Fort Miley Military Reservation

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The Fort Miley Military Reservation is a historic coastal defense site in San Francisco, on Point Lobos near the southern side of the Golden Gate. Much of the area is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, while the buildings that became the San Francisco VA Medical Center are run by the Veterans Affairs Administration. An ordnance storehouse from the original complex still stands nearby, and a walking trail east of the hospital passes by it.

History in brief:
- After a 1885 report on coastal defense, the U.S. condemned land for the fortification near Point Lobos in 1891.
- The first buildings appeared in 1899 for a small Signal Corps detachment.
- Fortifications grew: Battery Chester with two 12-inch guns was completed by 1902, a third 12-inch gun was added in 1903, and a separate battery for sixteen 12-inch mortars covered the approaches to the Golden Gate.
- The site was renamed Fort Miley in 1900 after Lt. Col. John D. Miley.
- A parade ground and barracks were built from 1902 to 1906.
- In the 1930s the parade ground area became the Fort Miley Veterans Administration Hospital; most surrounding buildings were demolished in 1934, but the ordnance storehouse remained.
- The Army planned modernization in the late 1930s; World War II delayed it. Battery Chester served until 1943.
- Battery 243, built in 1944 for two 6-inch guns with shields, was mounted in 1948 to guard minefields outside the Golden Gate.
- The garrison included Battery F, 18th Coast Artillery from 1941 to 1944.

Today:
- The ordnance storehouse is used by the National Park Service as a maintenance building.
- A walking trail near the hospital is wheelchair accessible.
- Remains of several pre-World War I batteries can be found around the hospital area.
- West Fort Miley offers a grassy picnic area near Battery Chester, and a ropes course run by the Pacific Leadership Institute (affiliated with San Francisco State University) is located near the Lands End parking area.
- The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.