down in 1974. SF-88L, the Launch site, has become the only restored Nike Site in the U.S. with functioning components of the system. Following the closure of the Nike missile site in 1974, the fort was used as a housing area for Army personnel stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco until it closed. In 1995, the military transferred its land to Golden Gate National Recreation Area and in 2000, the last soldiers left Fort Baker as the 91st Division (Training Support) moved their activities to Camp Parks, California. Marin Headlands Nike Batteries (edit list) Battery Type Location GPS Elevation Notes SF-88C Control Wolf Ridge 37.84197, -122.53218 910' SF-88L Launch Fort Barry 37.82698, -122.52753 134' SF-87C Control Hawk Hill 37.82754, -122.49956 889' SF-87L Launch Fort Cronkhite 37.83525, -122.53099 182' Source: Jef's Nike Website Current Status Part of the Golden Gate Recreation Area (GGNRA) administered by the National Park Service. Fort Barry now houses National Park Service personnel and the Marin Center for the Arts and Headlands' Institute. {"selectable":false,"height":"-500","width":"-500"} Location: At the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge next to Fort Baker (1). Maps & Images Lat: 37.83111 Long: -122.52333 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: 322' GPS Locations: 37.83111, -122.52333 Fort Barry 37.82600, -122.52953 Battery Alexander 37.82202, -122.53140 Battery Mendell 37.82731, -122.53213 Battery Guthrie 37.82697, -122.53182 Battery Smith 37.82666, -122.51833 Battery Rathbone 37.82676, -122.51782 Battery McIndoe 37.82820, -122.53246 Battery O'Rorke 37.82711, -122.50024 Battery 129 37.82461, -122.52826 Battery Wallace 37.84197, -122.53218 SF-88C Wolf Ridge 37.82698, -122.52753 SF-88L Fort Barry 37.82754, -122.49956 SF-87C Hawk Hill 37.83525, -122.53099 SF-87L Fort Cronkhite See Also: Fort Baker Endicott Period San Francisco NIKE Sites Sources: Hart, Herbert M., Tour Guide to Old Western Forts, Pruett Publishing Co., Boulder CO, 1980, ISBN 0-87108-568-2, page 22 Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 61 Kent, Matthew W., Harbor Defenses of San Francisco - A Field Guide 1890 to 1950, Copyright 2009, Blurb, ISBN 978-1-61584-163-9, page 164-209 U.S.Army, Supplement to the Harbor Defense Project Harbor Defenses of San Francisco, (CCA-P-SFB), 15 Nov 1945, CDSG Links: Military Museum - Fort Barry Military Museum - Battery Alexander North American Forts - Fort Barry CDSG Visited: 20 Aug 2009