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The Presidio and Fort Point are two of the places where San Francisco’s military past is still standing. Both are run by the National Park Service, and this page keeps to what the Service says about them.
San Francisco National Cemetery, inside the Presidio, is a place of remembrance. It has its own page, with the Department of Veterans Affairs’ hours and rules.
Read on nps.gov and cem.va.gov on 4 November 2026. NPS history pages updated: Presidio March 2019, Fort Point April 2026.
The Presidio
NPS says the Presidio served as an army post for 218 years under three nations. The Spanish arrived in 1776, it fell under Mexican rule for 24 years, and the U.S. Army took control in 1846. Over 148 years the Army turned windswept dunes and scrub into a green, long-lived military post. The Presidio became a National Historic Landmark in 1962 and has been part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area since 1994. NPS says the Presidio is managed by the Presidio Trust.
Fort Point
Fort Point was built between 1853 and 1861 by the U.S. Army Engineers, in the Army’s Third System style, the only fort of that design built west of the Mississippi River. NPS says its guns never fired a shot in anger. It was armed and garrisoned through the Civil War, used as barracks afterward, and used again in World War II, when soldiers guarded the Golden Gate entrance against submarine attack.
When the Golden Gate Bridge was planned, chief engineer Joseph Strauss designed a special arch so the bridge could be built over the fort. Fort Point became a National Historic Site on October 16, 1970.
Visiting
- Fort Point’s NPS page lists ranger programs and a living history weekend. Check its calendar for dates; we type none.
- The Presidio Visitor Center has its own operating hours and seasons, listed on the Presidio’s NPS page. Unconfirmed The hours are not listed here. Do this: check the Presidio page on NPS. Source: NPS, Presidio · Checked 4 Nov 2026.
- For the cemetery, read San Francisco National Cemetery first.