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