Fort Mason

Unfinished History

Fort Mason, c. 1880s.

Photo: Shaping San Francisco

Soldier tents at Fort Mason, 1918.

Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp26.483

Fort Mason from the air, July 12, 1927.

Photo: OpenSFHistory.org wnp27.2665

The former Base Commander's quarters, part of the Fort Mason Center now.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Fort Mason Officers' Row housing, 2017.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

One of a number of houses built in the 1850s when the eastern slope of Black Point was home to a burgeoning abolitionist and bohemian (for the time) culture in San Francisco.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Main office buildings, art galleries, and piers, once the heart of the bustling military base, now home to museums, restaurants, and theaters.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Fort Mason, Building E and piers, 2010.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Old batteries at Fort Mason dating to the 19th century were part of the original defensive ramparts of the city's military perimeter.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Longtime director of Fort Mason, Marc Kasky, describes his years making it what it is today.

Video: Chris Carlsson for Shaping San Francisco

The original shoreline, one of the few places where it still visible in San Francisco.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Another wider view of the original shoreline.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

The original shoreline along Fort Mason in 2009.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

The north slope of Fort Mason above the old railroad tunnel, recently converted in a pedestrian friendly native species garden.

Photo: Chris Carlsson

Black Point train and tunnel, 1918, when the military would send goods to Fort Mason for shipment to military bases in the Pacific, including Hawaii and the Philippines (a U.S. territory from 1898 to 1946).

Photo: National Maritime Museum