Place

Fort Pickens Tour: Stop 14

View of a series of exposed brick arches going vertically down the center of the image. The Gulf of Mexico and blue sky in the background.
Exposed Fort Pickens Tower Bastion Walls

Quick Facts
Location:
Fort Pickens, Florida

Benches/Seating, Historical/Interpretive Information/Exhibits, Scenic View/Photo Spot, Trailhead

Tower Bastion

This is Tower Bastion. From the barbette above, soldiers fired cannon over the fort’s wall. Inside the casemates below, defenders fired cannon along the fort’s wall.

From the barbette you can see the Gulf of Mexico, Pensacola Pass, and Pensacola Bay. Here a 15-inch Rodman gun, capable of firing a 450-pound solid shot up to five miles away, stands guard over the Emerald Coast.

Looking south toward the Gulf of Mexico, you can see damaged walls with exposed arches. Engineers demolished these walls between 1915–1916. Upon completion, soldiers at Battery Pensacola had better views of targets. Today, the exposed arches help us understand how the fort was built.

Help protect Fort Pickens. Please stay off the walls and do not pick up loose bricks.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

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Last updated: July 15, 2021