Overlooking San Francisco Bay, spanned by the Golden Gate Bridge Photo from NPS digital archives

The National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places and Golden Gate National Recreation Area, in partnership with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, assisted by Rosie the Riveter--World War II Home Front National Historical Park, San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, the Organization of American Historians, San Francisco Public Library and the National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers, proudly invite you to explore World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area. World War II dominated the social, economic and political landscapes of the mid-20th century, setting in motion momentous events that still shape the world we live in today. The communities that ring the San Francisco Bay were irrevocably altered by that wartime era and still bear its visible marks in the remains of military bases and coastal defense fortifications, ships and shipbuilding facilities, worker housing and day-care facilities. This travel itinerary highlights 31 historic places listed in the National Register of Historic Places that reflect the San Francisco Bay Area's role in the "Arsenal of Democracy."

The fleet assembles in San Francisco Bay just days after the final victory Photo courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

Preparations for mobilization to create "Fortress San Francisco" were massive. Forts Baker, Barry and Cronkhite ringed the tip of Marin County, while Fort Point mounted guard on the Golden Gate Straits. Inside the bay, bases abounded including Fort Mason, the principal Pacific Port of Embarkation, the Presidio, Fort Miley, Hamilton Field and Moffett Field. The San Francisco Bay Area's major contribution to victory during World War II was shipbuilding. During the war, men and women working in Bay Area shipyards, like Kaiser's Richmond Shipyard Number Three, built 1,400 vessels--a ship a day, on average--like the SS Red Oak Victory. Mare Island Naval Shipyard provided well-established repair and shipbuilding facilities. The converted Richmond Ford Motor Company Assembly Plant prepared tanks for shipment overseas to the Pacific War, and the Benicia Arsenal manufactured the munitions for these and other weapons. During World War II, tens of thousands of Bay Area women challenged common perceptions about their capabilities, and for the first time were faced with the problems of being working parents--finding daycare and housing. These historic places remain today as an indelible imprint of this time and remind us of the dramatic changes brought on by the Bay Area's participation in World War II.

San Francisco, California. Friends and neighbors congregate to bid farewell, though not for long, to their friends who are enroute to the Tanforan Assembly center. They, themselves will be evacuated within three days. Photo by Dorthea Lange from Central Photographic File of the War Relocation Authority, 1942-1945, from National Archives and Records Administration

Three months after Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, ordering the relocation of Japanese Americans living in coastal areas, who were at the time considered a security risk. In the weeks that followed, local newspapers carried almost daily reports of proclamations, plans and restrictions to civil liberties issued by Lieutenant-General John L. DeWitt out of Building 35 at the Presidio, such as Civilian Exclusion Order No. 20, which required 660 people living in the area bounded by Sutter and California streets and Presidio and Van Ness avenues to report to the Japanese American Citizens League at 2031 Bush Street for registration, and then, on April 29, 1942, for removal. Headlines from the San Francisco News at the time provide a sobering view of the swift expulsion: "General DeWitt Announces Military Exclusion Zones" (March 3); "First Japanese Ready to Leave Coast" (March 19); "Aliens Get One More Night Out" (March 25); "Goodbye! Write Soon!" (April 7). Internees were first transported to one of 13 "Assembly" centers throughout the state, including Tanforan race track in San Bruno--since demolished--where 8,000 Japanese Americans were detained in converted horse stables and makeshift barracks between April and October 1942, then on to permanent camps inland such as Manzanar, which is now a National Historic Site. In all, nearly 100,000 Californians of Japanese descent were removed from their homes and livelihoods for incarceration during the war until 1945.

Blimp patrolling San Francisco Bay off Pier 34 at the Central Embarcadero Piers during World War II Photo courtesy of San Francisco History Center, San Francisco Public Library

The World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area travel itinerary offers several ways to discover the places that reflect the area's World War II history. Each highlighted site features a brief description of the historic place's significance, color photographs and public accessibility information. At the bottom of each page the visitor will find a navigation bar containing links to six essays that explain more about Seacoast Defense, Mobilization, Port of Embarkation, Shipbuilding, Women at War and Preservation. These essays provide historic background, or "contexts," for the places included in the itinerary. In the Learn More section, the itinerary links to regional and local web sites that provide visitors with further information regarding cultural events, special activities, and lodging and dining possibilities. The itinerary can be viewed online, or printed out if you plan to visit the San Francisco Bay Area in person. Visitors may be interested in Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Historic image of women shipfitters, c. 1943, working at Mare Island Naval Shipyard Photo courtesy of Mare Island Historic Park Foundation

World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area is the latest example of a new and exciting cooperative program. As part of the Department of the Interior's strategy to promote public awareness of history and encourage tourists to visit historic places throughout the Nation, the National Register of Historic Places is cooperating with communities, regions and Heritage Areas throughout the United States to create online travel itineraries. Using places nominated by State, Federal and Tribal Historic Preservation Offices and listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the itineraries help potential visitors plan their next trip by highlighting the amazing diversity of this country's historic places and supplying accessibility information for each featured site. World War II in the San Francisco Bay Area is the 33rd National Register travel itinerary successfully created through such partnerships. Additional itineraries will debut online in the future. If you have any comments or questions, please click on the provided e-mail address, "comments or questions" located at the bottom of each page.