Fort Stevens – Command Stations, etc.
2012.09.30
West Battery Command Station
On a manmade embankment (the Parados) behind the West Battery is the West Battery Command Station.
Battery Pratt Command Station
Concrete footings and riveted metal column are all that remain of this fire control tower.
Steam Plant
At the east end of the Parados is the Steam Plant. In 1920 it became a reserve power plant after the Central Power Plant was constructed.
Battery 245
Battery 245 was added in 1944 to bolster the near-obsolete defenses, which were almost 50 years old. Battery 245 had two 6-inch guns in shielded Barbette carriages, with a range of over fifteen miles. But coastal artillery, like the battleship, was already losing strategic value in the face of aircraft and missiles. The entire fort was decommissioned in 1947.
Fort Stevens Military Museum
There is a nice museum which includes uniforms, weapons, gear, and photos from the entire period of active use. There is also a motorized scale model of a 10-inch disappearing gun (though it was out-of-order and being repaired when I visited), and a very large model of the fort complex as it existed during World War II.
More Stuff
There are even more batteries, bunkers, and foundations of many buildings that once existed at Fort Stevens. I could have easily spent an entire day walking around just the main historical area, not to mention the rest of the park.
F.S. West Battery