Fort Worden Fort Worden and accompanying Fort Worden State Park are located in Port Townsend , along Admiralty Inlet in Washington . It is situated on 433 acres ( 175 ha ) originally built as a United States Army installation for the protection of Puget Sound . Fort Worden was named after U . S . Navy Rear Admiral John Lorimer Worden , commander of the " USS Monitor " during the American Civil War . History . Fort Worden was an active US Army base from 1902 to 1953 . It was purchased by the State of Washington in 1957 to house a juvenile detention facility . In 1971 , use was transferred to the Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission and Fort Worden State Park was opened in 1973 . Strategic location . Admiralty Inlet was considered so strategic to the defense of Puget Sound in the 1890s that three forts , Fort Worden , Fort Flagler , and Fort Casey , were built at the entrance with huge guns creating a " Triangle of Fire " that could theoretically thwart any invasion attempt by sea . Fort Worden , on the Quimper Peninsula , at the extreme northeastern tip of the Olympic Peninsula , sits on a bluff near Port Townsend , anchoring the northwest side of the triangle . The three posts were designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching such targets as the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the cities of Seattle , Tacoma and Everett . The forts never fired a hostile shot and the guns were removed during World War I for use in Europe . Subsequently , Fort Worden was used for training a variety of military personnel and for other defense purposes . Construction . Construction on Fort Worden began in 1897 and continued in one form or another until the fort was closed in 1953 . Designed as part of the massive modernization program of U . S . seacoast fortifications initiated by the Endicott Board , construction work on the initial fortifications above Point Wilson were delayed until July 1897 . The property was privately owned and the government had to clear title to the land through condemnation proceedings . The Army Corps of Engineers took charge of building the construction dock , warehouses , and a tramway to haul concrete for the gun emplacements from the dock to the mixing plant . To meet construction needs , the Army laid a pipeline from Port Townsend and pumped water into large storage tanks inside the fort . The arrival of wet winter weather slowed progress on the batteries . It took 200 men almost three years to complete the excavation and concrete work for the gun emplacements . In March 1900 , the fort was ready for installation of the initial armaments . Sixteen artillery pieces , shipped from the armory at Columbus , Ohio , arrived from Tacoma by barge . A special tramway was constructed to haul the heavy artillery pieces from the dock area to top of the bluff . In March 1901 the guns were moved to their assigned positions and mounted in the batteries , ready for test firing . Fort Worden was activated in 1902 . The 126th Coast Artillery Company , consisting of 87 soldiers , commanded by Captain Manus McCloskey , was the first detachment assigned to Fort Worden . They arrived from Seattle on board the steamer SS " Majestic " on May 3 , 1902 , and were quartered in tents pending the completion of the barracks . Twenty - three permanent buildings were under construction at a cost of $ 59 , 450 . A communication system , connecting the three forts by cable , was installed in 1903 . Military use . On September 4 , 1904 , the headquarters of the Harbor Defense Command of Puget Sound was transferred from Fort Flagler to Fort Worden along with the 6th Artillery Band . Once work on the main batteries and army post had been completed , more troops were assigned there . By the fall of 1905 , Fort Worden was fully staffed with four Coast Artillery companies , and the harbor defense system , costing approximately $ 7 . 5 million , was considered complete and operational . The initial armaments consisted of six gun emplacements : Batteries Ash , Powell , Brannon , Quarles , Randol , and Vicars . Between 1905 and 1910 , six additional gun emplacements were added : Batteries Tolles , Stoddard , Benson , Putnam , Walker , and Kinzie . When completed , Fort Worden had 41 artillery pieces , completing its part of the " Triangle of Fire " : two 12 - inch disappearing gun s , two 12 - inch barbette guns , two 10 - inch disappearing guns , five 10 - inch barbette guns , eight 6 - inch disappearing guns , two 5 - inch pedestal guns , four 3 - inch pedestal guns , and sixteen 12 - inch mortars . During World War I , the complement at Fort Worden was greatly expanded as soldiers arrived for training prior to being sent to European battlefields . To keep up with the demand , construction of new barracks and buildings continued throughout the war . Thirty - six of the fort ' s 41 artillery pieces were dismantled and shipped to European battlefields . After World War I , the fort ' s staffing was reduced to 50 officers and 884 enlisted men . Aircraft and balloons began to claim an important role in Puget Sound ' s defensive strategy , diminishing the role of coastal artillery . In the 1920s , a balloon hangar was built at Fort Worden at a cost of $ 85 , 000 . During this time , some of the batteries were modernized and made " bomb - proof . " During World War II , Fort Worden remained the headquarters of the Harbor Defense Command and it was jointly operated by the Army and Navy . The fort was home to the 14th Coast Artillery Regiment of the U . S . Army , the 248th Regiment of the Washington National Guard , the 2nd Amphibious Engineers , and miscellaneous U . S . Navy personnel . The Army operated radar sites and coordinated Canadian and U . S . defense activities in the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound . The Navy , responsible for the detection and identification of all vessels entering and leaving Puget Sound , monitored new underwater sonar and sensing devices . Most of the gun emplacements were modified for anti - aircraft guns , which replaced the outdated coastal artillery pieces . Fort Worden personnel also manned batteries and fire control towers at the Cape George Military Reservation , six miles ( 10 km ) southwest of Port Townsend on the Strait of Juan de Fuca at the entrance to Discovery Bay . After World War II , the Coast Artillery units at Fort Worden were disbanded and the gun batteries were dismantled . It remained active as an administrative unit until June 30 , 1953 , when the Harbor Defense Command was deactivated and the fort officially closed , ending fifty - one years of military jurisdiction . Following World War II , the 2nd Engineer Special brigade was stationed at Fort Worden . At the outset of the Korean war , the 2nd Engineer Special brigade was among the first Army units ordered to Korea to reinforce the Far East Command . After the departure in the summer of 1950 of the 2nd Engineer Special brigade for Korea , an Army Reserve unit , the 369th Engineer Boat and Shore regiment ( later redesignated the 369th Engineer Amphibious Support regiment ) , was stationed at Fort Worden where the regiment trained engineer replacements . The 369th was a suborinate unit of the 409th Engineer Special brigade . The regimental headquarters and the boat battalion were stationed at Fort Worden . The regiment ' s shore battalion was at Fort Flagler . The 369th Engineer Amphibious Support regiment was demobilized in 1953 . On July 1 , 1957 , the State of Washington purchased Fort Worden for $ 127 , 533 for use as a diagnostic and treatment center for troubled youths . Batteries . Coastal artillery batteries located at Fort Worden were : Fort Worden State Park . The Washington State Parks and Recreation Commission acquired most of Fort Worden on September 30 , 1971 , when the state closed the juvenile treatment center . The Fort Worden State Park was opened on August 18 , 1973 . Today the 2 . 1 miles ( 3 . 4 km ) of sandy beaches and high bluffs attract residents from around the region to the multi - use recreation facility . The extensive system of large , abandoned bunkers are available for exploration . The state park includes the Coast Artillery Museum , a balloon hangar that was used for airships , three 3 - inch anti - aircraft gun emplacements , and several restored quarters on Officers ' Row . The Point Wilson Lighthouse is also located here . The Commanding Officer ' s Quarters have been restored to reflect the early 20th century Victorian period , and are open in the summer for tours . The independent publisher of poetry , Copper Canyon Press , located permanently at Fort Worden in 1974 . The park also is the home of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center , whose natural history museum , hands - on tidepool exhibits and educational programs promote understanding about coastal ecosystems . The 1982 movie " An Officer and a Gentleman " was filmed at Fort Worden , as well as the 2002 film " The Ring " . Goddard College ' s Port Townsend campus hosts several of its program residencies at Fort Worden . One notable feature of the park is the underground Dan Harpole Cistern , originally built to hold water for fire - fighting , in the event that the fort was attacked and put to the torch . The cistern was drained in the 1950s when the Fort was closed , leaving an underground space more than 200 feet in diameter and 14 feet deep . This huge subterranean chamber has an acoustical reverberation time of around 45 seconds , and has attracted the interest of various musicians and recording artists , among them Pauline Oliveros and Stuart Dempster . The Park management rents out the cistern for recording events , on a day to day basis . Military cemetery . A small military cemetery , maintained by the Public Works Directorate at Joint Base Lewis - McChord , is located at the south side of the state park .