Fort Point for kids
The Fort Under the Bridge. The true story of Fort Point, near San Francisco, CA, told for kids.
Read along
Psst! Down below the bridge, right at the edge of the water, there's a real castle-looking fort made of bricks. It's called Fort Point! It was built more than one hundred and fifty years ago, during the Gold Rush, when lots of people were rushing to California to dig for gold.
Soldiers put big cannons in the windows to protect the bay from enemy ships. But guess what? No enemy ship ever came, and those cannons never fired in a battle! Then, many years later, the bridge builders wanted to knock the old fort down.
But Joseph Strauss, the bridge boss, said, "No way! This fort is too cool!" So he built a special arch in the bridge, right over the top of the fort, like a giant umbrella. And it's still sitting under there today.
Quiz the back seat
Did Fort Point's cannons ever fire at an enemy ship?
Show the answer
Never!. Never! No enemy ship ever came. Fort Point is a fort that never had to fight.
3 fun facts
- Built 1853 to 1861.
- Its cannons never fired in battle.
- The bridge has a special arch built over it to save the fort.
For grown-ups
Every Tumbly story is checked claim by claim against the sources below before it's published; stories that don't pass stay off the app and this site. Narration is pre-recorded, and nothing you do on this page is tied to your kids.
Sources
- goldengate.org/bridge/visiting-the-bridge/fort-point
- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Point_National_Historic_Site
- instagram.com/reel/DEk3Xx8SjjP/?hl=en
- facebook.com/America250/posts/fort-point-was-originally-constructed-during-the-gold-rush-and-designed-to-prote/975664201269343
- nps.gov/fopo/learn/historyculture/index.htm
- npshistory.com/publications/fopo/index.htm
- nps.gov/fopo
- facebook.com/groups/SFbayareastreetphotograpy/posts/10160545734760746
Nearby stories
The Island of Pelicans
Look across the water, toward the city. See that rocky little island with a lighthouse on top?
The Marsh That Came Back
Look out toward the water! See the flat, soft land by the bay?
The Synagogue in a Tent
Can you picture a place of worship made of cloth? Long ago, in the Gold Rush, a small group of traders and merchants gathered in San…
The Golden Gate Bridge
Hey explorers! Look out the window.All stories in San Francisco → · All places
Town and county names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).