Osgood & Farley: Standing Guard
Related Web Page
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Cache placed ON THE GROUNDS of the Fort MacArthur Museum, by permission (and in cahoots with) one of their docents. Entrance is free (donations accepted), a lot of great history, and cool things to wow the kids. ;)
The museum is open: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday, 12:00noon - 5:00pm. Sorry, no access to this cache Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, until museum hours are extended.
~~~ Congrats to 5pirates for their first FTF! ~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Museum grounds are wheelchair accessible, cache may be just out of reach and require assistance for access-impaired individuals.
Cache is 5" x 5" x 1/2" tin. Log only, BYO pen, FTF pin for FTF'r. ;)
Tree cover may make signal squishy; and google maps put the coords more at 33 42.770 / 118 17.770 (yes, both .770!), but multiple reads at the site w/ good accuracy disagreed w/ google. Location will be obvious (and is in hint!), but let me know what you think of the coords.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This cache location was chosen by a good friend of mine, a former geocacher himself, and a docent of the museum. To whet your appetite a bit...he is hoping to be able to host a far larger cache container of mine in a planned reconstruction to occur sometime in the next several months! (Since that will be a different cache and hide, it will be a new listing so you all get a shot at it.)
Please beware of muggles, but you should have a little privacy to find this cache. You know where to look, right? If your require assistance, do not be afraid to ask the staff for help, some of them should know about it. ;) If ya'll are respectful of the hide and cautious of muggles, this should last. :D
As noted, the museum entry is free, except during special events. (A $3 per adult donation is customary, but not required, for entering the museum in the bunker itself.)
You can learn a lot more about the museum at: www.ftmac.org/, and about Batteries Osgood & Farley at: www.ftmac.org/Osgood-Farley.htm
Below are excerpts from those websites...come, enjoy some great history, and one of my favorite places to come and play!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
About the Museum
The Fort MacArthur Museum is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of Fort MacArthur, a U.S. Army post which guarded the Los Angeles harbor from 1914 to 1974. The Museum was established in 1985, and it is housed in the corridors and galleries of historic Battery Osgood-Farley. The Fort MacArthur Reservations hold an important collection of historical structures which were part of the U.S. Army's role in the defense of the American continental coastline from invasion. These structures clearly trace the development of American coastal defenses, from the all big gun era of the turn of the century to the missile era of today.
The rooms, galleries and corridors of the Museum contain a variety of exhibits and displays which include: the history of Los Angeles harbor defenses, home-front activities in the greater Los Angeles area during the World Wars, Civil Defense, American Pacific Theater military campaigns, early American Air Defenses and the important role of Los Angeles as a military port for both the Army and the Navy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Battery Osgood - Farley: Home of the Fort MacArthur Museum
Battery Osgood-Farley was constructed during the years 1916-1919 under the fortification program outlined by the Taft Board Report of 1906. Although constructed as a single two-gun emplacement, each gun was originally designated as a separate tactical battery, hence the two names. Later, the battery was considered to be a single tactical unit.
These 14-inch disappearing guns could fire a 1560 pound projectile fourteen miles out into the Catalina Channel. Full caliber firing practice was rare, however, because of the damage caused by the concussions to nearby residences. Battery Osgood's gun was fired only 116 times and Battery Farley's fired 121 times. Even though the disappearing carriages of Battery Osgood-Farley were considered to be obsolete by the mid-1920s, they remained in active service until they were replaced by new ordnance in the mid-1940s. A section of Battery Osgood-Farley was gas-proofed during World War Two for use as a radio station and fire control switchboard room. Battery Osgood-Farley's guns were declared surplus in 1944 and cut up for scrap sometime after 1946.
The Army continued to use the rooms and corridors of the battery for various purposes with little modification until 1974. While the guns and some of the electrical equipment were removed, much of the rest of the hardware such as the doors, gates, electrical and plumbing services were left intact.
This is in marked contrast to many of the other modern era (post-1890) gun emplacements around the nation, which have been gutted of all metal, wiring and plumbing by the Army, humidity and vandals. Battery Osgood-Farley may be the best preserved example modern age coastal defense gun emplacement in the United States today. The Army recognized the historical significance of Battery Osgood-Farley and placed it on the Register of National Historical Places in 1976.
The Fort MacArthur Museum was established at Battery Osgood - Farley in 1985 and is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the history of Fort MacArthur. Fort MacArthur’s reservations hold an important collection of historical structures tied to the U.S. Army’s role in the defense of the American continental coastline from invasion. These structures, which are interpreted at the museum, clearly define the development of American coastal defenses, from the all-gun era at the turn of the twentieth century, to the modern missile era of today.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Bu, pbzr ba! Vg'f VA GUR THNEQUBHFR!
kboabvgpahwqavuro