{"nrhp_refnum":"85002433","name":"San Francisco Port of Embarkation, US Army","other_names":["See Also:Fort Mason"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Ft. Mason","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Francisco","county":"San Francisco","state":"CA","lat":37.80817209650007,"lon":-122.43087042962291,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-02-04","is_nhl":true,"nhl_designated_date":"1985-02-04","areas_of_significance":["Military"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic military district at Fort Mason in San Francisco, California, made up of the former U.S. Army port headquarters building and the lower port area with piers, storehouses, sheds and rail tracks. The port facilities were built from 1909 to 1912 and expanded in the 1930s.","why_significant":"The San Francisco Port of Embarkation was the army's main shipping hub for the Pacific in World War II. Early in the war it shipped more military supplies than all other U.S. military ports combined, and over the whole war it was second only to New York. It embarked about 1,745,000 personnel and handled more than 25 million measurement tons of cargo.","narrative":"Fort Mason's lower port area and headquarters building in San Francisco formed the core of the U.S. Army's Pacific shipping operation. The headquarters began in 1902 as a small brick post hospital and was later enlarged with additions to hold depot and port offices. Between 1909 and 1912 the army built a seawall, piers, wharves and storehouses below the fort, designed by Rankin, Kellogg, and Crane in Spanish Mission Revival style, with buff walls and red tile roofs. The first transport, Sherman, docked in January 1912. Public Works Administration funds paid for pier extensions, sheds, repair shops and other improvements in the 1930s. During World War II the port oversaw operations at other Bay Area installations and sent about 1,745,000 personnel overseas, along with more than 25 million measurement tons of cargo. It served as the primary port for the Central, South and Southwest Pacific. Today the buildings are part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area and house community activities.","period_of_significance":"1912-1945","architect_builder":"Rankin, Kellogg, and Crane of Philadelphia (architects, port buildings); San Francisco Bridge Company (seawall, wharves, tracks); James Campbell (contractor, 1902 hospital, later headquarters building)","architectural_style":"Spanish Mission Revival (port area buildings)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The port area retains its historical integrity to a great extent. As part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, its buildings house community activities including theaters, shops, crafts and studios.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.34592-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/85002433_NHL.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002433/c8bfb391c9-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85002433/c8bfb391c9-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sanfranman59","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_201,_Fort_Mason_(San_Francisco).JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanfranman59</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Building_201,_Fort_Mason_(San_Francisco).JPG"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"79000530","name":"Fort Mason Historic District (Boundary Increase)","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/fort-mason-historic-district-boundary-increase-79000530/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858076","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Mason","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q948933"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-francisco/san-francisco-port-of-embarkation-us-army-85002433/"}