Battery Lancaster - San Francisco, CA
Posted by: 
bluesnote
N 37° 48.493 W 122° 28.544
10S E 546149 N 4184666
An old defensive gun pit made in the early 1900s to protect the Golden Gate Bridge. During WWI, it was the only artillery defense from the south side of the Golden Gate, protecting California's most important waterway.
Waymark Code: WM152P2
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/03/2021
Views: 10
Photos taken in June of 2016. The site is now owned by the National Park Service through Golden Gate National Recreation Area. It is located just to the south of the Golden Gate Bridge. A historical marker describes the history of the battery, which at the time of when I visited was in good shape, likely due to the preservation by the NPS.
The sign says, "Battery Lancaster's mission was unique among the many artillery installations on this bluff. From 1900 through World War I, Lancaster's three guns offered the only artillery coverage from the south for the narrowest part of the harbor entrance.
In addition to the gun pit where you now stand, and two more gun emplacements to the left, Battery Lancaster featured several underground rooms and ammunition magazines. Most of these were buried or destroyed by construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in the early 1930s. However, portions survived and the battery saw service again during World War II.
Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, soldiers were sent to defend the bridge. The commanding officer selected flag ground near the toll plaza for the company's antiaircraft guns and set up his headquarters, and quarters for his soldiers, in what remained of Battery Lancaster.
Under the command of Captain Harry Freeman, World War II troops protected the Golden Gate Bridge and lived in Battery Lancaster in underground rooms beneath the bridge tool plaza."
Type of Historic Site: Military Site
Address of Building, Object, or Site:
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, CA 94129
Website: [Web Link]
Admission Prices: 0.00 (listed in local currency)
One a Scale from 1-5, How Vital was the Site in WWI?: 
Posted Coordinates Location:
Center of battery.
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