Fort Point (mid-19th-century masonry fortification)

Fort Point, built between 1853 and 1861 at the southern base of the Golden Gate, is a multi-tiered brick masonry seacoast fortification constructed to defend the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The fort's heavy brick vaulted casemates and bastioned design are representative of mid-19th-century military architecture and coastal defense theory prior to the dominance of ironclad naval technology. Fort Point survived into the 20th century and is preserved as part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, interpreted for its architectural and military-historical significance.