Fort Barry

Fort Barry (1904-1965) - Originally a part of Fort Baker, established as a separate Endicott Period coastal fort on 27 Dec 1904 and named after Brig. Gen. William F. Barry, 2nd U.S. Artillery.

Fort Barry History

Fort Barry Plan

Endicott Period

The first detachment from Fort Baker 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, 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

World War I

Battery Wallace was constructed in 1917 during World War I for two long-range 12-inch guns each with a 360-degree field of fire and later 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

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

Post World War II

The final defense function was Nike missile site, SF-88. Following the closure of the Nike missile site in 1974, the fort's last active military use was as a housing area for Army personnel stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco.

Current Status

Today the Fort Barry houses National Park Service personnel, the Marin Center for the Arts and Headlands' Institute.

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Location: At the north end of the Golden Gate Bridge next to Fort Baker on the ocean side of the Marin Peninsula. Maps & Images Lat: 37.83111 Long: -122.52333 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: '

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

Links:

• Military Museum - Fort Barry
• Military Museum - Battery Alexander
• Coast Defense Study Group, Press, Digital Library, Forums

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