Why a Horseshoe Design?

Aerial view of Fort Baker.

Look out towards the flag pole and grassy open parade ground and think back to a hundred years ago. Can you hear the soldiers marching... and officer's children playing on the far side?

The layout of Fort Baker and other military posts built around 1900 reflects the highly structured hierarchy of military life. At the top of the parade ground lies the largest and most ornate house, where Fort Baker's commanding major or colonel lived. Below the commander's house, the parade ground separates lower ranking officers' quarters on one side, from enlisted men's barracks on the other. At the bottom is the guardhouse with a stockade for prisoners.

The flagpole is the symbolic center of the army post, flying the colors of the nation the army defends. The surrounding parade ground provides an open space for drills, marching, and public ceremonies. Drills and marching instill discipline and weld soldiers into organized groups that act as one in battle. Ceremonies express the army's tradition of recognition and reward.