San Francisco VA Medical Center

The San Francisco VA Medical Center occupies land with a layered and somber history. Before it became a place of healing for veterans, this site was home to the Golden Gate Cemetery, which served as a final resting place for indigent San Franciscans in the late nineteenth century. In the early twentieth century, the military transformed the area into Fort Miley, a coastal defense installation featuring artillery batteries designed to protect the entrance to the bay. Today, while the hospital provides advanced medical care, remnants of this military past persist on the grounds, serving as a quiet reminder of the site's previous role in the city's defense.