Fort Point

San Francisco

Jan 30-31, 2010 

updated 9/10/2009

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Fort Point Publicity Flyer can be downloaded here in the future!

NOTE: this event is subject to cancellation or rescheduling (with or without much notice) because of elevated national threat level.  The Fort is open rain or shine.  However, if severe, the event may also be cancelled due to inclement weather without notice.

This page contains the following information:

o Contact Info and Links to National Parks Official Fort Point Website

o History of Fort Point

o Public Information

o Reenactor Information

o Schedule of Activities at the Fort

o Directions to Fort Point and Presidio Map

o Hotels near Fort Point

NOTE: this page works best in MS Internet Explorer.  

Contact Information

For information about the Fort, please feel free to call the rangers at (415) 556-1693.

For information about reenactors and the living history event, Contact Mike Musante (mikemusante@hotmail.com or 650-312-8422). 

Fort Point General Info: http://www.nps.gov/fopo/index.htm

This website is designed to provide information for reenactors (as well as public) regarding the upcoming Fort Point event.  

History of Fort Point

Fort Point was constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1853 and 1861 to prevent entrance of a hostile fleet into San Francisco Bay.

The fort was designed to mount 126 massive cannon. Rushed to completion at the beginning of the Civil War, Fort Point was first garrisoned in February of 1861 by Company I, 3rd U.S. Artillery Regiment. The fort was occupied throughout the Civil War, but the advent of faster, more powerful rifled cannon made brick forts such as Fort Point obsolete. In 1886 the troops were withdrawn, and the last cannon were removed about 1900. The fort was then used for storage and training purposes for many years.

Between 1933 and 1937 the fort was used as a base of operations for the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge. During World War II, Fort Point was occupied by about 100 soldiers who manned searchlights and rapid-fire cannon mounted atop the fort as part of the protection of a submarine net strung across the entrance to the Bay.

Fort Point is the only third system brick fort on the West Coast of the United States. It became a National Historic Site on October 16th, 1970.

In 1994, the NPS produced a Historic Furnishings report for Fort Point.  This provides a lot of in depth research into the history of the fort, the people that lived there, and descriptions of what the rooms would have looked like during the Civil War.  We have scanned this long document into 7 parts: COMING SOON!!!

Other links about Fort Point and the history of San Francisco: 

     Fort Point Exhibits: http://www.nps.gov/fopo/exhibits.htm

     Fort Point 1848-1876: http://www.nps.gov/prsf/coast_defense/third_system/fort_point/ftpoint.htm

      San Francisco Virtual Museum: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist5/civwar.html

     Scenes of Wonder and Curiosity in California by James M. Hutchings (1862):

     http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/scenes_of_wonder_and_curiosity/san_francisco.html

     Civil War Fortifications: http://civilwarfortifications.com

Public Information

The fort is open to the visiting public from 10am until 5pm Friday through Sunday.  This is your chance to see members of local reenactment groups and Civil War organizations perform living history demonstrations as well as talk about their organizations and research.  We will have infantry and artillery drills as well as civilian, musician and medical demonstrations.  For more information, please contact the rangers at the Fort at (415) 556-1693.

Reenactor Information

All reenactors interested in attending the next Fort Point event, please read the below message and RSVP with Mike Musante. You can contact me by sending an email (mikemusante@hotmail.com) or calling at (650) 312-8422.

EVERY REENACTOR IS WELCOME!  However, everyone who attends must be wearing appropriate Union or Civilian attire of the period. The basics for an enlisted soldier:  forage cap, hardee or kepi; sack or frock coat; trousers and period footwear are needed at a minimum.  Bring your rifles, leathers and bayonets, but NO caps, NO powder.  Reenactors should NOT be wearing blue jeans or sunglasses, and modern anachronisms (such as non period jewelry and wristwatches) should be put away.  If you need to borrow pieces of a Union uniform, please let us know.  If you have any questions about alternative impressions, please let Mike Musante know.  

Reenactors should arrive on Saturday between 8:00am and 9:00am to help setup, drop off gear and park their cars in one of the far lots (see parking below).  There will be a formation at 9:45am to review the rules and orders of the day.  The fort will officially open to the public at 10:00am with the flag raising. We will have orders of the day immediately following the flag raising and infantry drill.  At about 10:15am, all new reenactors to the fort will break ranks to go over rules of the Fort, sign a volunteer agreement (see below), and watch a video presentation of the Fort's history that will last 20 minutes. 

All members that have never been to Fort Point before will need to sign a volunteer agreement.  If you have signed one before, you do not need to sign it again.  It essentially states that you are a volunteer in the park and are not getting paid to participate at this event.  It also allows you to collect some worker's comp if injured at the fort.  See Ranger Maureen Rogers to get the form or if you have questions.

Command and Activities
Throughout the day we will be alternating between artillery, musician and infantry demonstrations under the command of the Event Coordination Team and appointed Union Commander (or the ranking senior company commander present that was ELECTED).  The plan is to hold battalion formations and then break into company drill.  We will have each unit rotate through a series of drills for the audience rather than having all soldiers drill together as a battalion.  That way, the men will get to hone their skills with the other soldiers in their unit and the crowd will get to see a variety of drills at once.  If a unit is too small, we may have to merge it with another small unit for company drills.

A Sergeant will be appointed to take charge of guard duty at the sally port and guard room.  Volunteers are needed for these 30 or 60 minute time slots.

It is the responsibility of the unit commanders to ensure their men fall in on time for drill.  Schedules will be posted in the guard room, sally port, and given to unit commanders.

Please plan on engaging the public and welcoming them into the fort.  However, it is important to remember that the rangers do not want any first person impressions.  For instance, we should not talk as if we are "General Butterfield" unless a specific demonstration is approved by the rangers..

Concurring Demonstrations
Medical, musician, civilian and various other demonstrations are concurrent and ongoing throughout the day.  The Sons of Union Veterans will have a display and many reenactors from various units in Northern California will be attending.  The California Consolidated Fife and Drum Band will be playing in the fort at 12:30pm and 4:00pm and will be playing outside the sally port all day.  A Brass Band will be playing on the second floor throughout the day.  If you have any other ideas for new demonstrations, please contact us!  We will need to approve demonstrations to reduce the potential for duplication.

Food Preparation
For Saturday-only events, everyone is expected to bring their own breakfast and lunch. Bring your own plates, cups and utensils!  We may have coffee and hot cocoa, please bring $1 to help recoup the costs.  Any profit will be donated to the Fort.  IMPORTANT: reenactors should not be seen eating in front of the public, unless part of a living history demonstration!

Overnight Events

For overnight events, you will need to email Mike Musante with the following information:  

1) name 

2) unit and club

3) phone number (cell and home) 

4) email address 

A garrison mess will be organized for Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast.  Reenactors will need to provide their own lunches.  

Volunteers will sleep on the floors in the same rooms as the soldiers.  It will be cold, dirty and dusty.

Contact Mike Musante for additional details.

Civilian Tea

If enough civilians are able to attend, a civilian tea may be held on the second floor of the barracks.  Ladies (including those attached to military units) are asked to bring a chair, cup, saucer and a dessert item to share if they can.  They will discuss their plans for the coming year along with a voluminous amount of gossip.

Weather
Mark Twain once said something to the effect of...the coldest winter I spent was a summer night in San Francisco.  It is possible that it will be cold all year round at the Fort, so plan your dress accordingly.  The Fort is open rain or shine but we leave it up to the individual whether they want to attend if there is inclement weather.

Parking
Please try to carpool!!!  The few spots in front of the Fort are for the public, not the reenactors!  After you have dropped off gear and passengers at 9am, we are asking that all reenactors move their cars back to the long skinny parking lot next to the Warming Hut and Torpedo Wharf (white buildings) in the northwest corner of Crissy Field.  This lot is located immediately to your right when you come down off the hill onto Long avenue and onto the Fort.  On most days, to get into this lot from the Fort side, a ranger will have to be present to enter the passcode.  We will do our best to have this gate removed on the day of the event.

Alternatively, you can enter the lot without a code on the Crissy field side on Mason street (Marina blvd in SF turns into Mason street when in the presidio).  You can get to the other entrance of the lot by going back up Long avenue, make a left on Lincoln and a left on McDowell down towards Crissy field.  Make a left on Crissy Field Ave., and a left on Mason.  

There is also a gravel lot (East Battery) up the hill overlooking the Fort.

Policy on Donations

According to Maureen Rogers, head ranger at Fort Point, it is against Fort Point policy for organizations to solicit for donations on park grounds.  Selling items for personal profit on park land is also not allowed without the use of a special permit.  The use of informational brochures or mentioning that the visiting public can find more information about your organization on a website is allowed.  But open display boards asking to donate at your website are not allowed.  Even if someone decides to give you money without being asked, you can not take it while at the Fort.  The Fort itself has a small box for donations in the sally port.  

Schedule of Activities

note: schedule is subject to change

Infantry drills occur every hour on the hour.  Artillery drills occur every hour on the half hour.  There are also concurrent demonstrations throughout the day - medical demos, musician (fife / drum and brass band), and civilians (sewing, quilting, etc).  

Maps and Directions to Fort Point

Fort Point is located next to the southern anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Click on the thumbnail or HERE for a map (173kb in size) of the SF Presidio courtesy of the Park Rangers.  A better PDF version of the map (2.7 MB in size) that allows you to zoom in for greater detail can be found at this link (http://www.nps.gov/goga/maps/pdf/map-prsf.pdf).  

Here are directions heading to the Fort from various areas:

FROM THE NORTH:  Proceed over the Golden Gate Bridge, staying in the farthest right lane. After passing through the toll gate, take the first available exit to the right, continuing in a circle to the right, through an underpass, through the visitor parking lot, to a stop sign (Lincoln Blvd.), then turn left onto Lincoln Blvd. Follow road for about 1/8 mile and turn left onto Long Avenue/Marine Drive and go down the hill to the fort. At the base of the hill to your right is the additional parking lot for reenactors next to the Warming Hut (white buildings), just northwest of Crissy Field.

FROM THE SOUTH:  As you approach the Golden Gate Bridge, stay in the farthest right lane and take the "Last San Francisco Exit". Proceed through the parking lot to your right until you reach the stop sign (Lincoln Blvd.). Turn left and proceed to Long Avenue/Marine Drive and go down the hill to the fort. At the base of the hill to your right is the additional parking lot for reenactors next to the Warming Hut (white buildings), just northwest of Crissy Field.

FROM THE EAST:  It is best to get a map because you will have to drive in downtown SF. This is probably the easiest way: take the first San Francisco exit after crossing the Bay bridge and get on the Embarcadero heading northwest.  Since the Harrison St. off ramp has been closed since Fall 2005, you will need to stay in your 2 right lanes on the Bay Bridge and exit on Fremont Street.  At the end of the long offramp, make a left on Fremont, and your first right on Howard.  Then make a left on the Embarcadero.  Follow the Embarcadero until you reach Bay street and make a left onto Bay (at pier 33). Follow Bay for 10 blocks and make a left on Van Ness. In 3 blocks you will make a right on Lombard. Drive west on Lombard Street and instead of taking Richardson Avenue to the Golden Gate bridge, make a left to continue on Lombard through the east gate of the Presidio.  At the first intersection in the Presidio, make a right on Presidio drive, which becomes Lincoln Blvd.  At the main post there is a fork in the road, make a right and follow signs to Fort Point.  At the cemetery, you will make a slight right turn on Sheridan, which will again merge with Lincoln.  Lincoln will take you on a windy path through the Presidio. Make a right on Long Avenue, go down the hill to Fort Point.  At the base of the hill to your right is the additional parking lot for reenactors next to the Warming Hut (white buildings), just northwest of Crissy Field.

FROM THE WEST:  Get a boat...

Hotels near Fort Point

Economy Inn

1 Richardson Avenue at Lombard

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 922-0810

Travelodge Presidio

2755 Lombard Street

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 931-8581

reservations (800) 578-7878

Golden Gate City motel

2707 Lombard Street

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 567-2425

La Scala Inn

2555 Lombard Street

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 921-3105

Econo Lodge

2505 Lombard Street (at Divisadero)

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 921-2505

Marina Motel

2576 Lombard Street (at Divisadero)

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 921-9406

Pacific Motor Inn

2599 Lombard Street

San Francisco, CA 94123

(415) 346-4664

(800) 536-8446

Travelodge on the corner of Columbus and Bay

1201 Columbus Avenue

San Francisco, CA 94133

(415) 776-7070

Local SF History (under construction)

- barbary coast pirates

- emperor norton

- sydney albert johnston

Emperor Norton

source: SF Chronicle Magazine, Jan 5, 2003, page 8, article by Tim Goodman

Joshua A. Norton was a successful business man before a failed rice market deal in 1854, personifies local lunacy.  Five years after going bust, he went, well, off.  He proclaimed himself Norton I, emperor of the United States and protector of Mexico.  And he was serious.

It was a slow news day.  The good people of San Francisco ate it up.

A legend grew around him, fueled by newspaper coverage.  Archives suggest that businesses accepted his handmade money.  Copys saluted him.  He made decrees all the time, such as this one July 16, 1860: "Dissolved the United States of America".

Emperor Norton died January 8, 1880.  Some 10,000 people turned out for his funeral.

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